Northwest Division Odds for 2025-26 NBA Season (Thunder Open as Favorites Over Nuggets)

Breaking down the opening odds to win the Northwest Division in the 2025-26 NBA season with the defending champion Thunder set as favorites.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are favored to win their division. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Northwest Division is arguably the best division in the NBA, as it features the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves – three of the top teams in the odds to win the NBA Finals in the 2025-26 season.

In fact, OKC and Denver are No. 1 and No. 2 in the latest NBA Finals odds, but oddsmakers have set the defending champs as odds-on favorites to win the division in the 2025-26 season.

OKC nearly won 70 games in the 2024-25 campaign, and the team returns its entire rotation this season, only Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein may enter the campaign healthy and set to play more games than they did last year. 

Denver upgraded around MVP candidate Nikola Jokic, but is it enough for the team to compete with the Thunder for the best record in the West? 

Then, there’s Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves, who have made back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances. These teams all finished within a game of each other in the 2023-24 season, but will things be that close this season?

Here’s a look at the odds and the case for each squad to win the Northwest Division. 

NBA Northwest Division Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Oklahoma City Thunder: -390
• Denver Nuggets: +380
• Minnesota Timberwolves: +1600
• Portland Trail Blazers: +20000
• Utah Jazz: +60000

Oklahoma City Thunder

There’s no doubt that the Thunder deserve to be favored in this market after they posted a historic net rating in the 2024-25 season, led by the No. 1 defense in the NBA.

However, it is pretty surprising that at these -390 odds, the Thunder have an implied probability of 79.59 percent to win this division.

Oddsmakers clearly aren’t expecting an NBA Finals hangover from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company, and this OKC team is one of the deepest in the NBA. Still, this line shows just how big the perceived gap is between OKC and the rest of the Western Conference. 

Denver Nuggets

Denver made some upgrades in the offseason, adding Bruce Brown, Jonas Valanciunas and Tim Hardaway Jr. to bolster its bench unit while also trading Michael Porter Jr. in a deal for Cameron Johnson.

Nikola Jokic has more quality NBA talent to work with this season, and the Nuggets did take OKC to seven games in the second round of the playoffs. 

Since Jamal Murray usually misses some time and Aaron Gordon is coming off an injury-riddled season, Denver may have a hard time keeping up with a young Thunder team in the regular season. Still, it may be worth considering a Jokic-led team at this price. 

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves lost guard Nickeil-Alexander Walker this offseason, but they did retain both Julius Randle and Naz Reid.

Minnesota’s playoff floor is high after how well it’s played the last two seasons, but the regular season may be a grind for this team after it earned just the No. 6 seed in the West last season. Aging veterans like Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley may need some days off during the regular season, and Minnesota isn’t nearly as deep as OKC or even Denver. 

Unless Anthony Edwards has an MVP-caliber season, it’s likely Minnesota comes up short in this division. 

Portland Trail Blazers

Portland seems to be trying to win now after trading for Jrue Holiday, but it has a crowded guard rotation and some serious questions with some of its top young players – especially with Scoot Henderson out for at least a few weeks with a hamstring injury. 

Portland’s ceiling is likely the play-in tournament after it finished the 2024-25 season on a high note. There’s no way bettors should wager on this team in such a loaded division.  

Utah Jazz

The Jazz are once again trying to lose, as they moved all of their veterans – except Lauri Markkanen – in the offseason.

If Markkanen gets traded, there’s a real chance Utah finishes with less than 20 wins again in the 2025-26 season.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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