At the beginning of the week, the Oklahoma City Thunder opened as prohibitive favorites in the NBA betting futures market to repeat as world champions. The Thunder opened with 16 straight up wins in their first 17 games. Oklahoma City’s only loss was a 121-119 slip-up on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers. Following OKC, the public betting NBA futures market choices are the Denver Nuggets and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Denver is a legitimate choice because it has the best basketball player on Earth, Nikola Jokic, on the hardwood. Meanwhile, Cleveland takes a more team-oriented approach. Also getting support at the betting window are the Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers.
2025-26 NBA Future Market Update
| NBA Championship odds at SBG: | Click Here |
|---|
Not Much Thunder at the Payout Window
Despite winning 16 of its first 17 games straight up, the Oklahoma City Thunder covered only nine of those 17 online betting matchups. OKC failed to cover three of its most recent four games. Last year, the Thunder was the most profitable team in the NBA. Thus, we are seeing a market value correction.
The secret is out on Oklahoma City. They are no longer operating in obscurity. Especially when they are playing at home, the casual sector is all over the Thunder. Additionally, Oklahoma City gets the best shot at every opponent. Teams want the bragging rights and attention that come with beating the defending NBA champions.
The Thunder are one of the most balanced teams in NBA betting. To illuminate, Oklahoma City ranks 4th for scoring offense and 1st for fewest points allowed. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is making his case for why he is the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player. Alexander is averaging a team-best 31.9 points and 6.6 assists per game. Chet Holmgren adds 19.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest. And then Isaiah Joe contributes 12.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Certainly, if Oklahoma City can stay healthy and engaged, it will be a difficult team to unseat.
Denver Regains Its Championship Form
Although he led the Nuggets to their only championship in 2023, head coach Mike Malone could not keep his team focused. The Nuggets lost considerable betting value and frustrated fans and gamblers with their inconsistency. Since taking over at the end of last season, new HC David Adelman has made an immediate impact. Adelman was Malone’s top assistant and won all three of his regular-season games last spring. Subsequently, he took Denver to the Western Conference semifinals. Denver has shown purpose and structure under Adelman’s helm.
Overall, Denver is 12-4 straight up, 10-6 against the spread, and 9-7 over the total. The Nuggets have hot dice with five payouts in their most recent six games. Denver has impressive metrics: 2nd in scoring offense, 7th in fewest points allowed, 6th in offensive rebounding, and 5th in defensive rebounding.
Nikola Jokic, the 3-time NBA MVP awardee, leads Denver with 30.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 10.8 assists per game. Additionally, Jamal Murray adds 22.8 points and 6.7 assists per game. Gamblers have taken notice of the Nuggets and rightfully so. Cause by the profound difference between the current product and the past two years.
A Cavalier Approach
Although Donovan Mitchell is an outstanding marquee man for Cleveland, he is not in the class of Gilgeous-Alexander or Jokic. Thus, Cleveland takes a more team-based approach to its success.
Previously, gamblers were able to get betting value out of the Cavaliers. Of great concern is that this is not the case in the 2025-26 season. Cleveland is 11-6 straight up but only 5-12 against the spread. Once upon a time, the Cavaliers ranked with Oklahoma City as one of the best bets on the board. But too many squares caught on to Cleveland, driving down its value. Mitchell leads Cleveland with 30.3 points per game.
Rockets Lift Off
The Houston Rockets are 10-4 straight up, 9-5 against the spread, and 10-4 over the total. Last year, Houston emerged as an NBA Playoff team and is building upon that. Head coach Ime Udoka is proving to be a perfect fit at the right time.
Kevin Durant is off to a strong start with a team-leading 24.6 points per game. Additionally, Alperen Sengun is averaging 22.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.