oklahoma city thunder The champions will enter the NBA Playoffs as big favorites to repeat, but the betting public will be more focused on the teams just below them on the odds board.
The Thunder are +110 to win the NBA Finals, after San Antonio Spurs (+500) and boston celtics Next level with (+550) denver nuggets (+900) Rounding out the pack of favorites according to DraftKings odds. There is a big difference on the odds board before cleveland cavaliers And new York Knicks Check in at 17-1 and 18-1 respectively.
All of the top four have plenty of bets and handles on the sportsbook marketplace, but Oklahoma City and Denver haven’t been given quite as much due to relatively low odds all season.
“Among the real contenders, OKC has the best results in the futures market,” BetMGM sports trader Anthony Parenti said in an email release. “The sportsbook is in a deep position to favor the favorite to win it all.”
The Thunder are not the top-ranked team in DraftKings or BetMGM. Instead, San Antonio and Boston have become huge liabilities as they started the season as long shots and turned into contenders, giving bettors a chance to grab them at big prices throughout the campaign.
Spurs continue to rise since drafting superstar Victor Wembanyama First overall in 2023, and with Vembanyama remaining relatively healthy, 2025–26 proved to be his breakout season. Bookies were initially conservative, with DraftKings giving them 65–1 championship odds on the season.
Speculators sensed the breakout and piled in early and often. BetMGM and DraftKings have the Spurs NBA Finals winner handle as well as the hottest draws for Western Conference winner tickets. Even though many speculators tried to buck the trend, the public lined up to support Vembanyama & Co.
“I can’t imagine what some of the other books’ liability sheets look like on them because they were over 50 to 1 for most of the year,” David Lieberman, head NBA trader at Caesars Sportsbook, told ESPN. “We were very aggressive in cutting them down because Wembanyama was playing very well, and we still have a lot of money on them. So I’m not sure what else we could have done, but it’s one of those things where people are going to bet on the Spurs no matter how they look.
Meanwhile, the Celtics were supposed to be in a soft rebuild with a superstar jayson tatum Missed most of the season due to an Achilles injury and with a lot of roster turnover from the last two seasons in which they were a perennial title contender. This led to DraftKings giving them 60-1 odds on the season, but Boston was able to remain competitive all year and is now the favorite to win the East (+155) with the return of Tatum.
“The Celtics were a team that didn’t have a full team, didn’t look like they were going to have a full team, and here they are at full strength going into the playoffs,” DraftKings Sportsbook director Johnny Avello said. “They bet some pretty big numbers. At one point we had them at maybe 75, 80-1.”
“Those two teams are not good results for us,” Lieberman said.
There are other compelling betting stories and liabilities that can be found below the odds board. minnesota timberwolvesFor example, the odds were 12-1 for the title and 50-1 near the beginning of April, but they moved up to 100-1 after locking up a first-round matchup with the Nuggets.
Los Angeles Lakers The odds board dropped drastically from a short price of 12-1 to 150-1 after major injuries. luka doncic And austin reeves. However, before and after those injuries, the Lakers remained as popular among bettors as they have been almost every season, with Avello and Lieberman both supporting them with strong action and BetMGM reporting them as their biggest remaining future liability.
Lieberman also noted that many bettors are taking long shots on Eastern teams down the board in the conference and championship markets, hoping they can provide similar value to the upstarts. Indiana Pacers Last year. He specifically points out atlanta hawks (130-1 at DraftKings) and philadelphia 76ers (150-1) as teams attract action.
