Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

2025 NBA Finals Odds: Thunder Creating Separation With Celtics On Leaderboard

The Oklahoma City Thunder (+150) continue to have the shortest betting odds to reach the Finals and capture the 2025 NBA title as of March 28, if only by a slim margin over the reigning champion Boston Celtics (+200).

The Cleveland Cavaliers (+500) aren't too far behind, though, while the and Los Angeles Lakers (+1400), Denver Nuggets (+1600), and Golden State Warriors (+1600) can each be had at greater than 20-to-1.

Here's a look at where Oklahoma City, Boston, and all other contenders currently sit in the hunt for the Larry O'Brien trophy.

2025 NBA Finals odds

Odds To Win NBA - Championship 2025
TeamsOdds
Oklahoma City Thunder+175
Boston Celtics+195
Cleveland Cavaliers+525
LA Lakers+1200
Golden State Warriors+1300
Denver Nuggets+1600
New York Knicks+3500
LA Clippers+4000
Minnesota Timberwolves+6000
Indiana Pacers+10000
Houston Rockets+12500
Memphis Grizzlies+20000
Milwaukee Bucks+20000
Detroit Pistons+25000
Dallas Mavericks+50000
Atlanta Hawks+100000
Chicago Bulls+100000
Miami Heat+100000
Orlando Magic+100000
Phoenix Suns+100000
Portland Trail Blazers+100000
Sacramento Kings+100000
Brooklyn Nets+1000000
Charlotte Hornets+1000000
New Orleans Pelicans+1000000
Philadelphia 76ers+1000000
San Antonio Spurs+1000000
Toronto Raptors+1000000
Utah Jazz+1000000
Washington Wizards+1000000

Odds as of April 2nd, 2025 14:43pm EDT.

2025 NBA Finals Contenders: Boston Celtics & Oklahoma City Thunder

It may simply be a formality that Oklahoma City and Boston collide in the Finals, and there would be nothing wrong with that. The Thunder have firmly established themselves as the class of the Western Conference with a double-digit lead over the rest of the pack, and while the Celtics may be behind the Cavaliers for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, they only dropped three games en route to last year's title and would likely be favored to eliminate Cleveland should they square off in a best-of-seven series again. 

2025 NBA Finals Darkhorse: Denver Nuggets

Lest we forget that the Nuggets were crowned champions not all that long ago in 2023, and Nikola Jokic has proven to be the undisputed greatest player on the planet averaging a triple-double as he puts pressure on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Most Valuable Player race.

Now they haven't won at least three games in a row since Feb. 22, mind you, and the team as a whole has a bottom-five defense since the All-Star break, but Jokic has received some much-deserved rest during this stretch. If the roster is fully healthy heading into the playoffs, momentum or not, they'll be the biggest threat to the Thunder in terms of reaching the Finals and representing the West.

2025 NBA Finalists Odds

FinalistsOdds
Boston Celtics vs. Oklahoma City Thunder+190
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder+370
Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets+1100
Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers+1300
Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors+1500
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Denver Nuggets+1800
New York Knicks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder+2100
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Los Angeles Lakers+2200
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Los Angeles Lakers+2500
Boston Celtics vs. Minnesota Timberwolves+3500
Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Clippers+4300
Boston Celtics vs. Memphis Grizzlies+4500

Odds as of March 28, 2025 at FanDuel

2025 Exact NBA Finals Result Odds

Finals ResultOdds
Oklahoma City Thunder over Boston Celtics+470
Boston Celtics over Oklahoma City Thunder+470
Oklahoma City Thunder over Cleveland Cavaliers+690
Cleveland Cavaliers over Oklahoma City Thunder+890
Boston Celtics over Denver Nuggets+1600
Boston Celtics over Los Angeles Lakers+1950
Boston Celtics over Golden State Warriors+2100
Oklahoma City Thunder over New York Knicks+2800
Cleveland Cavaliers over Denver Nuggets+2900
Denver Nuggets over Boston Celtics+3000
Cleveland Cavaliers over Los Angeles Lakers+3700
Los Angeles Lakers over Boston Celtics+3800

Odds as of March 28, 2025 at FanDuel

NBA Championship Betting Strategy

Much of what formulates odds for NBA title contenders obviously stems from regular-season success. However, once the postseason comes and goes, how far a team advances can greatly impact the championship odds heading into next year before free agency and the draft gets underway.

What Impacts NBA Championship Odds?

  • Winning and losing streaks
  • Injuries to key players
  • Seeding in the standings
  • Win-loss records against specific opponents
  • Postseason success

How To Bet On NBA Futures

An NBA futures bet tends to revolve around the outcomes of both the regular season and playoffs as opposed to specific games the day of.

Here are some examples of some of the more popular futures bets:

Last 10 NBA Championship Winners

NBA Champions (2014-2024)
YearWinning TeamPreseason Odds To Win TitleOpponent In FinalsSeries
2024Boston Celtics+350Dallas Mavericks4-1
2023Denver Nuggets+1800Miami Heat4-1
2022Golden State Warriors+900Boston Celtics4-2
2021Milwaukee Bucks+550Phoenix Suns4-2
2020Los Angeles Lakers+450Miami Heat4-2
2019Toronto Raptors+1850Golden State Warriors4-2
2018Golden State Warriors-187Cleveland Cavaliers4-0
2017Golden State Warriors-128Cleveland Cavaliers4-1
2016Cleveland Cavaliers+280Golden State Warriors4-3
2015Golden State Warriors+2800Cleveland Cavaliers4-2

The Celtics' win in 2024 marked the sixth-different champion in as many years, a feat which hadn't been accomplished by the league since 1975-80.

The last team to win consecutive championships was the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. That capped off a 10-year run in which only five different teams (Warriors, Lakers, Mavericks, Cavaliers, and Spurs) won a title.

NBA Teams With The Most Championships

TeamNBA TitlesNBA Finals AppearancesMost Recent NBA Title
Boston Celtics18232024
Los Angeles Lakers17322020
Golden State Warriors7122022
Chicago Bulls661998
San Antonio Spurs562014
Philadelphia 76ers391983
Detroit Pistons372004
Miami Heat362013
New York Knicks281973
Milwaukee Bucks232021

Boston's 2024 win moved it past the Los Angeles Lakers for the most championship wins by a single franchise in league history. 

The Bulls are the most efficient, sweeping six titles during the 1990s, and the Warriors have the most recent title wins, with four in the last ten years.

NBA Teams That Have Never Appeared In A Finals

TeamNumber Of SeasonsFurthest Finish
Los Angeles Clippers49Western Conference Final (2021)
Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats30Eastern Conference Semifinals (1993, 1998, 2001, 2002)
Minnesota Timberwolves29Western Conference Final (2004)
Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies23Western Conference Final (2013)
New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans17Western Conference Semifinals (2008, 2018)

What a sad, sad list of teams. If you’re a fan of these squads, apologies in advance — your team (probably) isn’t breaking the curse this year. Never say never though! The Clippers and Pelicans have made exciting runs recently, we’re all rooting for them to make it eventually.

NBA Championship Odds Trends

  • Four of the last six NBA Finals have been decided in six games.
  • In the last 21 years, the Western Conference is 12-9 in NBA Finals.
  • Also over the past 21 years, the No. 1 seed has won the championship 13 times. Those are solid odds.
  • The lowest-seeded team to win the NBA Finals in recent history was the sixth-seed 1995 Houston Rockets.
  • Since 2010, the top team in the regular season has won the championship five times.

On this Page:

2025 NBA Finals odds
2025 NBA Finals Contenders: Boston Celtics & Oklahoma City Thunder
2025 NBA Finals Darkhorse: Denver Nuggets
2025 NBA Finalists Odds
2025 Exact NBA Finals Result Odds
NBA Championship Betting Strategy
Last 10 NBA Championship Winners
NBA Teams With The Most Championships
NBA Teams That Have Never Appeared In A Finals
NBA Championship Odds Trends
Back to Top