NBA odds: How the Brooklyn Nets' odds moved throughout the season

The Brooklyn Nets were the oddsmakers' favorites to win it all at the beginning of the season (+240 at FOX Bet). Their Big 3 was supposed to get the job done; the post-trade core was built to stop the bleeding. But Boston bounced Brooklyn from the playoffs and bettors who took the Nets to win it all are wondering what went wrong.

Per FOX Sports Research, the Nets' superstar nucleus of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden only took the court together two times during the 2021 season and a total of 16 times since joining forces in the middle of the 2020 season. During that time, the trio went 13-3 straight up (SU) and 10-6 against the spread (ATS). 

After the blockbuster trade that shipped Harden to the 76ers, Brooklyn's foundation got a makeover with the addition of Ben Simmons. 

But was sending Ben to Brooklyn like putting lipstick on a pig? Maybe it was when you look at these stats: In the 22 regular and postseason games that Kyrie and Kevin played together this season, the duo went 12-10 SU while going a dismal 8-14 ATS. And then, considering Simmons didn't suit up in Nets-black once, was the trade even worth it? 

Now that Brooklyn's first-round exit is official, it's a good time to dive into the team's season-long odds and glimpse their fall from basketball grace.

THE NETS' CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS THROUGHOUT THE SEASON

Preseason: +240 (bet $10 to win $34 total)
December 1: +260 (bet $10 to win $36 total)
January 1: +250 (bet $10 to win $35 total)
February 1: +275 (bet $10 to win $37.50 total)
*February 10: James Harden traded for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond
All-Star Break: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
March 1: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
April 1: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
April 16: (Before Game 1): +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
April 25: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
April 25: Eliminated from playoffs

It was all a dream, or at least it seems that way when fans and bettors think back to the preseason. 

During that time, Brooklyn (+240) led the field with the best odds to win the NBA title. Behind them with the second-best odds? The Los Angeles Lakers, a squad whose 11th-place finish in the Western Conference was also a colossal underachievement. 

Rounding out those early odds were the Bucks, Warriors and Suns — teams very much still in the championship hunt.

By the end of the calendar year, the Nets' were 23-9 overall and their odds had lengthened slightly to +250, despite a New York mandate that prevented Kyrie from playing home games. At the beginning of February, Brooklyn's odds at FOX Bet to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy were +275, and the squad was positioned to wreak havoc in the postseason.

The Nets then went on a seven-game losing streak before shipping James Harden to the 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond. At the All-Star break, the team's Finals futures lengthened to +600 — the longest they had been all season. 

To start the postseason, coach Steve Nash & Co. defeated the Cavaliers in the play-in tournament to secure a 7-seed in the East. Before Round 1 of the playoffs, FOX Bet oddsmakers listed the Nets' odds to win the championship at +800. 

Then BK dropped three consecutive matchups to a talented Celtics team led by Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, three-time All-Star Jayson Tatum and young, budding star Jaylen Brown. Sitting at +8000 before Game 4, Brooklyn's Finals futures were more laughable than likely.

And then the unthinkable. Brooklyn — the franchise that bettors, hoops fans and bookmakers predicted would dethrone the Bucks to become the new champs — wilted in Round 1. Now that New York's "other" team has taken its bow in an untimely curtain call, we asked FOX Bet sports trader Dylan Brossman what oddsmakers think about the team's future.

"Simmons should be physically healthy by the start of next season, but there is a serious concern around his motivation — or lack thereof — to get back on the court," Brossman explained.

"Kyrie has a $36 million player option that he could potentially decline to explore free agency. He is widely expected to return, but I would certainly not rule out the possibility of Kyrie declining his fourth-year option."

And what about Steve Nash, the coach chosen to lead the favorite Nets to the promised land?

Brossman chimed in on that, too.

"Fair or not, Steve Nash might never get the chance to coach Brooklyn’s Big 3 of KD, Kyrie and Simmons," Brossman acknowledged.

"If Kyrie opts in and Simmons is ready to go (a healthy Joe Harris would help as well), look for KD and the Brooklyn Nets to once again be among the favorites to win the NBA Finals under the leadership of a new coach."

Now that the Nets are out of the playoffs, have we seen the last of KD and Kyrie as teammates? Will the organization move on from Steve Nash? And will you bet on Brooklyn to win it all in 2023? Stay tuned to FOX Bet as these stories unfold in the NBA offseason!

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