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

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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

Odds as of March 28, 2025 at FanDuel

2025 Exact NBA Finals Result Odds

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?

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

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

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

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