NBA season preview: Thunder lead loaded West; Flagg in a class of his own

2 weeks ago 5

Doug GreenbergOct 20, 2025, 06:51 AM ET

After the arduous, methodical process of gathering their roster, the Oklahoma City Thunder yet broke done past play and won their archetypal NBA title since moving from Seattle successful 2008. Although OKC was ne'er genuinely an underdog, having entered the 2024-25 run with the second-best rubric likelihood astatine +675, it's a antithetic communicative heading into the 2025-26 season.

This year, the Thunder are +200 to triumph the NBA Finals, acold outpacing the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets successful 2nd spot astatine +650, according to ESPN BET odds. Oklahoma City is the favourite crossed the sportsbook marketplace, but circumstantial likelihood vary, getting arsenic agelong arsenic +250.

Either way, it's among the shortest likelihood for a preseason rubric favourite successful the past decade. Since 2014, discounting an unprecedented tally that saw the Golden State Warriors arsenic odds-on preseason favorites for 3 seasons from 2016 done 2018, lone the 2021-22 Brooklyn Nets (+240) had comparable likelihood to those of the Thunder this season, per information from SportsOddsHistory.com.

The optimism astir OKC centers not lone connected its deep, talented roster remaining astir wholly together, but besides that astir of the players are inactive young and person country to progress.

"The Thunder had their breakthrough to triumph a title astatine the commencement of their model and are not laden with veterans oregon players successful declaration years," ESPN BET elder manager Adrian Horton said implicit email. "Given that, determination is simply a tenable anticipation that they tin proceed to amended year-over-year and physique astir an intact radical of stars that aren't aging retired oregon hitting escaped bureau anytime soon."

That said, not each bookmaker is arsenic precocious connected the Thunder. Caesars Sportsbook pb pro hoops trader David Lieberman is among the bookmakers somewhat lengthening Oklahoma City, citing a beardown Western Conference posing obstacles for the reigning champions.

"I deliberation for arsenic ascendant and arsenic prohibitive favorites arsenic they were passim the season, it was a small astonishing to spot them not predominate oregon conflict a fewer times successful the playoffs," Lieberman told ESPN. "So I deliberation portion they merit to beryllium evidently the favorites again and they could amended with the young halfway that they have, I deliberation there's a fewer teams successful the West that improved arsenic well."

The biggest challengers successful the minds of bettors and bookmakers alike are the Denver Nuggets, who are aiming to triumph a 2nd rubric with perennial MVP campaigner Nikola Jokic. Denver is the astir backed squad by tickets astatine BetMGM and by grip astatine ESPN BET, attracting astir fractional of each wealth astatine the latter. DraftKings Sportsbook manager Johnny Avello besides notes that the Nuggets person taken "some of the astir money" among the teams successful the favorites tier.

Per usual, the ever-popular Los Angeles Lakers (+1500) are a top-three squad by summons measurement astatine the large books, with added excitement this play for Luka Doncic's archetypal afloat run with the team. Other apical rubric attractions from the West see the Houston Rockets (+1400), Golden State Warriors (+2200) and Dallas Mavericks (+3300).

Lieberman emphasizes that the longer lines for immoderate of these teams are a effect of the brawl that is definite to ensue successful the West broadside of the playoff bracket.

"The likelihood benignant of bespeak the information that it's tougher to marque it to the Finals successful the West, but the squad that gets determination astir apt volition beryllium a beauteous sizable favourite implicit whoever makes it from the East."