NBA Finals Odds at All-Star Break: Thunder, Nuggets, Cavs Highlight Top Contenders

All-Star Weekend in the NBA is behind us after an exciting All-Star tournament on Sunday night, and now the focus turns to the stretch run of the 2025-26 NBA season.

The playoffs, especially in the Western Conference, are going to be extremely exciting to watch, as there’s a chance that some of the top teams in the NBA Finals odds could match up as early as the first round.

Only two teams – the Oklahoma City Thunder (+130) and Denver Nuggets (+450) have shorter than 10/1 odds to win the Finals this season, as the Eastern Conference remains wide open with Jayson Tatum (Achilles) potentially returning for the Boston Celtics later on in the campaign.

Over the final weeks of the regular season, focusing on the positive storylines in the NBA – and not the negative ones about tanking – should help fans and bettors prepare for the playoffs. It seems like Oklahoma City and Detroit are poised to land the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences, but the rest of the standings in each conference could fluctuate in a big way, especially if a surprise team gets hot over the final weeks.

Right now, the No. 2 through No. 5 seeds in the East are all within 3.5 games of each other while the No. 3 through No. 7 seeds in the West are all within three games of each other.

With everyone in the NBA off the next few days (action resumes on Thursday, Feb. 19), here’s a look at where the NBA Finals odds stand.

NBA Championship Odds for Every Team

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Oklahoma City Thunder: +130
Denver Nuggets: +450
Cleveland Cavaliers: +1200
New York Knicks: +1300
Detroit Pistons: +1500
Boston Celtics: +1500
San Antonio Spurs: +1600
Houston Rockets: +2200
Los Angeles Lakers: +3500
Minnesota Timberwolves: +3500
Philadelphia 76ers: +4000
Golden State Warriors: +12000
Orlando Magic: +12000
Charlotte Hornets: +20000
Miami Heat: +20000
Toronto Raptors: +25000
Phoenix Suns: +25000
Los Angeles Clippers: +40000
Atlanta Hawks: +60000
Milwaukee Bucks: +100000
Portland Trail Blazers: +150000
Dallas Mavericks: +200000
Chicago Bulls: +250000
Memphis Grizzlies: +300000
Utah Jazz: +400000
New Orleans Pelicans: +400000
Sacramento Kings: +500000
Washington Wizards: +500000
Brooklyn Nets: +500000
Indiana Pacers: +500000

Thunder Favored to Win the NBA Finals

Even though Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) has been out of the lineup recently, the Thunder remain the No. 1 team in the odds to win the NBA Finals.

OKC is attempting to become the first back-to-back champion since the Golden State Warriors in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, but it won’t be easy. The Thunder have struggled against the No. 2-seeded San Antonio Spurs this season (1-4), and they’ve come back to earth after a crazy 24-1 start to the season, going 18-13 in their last 31 games.

The Thunder still lead the NBA in net rating (+11.5) and defensive rating (106.3), but they may not have a ton of value at +130 when they’ll have to face some really tough opponents during the Western Conference playoffs.

Nuggets Health a Question Ahead of NBA Playoffs

The Denver Nuggets are second in the odds to win the NBA Finals, but health has held them back in the 2025-26 season. Denver is the No. 3 seed in the West at the All-Star break, but Nikola Jokic, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and others have all missed significant time.

On one hand, it’s a positive that Denver is still 35-20 and has the best offensive rating in the NBA. However, Gordon (hamstring) is out of the lineup again, and if he’s unable to play at his maximum capacity in the playoffs, the Nuggets aren’t nearly as dangerous.

The other issue for Denver is the lack of continuity it has had night to night with its lineups. All of the inquiries have thrust players into different roles, and former first-round pick Peyton Watson (currently injured) is one of the guys that has stepped up in a major way this season. However, what does his role look like with everyone healthy?

Hopefully, Denver will be able to figure out its rotations down the stretch of the regular season, but it needs its core group to play meaningful minutes together ahead of the playoffs, especially if it ends up facing Minnesota in the first round and San Antonio in the second round (how the current standings would work out), come playoff time.

Who Should Be Favored in the Eastern Conference?

The Eastern Conference appears to have four true contenders with the Philadelphia 76ers (+4000) looming as a fifth team.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the top contenders heading into the unofficial second half of the season:

Detroit Pistons (+1500)

Detroit is running away with the No. 1 seed in the East, and it has the No. 2 defense in the league this season. Cade Cunningham is a true No. 1 option, but the Pistons’ biggest issue is their lack of secondary scoring around him. Will that come back to bite them in a playoff series?

Detroit has dominated some of the contenders in the East – especially the Knicks – in the regular season so far, but this core has yet to win a playoff series yet. I don’t mind the Pistons at this price, but the offensive questions are worth considering when thinking about playoff basketball, where teams play more grind-it-out games in the half court.

Cleveland Cavaliers (+1200)

After a slow, slow start to the season, the Cavs may be peaking at the right time. Cleveland has won nine of its last 10 and five in a row to pull within 1.5 games of the No. 2 seed in the East.

The Cavs seem to be all in on the Donovan Mitchell-James Harden pairing after their trade deadline moves, and they’ve surged to fifth in the NBA in offensive rating and eighth in defensive rating. This core has yet to make it past the second round, but it’s possible Harden could be the piece that puts them over the edge. The only problem? Harden has struggled in big games in the playoffs in the past, including a no-show performance in Game 7 of the first round against Denver last season.

New York Knicks (+1300)

The Knicks may have the best “A game” in the Eastern Conference, but consistency has been a major issue. New York suffered two awful blowout losses against the Pistons earlier in the season, and it has been up and down on the defensive end. Recently, the defense has been great, ranking No. 1 in the league over its last 10 games. That’s moved the Knicks to 11th in defensive rating overall this season.

At the end of the day, the Knicks have a core that has made an Eastern Conference Finals before, something that some of the other contenders in the East can’t say.

Boston Celtics (+1500)

Boston’s viability as a title contender rests on the potential return of Jayson Tatum. While the C’s have outperformed expectations this season – they currently hold the No. 2 seed in the East – they also suffered a brutal loss to the Knicks recently where their lack of creation on offense was exposed.

If Tatum returns, Boston may be the favorite to come out of the East, but he’ll need to look more like the Jayson Tatum of old and not a player coming off a major injury (which he is). The C’s have an elite offense, led by Jaylen Brown, but their record against teams .500 or better (15-12) is a little cause for concern if you’re expecting them to win multiple playoff series without Tatum.

The next few weeks should be interesting for the C’s if the All-NBA forward does plan to come back in the 2025-26 campaign.

Spurs Undervalued in NBA Finals Odds

Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs have been one of the few teams that has been able to give the Thunder trouble this season, and they have a pretty interesting formula for playoff basketball.

Not only is Wemby one of the top– if not the best – two-way players in the world, but the Spurs have a bunch of talent at the guard position that has been a nightmare to defend for several teams. San Antonio is just 3.5 games out of the No. 1 seed in the West, and if SGA misses any more time, it’s not crazy to think that the Spurs could take that top spot.

This team is young and has not competed in the playoffs yet as a group, but San Antonio has undoubtedly been better than the No. 2 through No. 4 seeds in the East. Yet, it’s priced behind all of them in the Finals odds.

Dark Horse to Watch in NBA Finals Odds

Minnesota Timberwolves (+3500)

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been up and down in the 2025-26 season, losing some games to some bad teams while also playing at a high level against teams like Oklahoma City, Denver and others.

They’re currently the No. 6 seed in the West, but they’ve made back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference Finals, which is more than Denver can say, even though it won the title back in 2023.

Anthony Edwards is one of the best playoff performers in the league, and this Timberwolves team fixed its biggest hole at guard by adding Ayo Dosunmu at the deadline. The Wolves are far from the favorite in the West, but they are an intriguing bet at +3500 given their recent track record in the playoffs.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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