Thunder, Celtics favorites to win NBA title; public likes Lakers
The Oklahoma City Thunder and reigning champion Boston Celtics are the consensus favorites to win this season’s title, showing +180 and +190 odds, respectively, at ESPN BET as the NBA postseason is set to begin.
However, the Los Angeles Lakers, arguably the league’s buzziest team since their stunning trade for Luka Doncic in February, lurk just below and are easily the betting public’s favorite squad.
The Lakers are +1300 to win the 2025 NBA Finals and fourth on ESPN BET’s odds board, but they have attracted a leading 16.7% of bets and 19.5% of handle at the sportsbook. Other sportsbooks report similar metrics, with FanDuel reporting a whopping 27% of money backing LeBron James and company, while BetMGM names them as its second largest liability.
“In terms of liability, it’s the Lakers and then everyone else,” ESPN BET director of North American sports trading Adrian Horton said over email. “They were attracting interest over the first half of the season, but it’s really kicked into high gear since the Luka trade. As the team continues to perform and the betting public continues to back them, we’ll be pulling against the Lakers in just about every playoff scenario.”
The book further reports that L.A. has taken a leading 23.9% of bets and 27.6% of handle since acquiring Doncic on Feb. 1.
The Celtics, the favorites to begin the 2024-25 campaign after going wire-to-wire as favorites last season, are still garnering their fair share of action, with DraftKings reporting more wagers (34%) and handle (24%) backing them than anyone else.
Oklahoma City, who locked up the NBA’s best record during the regular season, were second fiddle to Boston in the odds all season before narrowly pulling ahead on the eve of the playoffs. Action is mixed on the Thunder across the sportsbook marketplace.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will enter the postseason with the third-best odds to win it all, showing +575 at ESPN. Despite ending the regular season with the Eastern Conference’s best record, the Cavs couldn’t overtake the Celts for favorite status because they began the campaign with such low expectations, entering the season at +4000 to win it all. That said, Cleveland is a top-three team to capture the title by bet-share at most sportsbooks.
Other big movers from the beginning of the season include the Houston Rockets (100-1 to 80-1), the West’s No. 2 seed, and the Detroit Pistons (1,000-1 to 250-1), who are BetMGM’s third largest liability.
Two other recent champions, the Golden State Warriors (+1500) and the Denver Nuggets (+3000) are also in the running, ranking fifth and sixth on ESPN BET’s odds board, respectively, and they are also among the top bet and handle attractors across the sportsbook marketplace.