Heat NBA title odds skyrocket after Giannis Antetokounmpo trade
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Antetokounmpo Traded
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Inside The DealTrade GradesLegacy in MilwaukeeTimelineEchoes of KareemWhat's Next For Heat?AnalysisHeat NBA title odds skyrocket after Giannis Antetokounmpo trade
Giannis Antetokounmpo makes the Miami Heat a fringe title contender. Jeff Hanisch / Imagn Images
By Scott PhillipsJune 23, 2026 Updated 11:32 am EDTThe Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NBA Draft, including the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.
Pat Riley did it again.
The legendary team president of the Miami Heat has a penchant for bringing marquee talents to South Beach, and Riley’s latest prize is superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The NBA offseason featured its first seismic move with Antetokounmpo, a two-time former MVP, finally getting traded from the Milwaukee Bucks late Monday night. The move had ripple effects on the betting markets, as the Heat’s title odds shifted drastically overnight.
In DraftKings’ latest 2026-27 Finals winner market, Miami elevated from 11th to fifth — jumping from +4000 odds to +1800 odds.
Giannis is headed to Miami. What will be his legacy in Milwaukee?Eric Nehm and Johnny SweetMiami moved past a glut of secondary contenders to position itself right behind the upper echelon of teams in the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, and defending-champion New York Knicks.
In addition to the player it has been seeking for months, Miami also gets veteran forward Bobby Portis; the Heat gives up Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks (including No. 13 in the 2026 draft), a pick swap and a second-round pick.
Miami has long swung for the fences and won rings by trading for Shaquille O’Neal in 2004 and signing the LeBron James-led “Big Three” in 2010. It’s unclear, though, whether Antetokounmpo vaults the team back to a championship level.
The Heat did appear to gain ground, at least in the eyes of sportsbooks, after being stuck as a play-in team the past few seasons.
Featuring a potential core of Antetokounmpo, all-star big man Bam Adebayo and veteran wings Andrew Wiggins (player option) and Norman Powell (unrestricted free agent), Miami still has to figure out the rest of its roster. But the franchise has a long history of finding diamond-in-the-rough role players.
As if acquiring a 10-time all-star wasn’t thrilling enough, Miami also prevented the Celtics from making its own headline-grabbing trade.
A week and a half ago, Miami (-130) was the favorite over the Celtics (+175) to land Antetokounmpo, at DraftKings. With ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reporting Monday morning that Boston would include star Jaylen Brown in a swap for Antetokounmpo, the Celtics (-140) then became the perceived favorites to land the Greek Freak. Title odds also briefly changed Monday afternoon, with the Celtics elevating from +550 to +475.
Now that Antetokounmpo is headed to Miami, Boston has to figure out what’s next for its roster while mending fences with Brown, a homegrown, title-winning star who was just publicly dangled in a failed trade attempt.
Giannis' Bucks career by the numbersThere’s also the Milwaukee end of this deal. After trading perhaps the most accomplished player in franchise history, nobody expects the Bucks to be contenders anytime soon. Milwaukee is tied for 25th in title odds at +25000.
Milwaukee could remain active this offseason. The Bucks could flip Herro to another team for additional long-term assets, given that he is approaching the final year of his contract.
There’s recent precedent for this type of asset flip after a superstar trade. After the Bucks traded Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Damian Lillard in 2023, Portland repackaged Holiday four days later in another trade to the Celtics. The second Holiday trade accelerated Portland’s rebuild while giving Boston the veteran guard it needed for its 2024 championship push.
It will be hard for any offseason moves to upset the top of the oddsboard for title favorites, where San Antonio (+250) and Oklahoma City (+260) remain the teams to beat.
Behind the Western Conference superpowers, Boston (+650) is still the perceived favorite in the East, and New York has +700 odds to repeat.
As we all know, the NBA never sleeps, so Tuesday’s NBA Draft is another big event to watch for trades and the impact on odds. If any other big names get moved, we might see another wave of odds movement by tomorrow morning.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
