2025 NBA Final Odds: NBA Championship Odds
Feb 25 | 2025
The NBA trade deadline and All-Star Break has come and gone, which can only mean one thing: the stretch run is here. While the NBA playoffs are a three-month marathon, thanks to every round being punctuated by a seven-game series, the NBA Finals still stand out as one of the best sporting events in America, rivaled only by the Super Bowl and World Series.
And this year’s road to the Finals should be a lot of fun thanks to an NBA landscape filled with parity. And with that landscape in mind, here’s a look at the five teams with the best odds to win the Finals.
All odds are via FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change.
NBA Finals Odds
Boston Celtics (+170)
A year after winning the 18th championship in franchise history, the Celtics are the favorite to win the championship this year. Boston cruised through the regular season last year and defeated the upstart Dallas Mavericks in the Finals last year, but went through a bit of a championship hangover at the beginning of the season, which led to their championship odds dipping a bit (they opened the season at +300 at some sportsbooks).
That said, they’ve gone 16-7 in early 2025 and begun to look like they’ve gotten their championship swagger back. Both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were All-Stars and are averaging more than 20 points per game, while Kristaps Prozingis is averaging 19.2 points per game and shooting 39% from 3-point range after getting a slow start to the season due to injury.
The biggest roadblock to Boston’s path to a championship could be its conference standing. Boston will likely enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed, which means if the season ended today, they’d have to play the Knicks or Pistons in the second round. Still, even that might not be enough to stop them.
Oklahoma City Thunder (+210)
The Western Conference team with the best odds of winning the Championship, the Thunder, have opened their championship window wide this year thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP-caliber season (NBA-leading 32.3 points per game, 6.1 assists).
The Thunder — currently the No. 1 seed in the West — are one of the biggest risers in the NBA (they started at +1000) thanks to a team built to succeed in the modern NBA. They have a dynamic point guard who is comfortable with the ball in his hands (Gilgeous-Alexander), a versatile big man who is finally healthy (Chet Holmgren), and a supporting cast filled with long wings who can shoot and play defense (Jalen Williams, Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort).
The Western Conference is incredibly deep, but the Thunder have risen above.
Cleveland Cavaliers (+750)
The top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers sit at 47-10 after they started the season on a 15-game winning streak.
The Cavs have two players averaging more than 20 points per game (Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland) along with Evan Mobley, who’s taking a big leap this season (18.7 ppg, 9.3 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game).
But the biggest change for the Cavaliers is the new man at the helm, as the Cavaliers dumped previous coach J.B. Bickerstaff in favor of Kenny Atkinson, who previously coached the Nets.
But, according to the sportsbooks, that still won’t be enough for the Cavaliers to get past the Celtics. The Cavs added some more size to the wing with the additions of De’Andre Hunter and Javonte Green, but there’s some concern about whether that’ll be enough to get past Tatum and the Celtics.
The Cavs will likely finish the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the East and have the best path to a championship, but it remains to be seen if that’ll be a big enough advantage.
Denver Nuggets (+1300)
The No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, the Nuggets have overcome a rough start to the season and appear to be entering their stride as the season enters its stretch run.
The biggest thing working in the Nugget’s favor is the presence of Nikola Jokić, who could win the fourth MVP of his career. Jokić is averaging a triple-double for the first time in his career (29.4 ppg, 12.7 rpg, and 10.2 apg) while continuing to hold his own on the defensive end.
They’ve also benefited from the strong play of point guard Jamal Murray, who seems fully recovered from the torn ACL that caused him to miss the 2021-22 season.
Murray’s averaged 22.7 points per game since Jan. 1 on 50% shooting from the field and 41% shooting from 3-point range and is averaging a career-high 36 minutes per game. Taking down the Thunder seems to be a Herculean task, but if anyone’s up for it, it’s Jokić.
New York Knicks (+1500)
The Knicks added versatile big man Karl Anthony-Towns in the offseason, which has led to them emerging as the No. 3 seed in the East behind the Knicks and Celtics. But, according to Vegas, they’re still pretty far off when it comes to their chances of winning the Finals.
They have a strong lead guard in Jalen Brunson (26 points per game) and are getting reinforcements back in the form of OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson… but it’s clear they’re still in a different league than the rest of the contenders.
The rest of the world got another reminder of that last weekend when the Celtics beat the Knicks 118-105 at TD Garden in Boston. With the loss, the Knicks fell to 0-7 against teams with a winning percentage better than .700. They seem destined to be one and done in the postseason.
The Best of the Rest
- Los Angeles Lakers (+2000)
- Memphis Grizzlies (+3500)
- Milwaukee Bucks (+4500)
- Golden State Warriors (+4500)
- Los Angeles Clippers (+5500)
All of these teams are sitting near the top of their conference standings except for the Golden State Warriors, the No. 9 seed in the West and would be in the Play-In. The Lakers’ odds increased drastically after they traded for Luka Dončić at the trade deadline, while the Bucks’ odds have risen since a slow start to the season.
- Los Angeles Lakers (+2000)
- Memphis Grizzlies (+3500)
- Milwaukee Bucks (+4500)
- Golden State Warriors (+4500)
- Los Angeles Clippers (+5500)
All of these teams are sitting near the top of their conference standings except for the Golden State Warriors, the No. 9 seed in the West and would be in the Play-In. The Lakers’ odds increased drastically after they traded for Luka Dončić at the trade deadline, while the Bucks’ odds have risen since a slow start to the season.
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