At the time of this writing, the Denver Nuggets sit atop the NBA Western Division with a 41-18 record and a five-game lead over second-place Memphis. They’re within one win of Boston’s best record in the league.
The Colorado Avalanche, meanwhile, are only eight points out of first place in the NHL West and are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. The Avs are in a good spot to make the playoffs and have better odds to win the championship than any team ahead of them in the West.
Is it possible that both the Nuggets and Avalanche could win their respective championships? Sure.
BetColorado.com, your source for all things CO sports betting attempts to gauge the odds of an NBA and NHL title coming to Denver.
Utilizing odds from DraftKings Sportsbook on Feb. 14, BetColorado.com gathered the odds of a city having two titles in the same spring.
Odds of Cities Winning Both NBA and NHL Titles
Breaking Down Top Cities
DraftKings Colorado Sportsbook gives the Denver duo a 1.5% chance with odds of +6650. I will note that 1.5%, while small, is higher than zero. The odds of Denver pulling off the NBA/NHL sweep are second only to Boston, since the Celtics and Bruins both lead their respective divisions. But even Boston’s odds are only 4.2% and paying off at +2257.
There’s an important thing to keep in mind, however, when thinking of playing the NBA/NHL one-city sweep: It’s never happened.
That’s right, never.
All those years the Celtics dominated the NBA, the Bruins never won. All those years the Montreal Canadiens dominated the NHL, they didn’t have a basketball team. When the Philadelphia Flyers were winning Stanley Cups nearly 50 years ago, the 76ers were waiting for the arrival of Julius Erving and Moses Malone. Even in a city like New York, with four teams – the Knicks, Nets, Rangers and Islanders – it’s never happened. Given that the Knicks haven’t won a title since 1973 and the Rangers have only won one Cup since 1940, the odds of the Knicks and Rangers achieving the double might pay off enough to buy the Knicks and Rangers.
For the Mile-High City to pull off the feat, it would be especially impressive as the Nuggets have only been an NBA franchise since 1976 and the Avalanche have only been an NHL franchise since 1995, after moving south from Quebec. The Avalanche are defending Stanley Cup champs, however. The Nuggets never even have made it to the NBA finals.
BetMGM Colorado Sportsbook has the Nuggets at +700 to win the NBA, behind the Celtics (+325), the Phoenix Suns (+400) and the Milwaukee Bucks (+550).
This year’s Nuggets squad has added depth, defense and size and has four players scoring more than 16 points per game (Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, and, of course, Nikola Jokic). They’re balanced and experienced, pass the ball and lead the league in field goal percentage and three-point percentage. This could be the Nuggets year.
But could it be the Nuggets year and the Avalanche’s year?
The odds are well against it, but +6650 gives them a lot better chance than the +27100 for Mavericks and Stars in Dallas, +39500 for the Clippers and Kings in Los Angeles, or +199000 for the Maple Leafs and Raptors in Toronto.
What? The Raptors might not even make the playoffs. You have a better chance with the Knicks and Rangers.
Your odds are good if you need the right sports betting info, as well as all the latest Colorado sports betting promo codes, at BetColorado.com.
