The 20226 NBA resumes after the All-Star Break this week. The big question is if the Oklahoma City Thunder can end this 7-year drought without a repeat champion? Repeating was once common in the NBA, and these Thunder have some of the best NBA Finals odds to repeat since the Golden State Warriors last did so in 2018.
Let’s look at the current NBA Finals odds for the 2026 season from BetOnline along with some of the best futures bets to make before opening tip-off.
At Bookmakers Review, you can always view the latest NBA Finals odds for the 2026 season. The table shows each team’s opening odds, which is where things stood before the season started.
The higher the number, the bigger longshot the team is to win the championship. So, teams with +50000 odds have virtually no realistic shot to win the championship this year. The longest known preseason odds for an NBA champion is +2800 by the 2014-15 Warriors.
But the Pacers last year were +6600 before the season and made it to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, so there can be value in taking a longshot. Just don’t go crazy with the odds.
Teams with smaller odds (+225 to +1600) are much more likely to win the championship this year. You can view the odds from various offshore sportsbooks in the table, making it easy to find the one offering the best price for the team you want to bet on.
Like we said above, you want to focus on a team with a track record of success that’s +2800 or better to win the NBA Finals at the start of the season. That doesn’t leave many contenders to pick from, but that’s just the reality of the NBA. Find a team with a solid coach, a Big 3 (or deeper) roster, and a Hall of Fame-caliber leading player. That’s the team likely to win it all.
Let’s look at some of the best bets available before the 2025-26 NBA season starts, including those favorites from OKC.
The Thunder are a strong favorite to repeat as they re-signed their young core to record deals, and they are not a one-year wonder. This team already won the Western Conference No. 1 seed in each of the last 2 years, and their style of dominating turnovers is sustainable because of their youthful energy and pressure on the ball. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also at his peak and seemingly gets better every year after winning MVP and Finals MVP last season.
Jalen Williams is only in his 4th season and looked like a superstar in the making in the postseason. Coach Mark Daigneault has built something special, and the team brought back a lot of glue guys like Alex Caruso and Luguentz Dort.
The Thunder will be a tough out in the postseason. They are a good bet at these odds, even though it’s an expensive price.
The team most likely to beat Oklahoma City may be the one that nearly beat them in the semifinals. The Nuggets were one quarter away from taking a 3-1 lead before a disastrous finish to that game, then they were eventually blown out in Game 7.
But when you have the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic, who could have won the last 5 MVP awards, anything is possible. The Nuggets have cut some dead weight on the roster like Russell Westbrook and Michael Porter Jr. while bringing back Bruce Brown from their 2023 championship squad. Guard Christian Braun also showed big improvement in his 3rd year, and Aaron Gordon will hopefully be healthier in the playoffs this time.
The Nuggets are a solid choice at these odds as they have the experienced playoff core that can handle a team like the Thunder as well as anyone else in the West. Jokic is also having another MVP-caliber year.
The Spurs have taken the next step this season. Heading into the All-Star Break, this team has an impressive 38-16 record. Victor Wembanyama has lived up to the hype, establishing himself as a generational superstar.
What’s also intriguing here is that the Spurs have had success against the Thunder at times this year, even beating them in the NBA Cup.
Perhaps Wemby is exactly the type of player to lead his team over the Thunder.
At +1300 odds, you have to like the price here. The Spurs are my best bet to win the NBA Championship because they’re a much better value than the Nuggets right now.
In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers finished with the No .1 seed last year (64-18) but lost in the semifinals to some wild comebacks by the Indiana Pacers.
The Cavs could be poised for a big second half, as the addition of James Harden could help take them to another level. They just need Donovan Mitchell to turn it up a notch in the playoffs.
But Mitchell has never advanced past the semifinals, so if he can’t make it happen this year, it may just not be in the cards for him. The Cavaliers are not our favorite pick at these odds in the Eastern Conference, but they are a team to keep an eye on given their recent success and strong balance.
The start of the season is a great time to make NBA bets at offshore sportsbooks like Bovada. You could bet on the Thunder to repeat or take a chance on the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Finals. New users can take advantage of welcome offers to get bonus bets to bet on NBA markets this week like spreads, totals, and player props.
Timing is everything in sports betting, so for futures markets like NBA Finals odds, it’s good to get in some bets early in the season before the lines start moving significantly.
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.