Opening 2026 NBA Championship Odds – Thunder Favored to Repeat

• The odds for the 2026 NBA Championship have been posted at online sportsbooks
• The OKC Thunder are favored to repeat in the 2026 NBA title odds
• See the opening 2026 NBA Championship odds for all 30 teams

After the OKC Thunder brought their first championship back to Oklahoma City on Sunday night, sportsbooks were quick to post NBA championship odds for the 2025-26 season. To no one’s surprise, the freight train that is the Thunder are heavy favorites. OKC is currently sitting at +250 to repeat. The last team to go back-to-back was the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

NBA Championship Odds 2026

Even with the Houston Rockets acquiring Kevin Durant earlier on Sunday, there is still a chasm between OKC and the rest of the field. At +250, the Thunder have a 29.41% implied win probability. The co-second-favorite Rockets and Knicks are back at +750, which carries just an 11.76% implied win probability, meaning oddsmakers believe OKC is nearly three times as likely to win the 2026 title as any other team.

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Celtics, Pacers Dealing With Serious Injuries

Both the 2025-runner-up Indiana Pacers and 2024-champion Boston Celtics are further down the list than they would otherwise be due to serious injuries to two All-Stars.

Just seven minutes into Sunday’s Game 7 against the OKC Thunder, Indiana point guard Tyrese Haliburton – who was already battling a calf strain – went down with what appeared to be a serious Achilles injury. He had to be helped off the court and did not return. Oddsmakers are clearly expecting him to be out longterm because the Pacers were as short as +900 in the 2026 NBA title odds earlier on Sunday.

Likewise, the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum suffered a serious Achilles injury in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks. It’s estimated he’ll miss at least eight months, which would put his earliest return date at some point in January.

The same is almost certainly true of Haliburton, though it will take some time to get an official diagnosis.

Knicks Have Best 2026 NBA Title Odds in the East

The Knicks and Pacers were both at +950 in the 2026 NBA title odds earlier today, but after Haliburton’s injury, New York is left as the top team from the Eastern Conference. The Knicks have already had a busy offseason, letting go of coach Tom Thibodeau after five fairly successful seasons (four playoff appearances, two EC semifinals, and one EC final).

The Knicks have yet to name Thib’s replacement, but Mike Brown – the former Kings/Lakers/Cavaliers boss – is the betting favorite, with recently-fired Memphis boss Taylor Jenkins seen as the second-most likely option.

There were early suggestions that former Villanova coach Jay Wright would come out of retirement to join Nova products Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges in the Big Apple, but the two-time national champion put those rumors to rest fairly vehemently.