Five Teams That Could Dethrone the Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder now have targets on their backs as they look to defend just the second title in franchise history — and other teams are lurking.
Big Dark Horses
Having finished the 2024-25 regular season with a league- and franchise-best record of 68-14, the Oklahoma City Thunder were not expected to have too many forks in the road en route to the 2024-25 NBA title. There were, but they did.
So, after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in four NBA playoff games, the pesky speed bumps arrived. It was a seven-game, second-round series against the Denver Nuggets, then a relatively easy disposal (five games) of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the final of the Western Conference (despite losing that one game by 42 points).
A Finals engagement with the Indiana Pacers was supposed to be nothing more than a formality. Indy didn’t read that memo; however, it took the Thunder to seven games. The gruesome (and well-documented) torn right Achilles injury suffered by Tyrese Haliburton in Game 7 may not have altered the outcome, but it certainly made the Thunder’s task easier.
The franchise’s second NBA title came after the beloved Seattle SuperSonics won in 1979.
OKC silenced those critics about its substandard performance in the postseason. It lost in the Western semis last season and hadn’t reached even a conference final since the 2015-16 season. There was one other (2012) Finals appearance, a loss (five games) to the Miami Heat.
Bettors who took the minuscule (-660) price on OKC at the outset of the Finals cashed, but not without a few antacid moments.
Turning to 2025-26, it’s no surprise to find the Thunder as 11-4 (+275) late-July favorites to repeat, according to NBA championship futures odds. The second choice is a four-headed ‘uncoupled entry’ (horse-racing parlance) of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Kevin Durant-infused Houston Rockets, and New York Knicks, all at 8-1 (+800).
Next, both the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers, along with the Minnesota Timberwolves, sit at 16-1 (+1400).
Here’s a primer on the NBA champ Oklahoma City Thunder, now with targets on their backs …
Who Is Favored to Win the NBA Championship in 2025-26?
It’s not quite Thunder games vs. the field, but the OKC champs were solid favorites to win the title last season and this season as well.
As was mentioned, with July about to turn into August, it’s the Thunder as 11-4 (+275) choices to successfully defend their title. There’s a barbershop quartet (Cleveland, Denver, Houston, and New York) at 8-1 (+800).
Who Is the Oldest Player Ever to Win an NBA Championship?
He was ‘The Chief’ as one of the cornerstones of the Boston Celtics during their Larry Bird/Kevin McHale-led heydays of the 1980s into the early 90s. Robert Parish manned the pivot with distinction over a 21-year, Hall of Fame career, playing a remarkable 1,611 games.
That’s an all-time league record. Parish was a three-time champ (1981, 1984, 1986) with the Celts, but NBA news also remembers him winning a fourth title with Michael Jordan and the 1997 Chicago Bulls. Though not the force he was with the Celtics, Parish nevertheless contributed to the cause, earning his fourth title in his swan-song season at the age of 43,
Does BetUS Offer Constant Updates on NBA Game Betting Lines?
Indeed. There is wagering on individual games, as well as additional props involving teams and players. If you’re a ‘long-term’ investor, there are future wagers out there in any number of specific categories, including division, conference, and NBA Finals winners. That last wager is as popular as any involving NBA game odds.
As with other wagers, NBA championship futures odds are fluid, thus subject to change.
Any Final Thoughts?
Anyone who pays even marginal attention to NBA rumors knows the success of the Oklahoma City Thunder. There hasn’t been a repeat winner of the Larry O’Brien Trophy since the Golden State Warriors of 2017 and 2018, but the Thunder return a formidable cast in 2025-26.
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
