Who’s the Favorite to Win the 2025 NBA Championship?

NBA Logo smallThe wait is over for basketball fans. Tonight, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers will play in game one of the 2025 NBA Finals.

Both teams have never won an NBA Finals, so either way, fans will see something new at the conclusion of the series. While most fans are siding with the Thunder after a remarkable 68-win regular season with only 14 losses, the Pacers are a team that has already overcome the implausible, setting the stage for an unpredictable seven-game series.

Legal NBA betting sites offer multiple ways to bet on the competition with game lines and props. Below, we will discuss some of the odds found online and how you can get great value with props or by betting on the underdog.

Game Lines For The NBA Finals

The game lines for the first matchup in the series heavily favor the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder is led by 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA), who has put on an impressive showing this postseason, averaging 29.8 PPG and a 47.1% field goal percentage.

On the other side of the court, the Pacers have two standout players this postseason: Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. Siakam has led the team in points and rebounds this postseason, while Haliburton has gracefully fed the ball and leads the team in assists.

In addition to the featured game line you see below, you can also find game lines for each quarter of the competition. Seasoned bettors often use “quarter” lines to pad their bets. Below are some of the game line odds found at Bovada’s online sportsbook.

Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

  • Spread: +9.5 (-110), -9.5 (-110)
  • Win: +320, -430
  • Total: O230.0 (-110), U230.0 (-110)

4th Quarter – Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

  • Spread: +1.5 (-105), -1.5 (-115)
  • Win: +120, -160
  • Total: O57.5 (-105), U57.5 (-115)

Props, Props, Props

Online sportsbooks also go hard in the paint with odds for the NBA finals, and bettors can find multiple proposition options, including player, team, alternate, and special props.

For most bettors, props are a fun way to bet on the game without picking the winner. You can also bet on points, rebounds, steals, assists, and other aspects of the game. Props often offer good value, making them a risky but a valuable aspect of betting on the game.

Player to score the first point in the game

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) +400
  • Chet Holmgren (OKC) +500
  • Jalen Williams (OKC) +600
  • Isaiah Hartenstein (OKC) +750

Top Points Scorer

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) -500
  • Jalen Williams (OKC) +340
  • Pascal Siakam (IND) +850
  • Tyrese Haliburton (IND) +1300
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Anderson Armistead

Fully self-taught because no school would have him, Anderson began writing professionally in 2002. After working with various entertainment sites and tech blogs, Anderson jumped ship to go all in on sports betting in 2014. After all, if you’re going to write, you might as well write about what you love! With SportsBetting.Legal, Anderson’s been doing exactly that in varying capacities since 2019.

While Anderson prefers boxing, he’s not a great fan of MMA or the UFC, and celebrity boxing has soured him on the Sweet Science. He still thinks boxing is tops, but he’s lately become more interested in sports that feature a wider variety of odds on the boards. That said, you’ll catch Anderson on any given Sunday not betting on football, as he prefers baseball and hockey when it comes to the team game.

In addition to sports gambling, Anderson is a stone-cold crypto bro. He might have missed the early rush on Bitcoin, but various altcoins have been paying off handsomely. Plus, the strategic aspects of crypto – including day trading and swing trading (and bragging about it endlessly to anyone fool enough to listen) – have enough similarity with sports betting that it’s a natural match. Anderson also thinks Trump won in 2020, but he bet on Uncle Joe because he knew the fix was in.

Anderson still hasn’t been able to find an Xbox Series X in stock anywhere.