Jayson Tatum Injury Deflates Celtics NBA Finals Odds for 2025-26 Season

The Boston Celtics have just the ninth-best odds to win the NBA Finals in the 2025-26 season.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum could miss next season with a ruptured Achilles. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics won the NBA Finals in the 2023-24 season, but since then, things have changed drastically for Jayson Tatum and company.

Boston entered the 2024-25 season as an overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Finals, but it eventually was knocked out in the second round of the playoffs by the New York Knicks. To make matters worse, Tatum ruptured his Achilles in Game 4 of the series against New York, sidelining him for the rest of the 2024-25 season and likely most -- if not all -- of next season.

Boston was already facing a financial crunch in the 2025-26 season since it is well over the NBA's second apron, and it appears the C's are ready to shed some salary with Tatum banged up. Earlier this month, ESPN's Sham Charania reported that the C's are expected to make some trades.

"The rest of the league is bracing for some level of change to the Celtics roster this offseason..

Sources have been telling me for weeks now that the Celtics will be exploring trade options in the offseason" ~ @ShamsCharania #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/raA9TDjNiP

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 1, 2025

Boston could move on from players like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday in hopes of keeping a solid core around Tatum, but it's unclear what the franchise could even get in return for those two veterans.

With Tatum's status clearly up in the air for all of next season, oddsmakers have dropped Boston significantly down the odds board when it comes to the 2025-26 season's title odds.

At DraftKings, Boston has the ninth-best odds to win the title at +1800. Oddsmakers have set the C's behind the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers in the futures market, a sign that they expect Boston to take a step back with Tatum injured.

Boston's offseason may be more important for its outlook in the 2025-26 season than Tatum's injury. If the C's move on from just a few players, they should be able to compete for a playoff spot. However, if Boston decides to blow things up -- and trade a player like Jaylen Brown -- it could alter the trajectory of Boston's season.

I'd stay away from anything with Boston in the futures market until there is more clarity about what the team's roster will be in the 2025-26 campaign.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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