NBA Finals Odds Tighten as League Returns from All-Star Game

The NBA’s controversial All-Star Game, rumors of stars returning to the Slam Dunk contest, and an absent star dominated headlines over the weekend—but with the league returning to its regular programming on Wednesday, odds to win the NBA Finals are back at the center of the conversation.

The Boston Celtics are favored to repeat as NBA champions. The spry Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t far behind, but the biggest domino remains the LeBron James and Luka Doncic-led Los Angeles Lakers. 

There are only two months until the NBA playoffs begin and four months until a new champion is crowned. And to paraphrase Michal Buffer, it’s time to rumble.

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Head to FanDuel to place your bets: Bet $5, Get up to $1,000 in Bet Resets

2025 NBA Finals Odds: The Top Contenders

The Celtics (+195) at FanDuel and Thunder (+220) at FanDuel are the obvious favorites to win the title and go about their business in similar ways.

While Boston’s focus is centered on dominating the three-point line and OKC’s is on suffocating the life out of their opponents, both are stocked with two-way players that impact the game whether they have the ball or not. Both teams have deep benches, are efficient, and trust their coaches.

In no-man’s land are the Cleveland Cavaliers, who, like the Celtics, take and make a ton of threes per game (16.2 threes per game - second). They lead the league in two- and three-point percentage, are also elite off the bench, and have tons of size in their frontcourt, giving them recurring situational matchup avantages.

The New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, and Lakers lead a three-team third-tier of contenders in NBA Finals odds, followed by six teams that range from +3200 to +5000 in Finals odds. 

If there’s a lesson to be learned from the 2023-24 NBA Season, it’s that odds to win the NBA Finals aren’t written in stone. All four of the conference finalists finished the year in the top nine for league-wide post-All-Star break record. That included the Celtics (21-6), Dallas Mavericks (18-9), Minnesota Timberwolves (17-10), and Indiana Pacers (16-10).

Notably, the Mavericks and Pacers did not make the top 10 in league-wide standings before the All-Star break, suggesting there are currently “sleeper” teams that will shoot up in NBA Finals odds during the business half of the season.

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Which Teams Will Rise in NBA Championship Odds?

Two teams stand out from a value perspective in NBA futures odds: the Pacers and Houston Rockets.

Indy is fifth in odds to win NBA Eastern Conference and finished as the conference runner-up last year. They’re +3600 in odds to win the East but are all the way down at +12000 in odds to win the NBA Finals.

That’s significant since the Orlando Magic are behind them in conference odds but ahead in NBA Finals odds. The Philadelphia 76ers are also two spots below Indy in conference odds but have the same odds to win the NBA Finals.

Out west, the Rockets are eighth in odds to win the conference (+2100). That’s despite them sitting fourth in the conference standings and having respectable NBA Finals odds of +6000.

The takeaway? Indy to win the NBA Finals and Houston to win the West have value-based advantages. 

Then there’s the matter of finding the teams that will finish the year strong. 

The Lakers entered the All-Star break winning 12 of their last 15 games. The Golden State Warriors (+4800 Finals odds) went 3-1 with Jimmy Butler on the court, and the Los Angeles Clippers (+3900 Finals odds) had the sixth-best net rating outside of garbage time during the 30 days leading up to the All-Star Game. 

The Milwaukee Bucks and 76ers also have theoretical championship potential despite their performances falling well below that standard. For Philly, the issue has largely been injuries, while the Bucks first struggled to blend Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard and have been awful in clutch time.

Here’s the list of teams with competitive NBA Finals odds.

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Odds to Win the 2025 NBA Finals

• Boston Celtics (+195)

• Oklahoma City Thunder (+220)

• Cleveland Cavaliers (+850)

• New York Knicks (+1300)

• Denver Nuggets (+1400)

• Los Angeles Lakers (+1800)

• Memphis Grizzlies (+3200)

• Milwaukee Bucks (+3300)

• Los Angeles Clippers (+3900)

• Golden State Warriors (+4800)

• Dallas Mavericks (+5000)

• Minnesota Timberwolves (+5000)

• Houston Rockets (+6000)

• Orlando Magic (+1000)

• Indiana Pacers (+12000)

• Philadelphia 76ers (+12000)

• Phoenix Suns (+12000)

• San Antonio Spurs (+15000)

• Miami Heat (+28000)

• Sacramento Kings (+42000)

• Detroit Pistons (+75000)

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