While Adam Silver has sought parity for the NBA over the past decade, the league has remained far more predictable in determining a champion than its peers in other professional sports.

In the past 36 seasons, the team with the best preseason odds to win the title has gone on to win 18 times, with another eight finishing as runners-up. The Los Angeles Lakers have a 27 percent implied chance of winning the title, which may make them undervalued.

Heavy favorites have done even better, as more than half of the 24 favorites to begin a season with better than 3/1 odds have won the title and only two failed to reach the Finals.

No team outside the top eight in preseason title odds has ever won the championship. The Warriors entered the 14-15 season with eighth best odds and won the title.

Since 1985, only eight NHL favorites have won the Stanley Cup, seven NFL favorites have won the Super Bowl and six MLB favorites have won the World Series.