2025 NBA Championship Betting Odds: Celtics Regain Tiny Lead Over Thunder

The back and forth between the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder for the shortest betting odds in the race for the 2025 NBA championship continues, with the reigning titleholders regaining their spot atop the pecking order at +225 as of Tuesday, January 28, 2025.

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 Betting Favorite: Boston Celtics 

An 8-6 record in the month of January is fairly pedestrian by Boston's standards, but that comes with the territory when it's increasingly difficult to stay motivated around the midway point of the season when a deep run in the playoffs to repeat remains the end game. The Celtics have won three-straight games only once since just prior to Christmas Day, and the likelihood of them difficult with the Cleveland Cavaliers atop the standings.

Still, here the green and white brigade remains as one of the heavy favorites, likely due to oddsmakers knowing what they're capable of when it's time to hit the hardwood for a best-of-seven series. Boston dropped only three games en route to last year's championship, and while the competition may be fiercer this go around, it's still going to take a near flawless effort to bounce them when push comes to shove. 

2025 NBA Championship Contender: Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder dropping from the top spot means very little in the grand scheme of things, as they'll continue to trade places with the Celtics on a nightly basis until April and beyond. They've dropped two of their last five games, albeit both were at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, but take those games out of the equation and Oklahoma City has fallen only one other time since Dec. 19. 

Chet Holmgren's return to the starting lineup following his hip injury is coming sooner rather, which would make a defense which is allowing 3.5 fewer points per 100 possessions than every other team in basketball all the more formidable. 

2025 NBA Finalists Odds

Odds as of January 28, 2025 at FanDuel

2025 Exact NBA Finals Result Odds

Odds as of January 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