Should the Spurs Be Considered Title Contenders?
Can the Spurs return to prominence? With a new coach and a healthy star, San Antonio faces big questions heading into the 2025-26 season.
Dark Horses for the Title
Is this preposterous? A season ago, the San Antonio Spurs were 34-48, and the franchise has not sniffed the playoffs since 2019.
However, last season’s record offered a dozen-game improvement over each of the previous two seasons, so the once-perennial title contenders (with five championships) seem to be heading north once again.
Now, it’s officially Mitch Johnson’s team. Johnson, who turns 39 in late November, filled in during Gregg Popovich’s prolonged illness absence. Johnson went 34-45 as the ‘interim,’ and now earned the gig full-time.
Props to ‘Pop,’ who, after a thousand seasons (actually 29) and 1,390 wins, left quite a legacy in the Alamo. Now it’s Johnson’s responsibility to help 2023-24’s unanimous Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama (24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 4.1 blocks per game last season) and second-overall draft choice Dylan Harper turn the team into contenders.
Harper is the son of five-team league champ Ron Harper, so the pedigree is there
As of this early-August writing, it’s the Spurs listed at 60-1 (+6000) to win the next title, according to NBA championship futures odds.
So, which version of the San Antonio Spurs is going to be on display? Remember, the team is in the same (Southwest) division as the Kevin Durant-enriched Houston Rockets, thus not making things any easier.
Back to the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama, who missed 36 games (blood clot in right shoulder) last season. He’s been medically cleared to return in 2025-26, and no one needs to ingest NBA news to know the Spurs’ fortunes are directly related to the health of their cornerstone.
If you’re wondering about such things, he’s at 16-1 (+1600) to win this season’s MVP award.
Gazing at this season’s Rookie of the Year odds, lefty Harper is co-third choice at 10-1 (+1000). He’s behind prohibitive 1-2 (-200) favorite Cooper Flagg of the Mavericks as well as Wizards’ guard Tre Johnson (17-2 [+850]).
Can a healthy Wembanyama and Harper catapult the Spurs all the way to the NBA Finals? Probably not (their projected win total is 43½), but they figure to be improved this season.
Here’s a primer on the San Antonio Spurs as well as the good and bad around the NBA…
Who Had the Worst Record in the NBA in 2024-25?
It wasn’t pretty in Salt Lake City, Washington, D.C., or Charlotte last season. The bottom-feeders in the NBA were the Utah Jazz (17-65), Wizards (18-64), and Hornets (19-63).
There’s no guarantee the losing continues once NBA scores begin in 2025-26, but…
Who Is Favored to Win the NBA Finals in 2025-26?
It’s the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder as strong +265 favorites to repeat in the 2025-26 season. There are four teams (Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, the aforementioned Houston Rockets, and New York Knicks) as 8-1 (+800) second choices.
As with other wagers, NBA championship futures are fluid, thus subject to change.
Does BetUS Offer Constant Updates on NBA Championship Betting Lines?
Indeed. There are a plethora of odds and props available throughout the regular and postseason around individual games, individual awards, and anything a bettor might desire. Those NBA championship odds include that popular ‘pick the next champ’ future wager as well.
As the 2025-26 NBA schedule begins in earnest in late October, it’s the job of the bettor (serious or casual) to do his/her homework.
Start with the information and NBA rumors coming out of training camp and during the preseason. Monitor the rosters, injuries, and transactions throughout the league to try and gain any advantage.
Any Final Thoughts?
Anyone who pays even marginal attention to NBA game odds and NBA betting odds is aware of the backstories surrounding the San Antonio Spurs. It’s no longer Gregg Popovich’s team, and whether Mitch Johnson can restore the former glory of the franchise remains to be seen.
- Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com
