The defending NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder got off to a scorching fast start in the 2025-26 season after winning 24 of their first 25 games.
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Recently, they have arguably come back down to earth a bit as they have only gone 6-5 in their last 11 outings, with three of their defeats coming at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.
And still, the Thunder remain the top betting pick to capture this year’s title as they are currently listed as the +110 favorites according to odds via BetMGM, as per Yahoo Sports.
Teams with next best odds after OKC
Despite being without one of the best players in the game in Nikola Jokic for the next few weeks due to a knee injury, the Denver Nuggets currently have the second-best odds to be crowned NBA champions with odds of +800.
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As for the teams with the next best odds after OKC and Denver, the 2025 NBA Cup winning New York Knicks and the runner-up Spurs, whom the Knicks defeated in the Cup final in Las Vegas, are both tied for the third best odds at +1200.
The Houston Rockets then round out the top five and are given odds of +1300 to take home this season’s NBA championship.
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Jan 3, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) dunks during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
A couple of Eastern conference sides in the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons are just outside of the top five, with both franchises sharing odds of +2000. While the Los Angeles Lakers currently have odds of +2200 to claim the 18th title in their organization’s history.
We are still only a few days into 2026 and so there is still plenty of time for the Thunder to strengthen their position as championship favorites even further, or for other teams to close the gap and make their case as serious contenders to Oklahoma City’s throne.
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