Oddsmakers haven't wavered all season in having both the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder as the betting favorites to capture the 2025 NBA championship, although the Cleveland Cavaliers (+500) and Los Angeles Lakers (+600) are right behind, while the Denver Nuggets (+1400) and Golden State Warriors (+1400) each have greater than 20-to-1 odds as of March 11.

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

2025 NBA Championship odds

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2025 NBA Championship Contenders: Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder

Both Boston and Oklahoma City have established themselves as the teams to beat in both conferences, and that's with all due respect to the Cleveland Cavaliers who own a better win-loss record than the Celtics and just defeated them at TD Garden on Feb. 28. The basketball world awaits what Cleveland is capable of in the playoffs, so for now, Boston gets the edge having won last year's title with just three losses along the way.

The Thunder are a full 11 games ahead of the field in the West, as well, and are allowing 3.3 fewer points per 100 possessions than any other team across the Association with a defensive rating of 106.1. A Celtics-Thunder Finals is still the most likely scenario, with the two teams set to play each other on March 12, but with parity at its strongest, the better value would be looking elsewhere.

2025 NBA Championship Darkhorse: Golden State Warriors (+1400)

As a TNT analyst over All-Star Weekend, Draymond Green proclaimed to the basketball world that the Warriors were going to become champions once again, especially after acquiring Jimmy Butler ahead of the trade deadline. Now at 14-to-1 odds, Green's projection doesn't seem nearly as asinine, as Golden State has gone 12-1 with Butler aboard.

The Warriors are holding onto the sixth seed in the Western Conference with a half game lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves, which would keep them out of the play-in tournament. With the new-look roster owning the fifth-best offense and third-best defense during this stretch, Golden State's ceiling has raised significantly making it a solid sleeper pick to make some serious noise in the postseason. 

2025 NBA Finalists Odds

Odds as of March 11, 2025 at FanDuel

2025 Exact NBA Finals Result Odds

Odds as of March 11, 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