NBA Championship Odds & Favorites 2025: Thunder Favored After Taking Game 2
The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder opened the 2025 NBA Finals with fireworks. The Pacers took Game 1 with late-game heroics, but then the Thunder bounced back significantly in Game 2, and our best sports betting sites list them as NBA championship odds favorites.
The teams will reconvene at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City for Game 3 on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC). League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains the runaway favorite by the NBA Finals MVP odds, though Tyrese Haliburton has been a rising star for the Pacers all postseason long.
📊 Live NBA championship odds 2025
Our 2025 NBA championship odds update in real time based on the odds from our best sports betting apps.
NBA Finals betting insights
Here are some NBA Finals betting insights from BetMGM as of Monday, June 9.
- The spread for Game 3 has moved from -4.5 in favor of the Thunder to -5.5, with 61% of the bets and 64% of the handle on Oklahoma City
- The total has shifted from 227.5 to 228.5, with 69% of the bets and 86% of the handle on the Over
- There's unsurprisingly been significant movement tied to the NBA Finals MVP odds since the market opened, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander moving from +900 to -500, and Tyrese Haliburton shifting from +8000 to +650
- Haliburton is getting the highest ticket percentage at 17.3%, while Gilgeous-Alexander is receiving the highest handle at 20.7%
🤖 NBA championship AI prediction
Prior to the series starting, we asked ChatGPT to analyze historical trends and NBA stats before predicting the winner of this year's NBA Finals. Our AI prediction projects the Oklahoma City Thunder will win the NBA Finals.
🖥️ AI NBA championship prediction: Oklahoma City Thunder (-300)
🏀 League’s most complete team:
The Thunder finished with a league-best 68–14 record, ranking top-five in both offensive and defensive efficiency - a hallmark shared by nearly every champion in the past two decades
🏀 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP-level impact:
SGA averaged 32.7 points per game this season while winning NBA MVP - he's the favorite for Finals MVP at -556, too, with him putting up 29.8 points and 6.9 assists in the postseason - and he's a complete game changer for OKC in the NBA Finals
🏀 Elite depth and defensive versatility:
Oklahoma City features one of the deepest rotations in the league with Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Lu Dort providing rim protection, spacing, and perimeter lockdown defense, giving them matchup flexibility across the playoffs
🤔 Betting takeaway: ChatGPT's AI prediction would mean the Thunder (-300 via DraftKings) winning their first NBA Finals. ChatGPT is a large language model and not specifically designed for predicting sporting events, so these projections should be viewed as entertainment or a supplementary data point for your NBA Finals betting research.
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🎯 AI long shot NBA championship prediction
🏎️ Pacers (+550)
🏀 Dynamic offense: The Pacers boast one of the league's most potent offenses, orchestrated by All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, with his playmaking and scoring abilities being instrumental in the team's success, providing a consistent offensive threat
🏀 Playoff performances: Indiana has demonstrated resilience and cohesion in the playoffs, especially against the New York Knicks, and leads the playoffs in key offensive metrics, including field goal percentage, 3-point shooting, and assist-to-turnover ratio
🏀 Underrated depth: Beyond their star players, the Pacers have a well-rounded roster with contributors who can impact the game on both ends of the floor, and this depth allows for strategic flexibility and the capacity to adapt to various matchups
📊 NBA Finals MVP odds 2025
NBA Finals MVP odds from our best sportsbooks.
🔢 NBA championship opening odds
- Celtics: +310
- Nuggets: +750
- Mavericks: +950
- Thunder: +950
- Bucks: +1000
- Timberwolves: +1000
- Knicks: +1600
- 76ers: +1600
- Clippers: +2000
- Warriors: +2500
- Lakers: +2500
- Suns: +2500
- Heat: +3500
- Grizzlies: +4000
- Cavaliers: +5000
- Pacers: +5000
- Pelicans: +5000
- Magic: +5000
- Kings: +5000
- Hawks: +10000
- Rockets: +10000
- Spurs: +10000
- Bulls: +15000
- Raptors: +25000
- Jazz: +25000
- Nets: +50000
- Hornets: +50000
- Pistons: +50000
- Trail Blazers: +50000
- Wizards: +50000
❓ NBA Championship FAQs
Who is favored to win the 2025 NBA championship?
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the favorites to win the 2025 NBA championship at -300. Those odds imply a probability of 75% that the Thunder will lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Who won the NBA Finals last year?
The Boston Celtics won last year's NBA Finals, defeating the Dallas Mavericks in five games.
When will the 2025 NBA Finals be decided?
Game 2 of the NBA Finals tips off Sunday at 8 p.m. ET and will run through June 22 at the latest.
When's the last time an NBA team won back-to-back titles?
The last time an NBA team went back-to-back was when the Golden State Warriors won the championship in 2017 and 2018.
Who is the favorite to win the 2025 NBA Finals MVP?
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite to win NBA Finals MVP. His odds are -280, which imply a 73.68% win probability.
Who won the NBA Finals MVP last year?
Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown won NBA Finals MVP last year. Brown's shortest odds of -240 before Boston's series-clinching Game 5 win implied a 70.59% win probability.
💰 NBA betting odds pages
💵 Best NBA betting sites
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