NBA Championship Odds 2026: Can Cooper Flagg Help Mavericks Win the NBA Finals?

Dallas opened within the top 10 of the early title odds after winning the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday.

Rob Paul

Last updated: May 13, 2025 8:03 PM EDT • 5 min read

NBA Championship Odds 2025-26 — Pictured: Duke's Cooper Flagg reacts after making a last-second shot against Arizona. Photo by Robert Deutsch via Imagn Images.

While the NBA playoffs rage on, our best sports betting sites have already released the 2026 NBA championship odds with the usual suspects leading the pack in the Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, and Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Dallas Mavericks also opened with the ninth-shortest title odds after winning the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday, which means Duke superstar Cooper Flagg will almost certainly be headed to the Big D next year. That comes after the franchise was trending toward disarray after general manager Nico Harrison controversially traded Luka Doncic in his prime to the Los Angeles Lakers.

With Flagg serving as the new face of the franchise, could the Mavericks actually make some noise in the 2025-26 season?

📊 NBA championship odds 2026

Our 2026 NBA championship odds via DraftKings.

Thunder: +200
Celtics: +370
Cavaliers: +1100
Timberwolves: +1200
Knicks: +1400
Nuggets: +1400
Rockets: +1600
Lakers: +2000
Warriors: +2500
Mavericks: +2500
Pacers: +2500
Spurs: +2500

Each product featured on our website has been meticulously researched and selected by our team of experts. If you sign up through our links, we may get a commission.

🐎 Mavericks' championship odds (+2500)

Oh, how things have changed over the last year for the Mavericks. Less than 12 months ago, Dallas was playing in the NBA Finals thanks to the dominance of Doncic. Now he's playing in L.A. while the Mavericks front office just got saved by the NBA draft lottery.

When the 2025 NBA championship odds opened last year, Dallas was dealing at +950 odds - the third-shortest in the NBA behind just the Celtics and Denver Nuggets. At the time, Doncic was viewed as the next face of the league and set to bring Dallas a title alongside Kyrie Irving. So, can Flagg do what Doncic didn't get the chance to for the Mavericks with far longer odds?

This is all working under the assumption Harrison and Co. will draft Flagg at No. 1, which would be a foregone conclusion if any of the other 29 teams had the top pick in the NBA draft. But with Harrison, anything is possible. The man traded a 26-year-old five-time first-team All-NBA superstar whose career averages are 28.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game with 57.1 win shares to his name.

Jokes aside, there's no way Flagg won't be the pick, and for as bad as the end of the season went for Dallas, this roster is built to win now if the former No. 1 recruit is as good as we all expect him to be. Flagg's versatility and length allow him to play one through four, and with Kyrie Irving on the mend, Flagg may end up being Dallas' primary ball handler early in the season.

Once Irving returns from his torn ACL, we're looking at a starting five of Irving, Flagg, P.J. Washington, Anthony Davis, and Dereck Lively II with Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, Daniel Gafford, Max Christie, and Jaden Hardy off the bench. That's not a bad 10-deep rotation.

Winning the title, though, would mean Flagg needing to immediately be an MVP-level player as a rookie in a Western Conference loaded with actual NBA MVP odds contenders. Don't set your expectations that high, but get ready for one heck of a battle in the Southwest Division this year with Flagg joining the likes of Victor Wembanyama, Alperen Sengun, Zion Williamson, and Ja Morant.

🏆 2026 NBA championship favorites

🌩️ Thunder (+200)

Unsurprisingly, the Thunder opened as the favorites to win the NBA Finals next season after putting together a 68-14 record in 2024-25 behind the MVP play of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. OKC should be among the favorites to win the title for at least the next half decade with Mark Daigneault as bench boss and the core of SGA, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Lu Dort - none of whom are unrestricted free agents until 2027-28.

While it's hard to bet against a team this strong, these odds imply a 33.33% probability the Thunder will win the title next season. Betting them now at just +200 doesn't seem like good value, especially while we're watching them struggle against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

🍀 Celtics (+370)

The Celtics' immediate future is cloudy following the injury to Jayson Tatum in Game 4 against the New York Knicks. He had the second-shortest NBA Finals MVP odds prior to his gut-wrenching injury on Tuesday, and there's a chance he'll be out all of next season after undergoing surgery to repair his torn Achilles tendon.

However, the team does have one of the league's best coaches in Joe Mazzulla, last year's NBA Finals MVP in Jaylen Brown, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year in Payton Pritchard, and savvy veterans like Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick White. Can that core hold the Celtics together until Tatum is back? Or will the six-time All-Star ever return to the level he was at pre-injury?

⚔️ Cavaliers (+1100)

The No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference this season thanks to the hiring of Kenny Atkinson as head coach, the Cavaliers have been exposed in the NBA playoffs by the Indiana Pacers. Still, this team looks poised to be right there with Boston and the New York Knicks atop the East for the next few seasons thanks to a loaded starting lineup led by Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.

Mitchell, Mobley, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, De'Andre Hunter, and Max Strus are all under contract until 2027-28, so expect Cleveland to be one of the top NBA championship contenders for the next two seasons. And when it comes to the three biggest favorites to win the title in 2026, these odds are far more palatable than OKC and Boston's, with a $10 winning bet paying a $110 profit.

💰 NBA betting odds pages

NBA Finals Odds	NBA Defensive Player of the Year Odds	NBA Clutch Player of the Year Odds
NBA MVP Odds	NBA Sixth Man of the Year Odds	NBA Cup Odds
NBA Rookie of the Year Odds	NBA Most Improved Player Odds	NBA Win Totals
NBA Finals MVP Odds	NBA Coach of the Year Odds	FIBA World Cup Odds
NBA Play-In Tournament Odds

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Written By:
Rob Paul

Rob is a Publishing Editor at Sportsbook Review. He’s been with the team since early 2024, with this being his first full-time role in the sports betting industry. Before joining SportsbookReview.com, he contributed to various sports outlets, including FanSided and Pro Football Network. During that period, he spent five years working full-time as a local community journalist, after attending Durham College for journalism and Wilfrid Laurier University for history. He previously hosted an NFL draft and college football-focused podcast where he had the opportunity to interact with future NFL players such as Maxx Crosby and Quinn Meinerz. Rob has spent multiple years working as a freelance podcast producer for numerous sports-related podcasts while making guest appearances on several college football shows. He’s also made guest appearances on SportsTalk Mississippi on several occasions to talk all things NFL draft. Rob values the way sports betting acts as a catalyst for telling stories and growing interest in certain sports, particularly FCS football, WNBA, and mid-major college basketball. He’s always been drawn to the more obscure teams and conferences in major college sports, but most of all, Rob loves using stats to find the best player props to back.