OKC Thunder's 2023-24 Championship Odds Prove Arrival

The Oklahoma City Thunder are beginning to gain respect from both the national media and Vegas odds.

Before every NBA season, odds for each 30 NBA teams to win the NBA championship are released this is based on their offseason moves, momentum from the season before and their potential to make their way to the Finals.

Before last season, when the Thunder brought in three new lottery picks, the Thunder held +50000 odds to win the NBA championship according to FanDuel. They weren't contenders at season's end, but they ended up being a postseason team, winning one play-in game before losing their second play-in game.

Point being, the Thunder weren't close to being a championship team, but they topped expectations and built momentum coming into this season.

With a rising young core and more young talent on the way, the Thunder are gaining respect. National media members are regarding them as a potential playoff team, and a night in, night out threat.

Coming into the upcoming season, with a healthy Chet Holmgren, lottery pick in Cason Wallace, All-NBA Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a rising young core, the Thunder hold +10000 odds to win an NBA championship.

Where sports betting is legal, fans can bet on the Thunder with the 19th best odds to win the NBA championship.

So, the Thunder are officially no longer bottom feeders. Instead of being predicted to be a bottom-five team and pushover team, they're now expected to find themselves either in the playoffs or the backend of the lottery.

This makes sense, though. The Thunder have the make and mold of a playoff team. They've got their bonafide star in Gilgeous-Alexander, coming off an All-NBA First Team appearance. Josh Giddey, Holmgren and Jalen Williams are all young players that complement Gilgeous-Alexander's game. And with a current roster crunch, the Thunder have a mix of a few vets and solid young talent as role players for the squad.

Sure, the Thunder could bring in a win-now second star, or they could remain patient, as they have this whole rebuild, and they could allow a currently rostered player grow into that second star.

Either way, the Thunder are finally catching the respect of national media and Vegas oddsmakers.

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