The 2025 NBA Finals are officially set with NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the Oklahoma City Thunder and their ferocious defense against Tyrese Haliburton and the fast-paced, high-scoring Indiana Pacers. While many predicted the Thunder to reach this point, the same can not be said for the Pacers who are one of the most unlikely Finals teams in recent memory.
And the betting odds reflect this as the Thunder opened up as massive favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. In fact, their -700 odds to win the championship are some of the biggest in NBA history, right up there with a number of former Los Angeles Lakers teams.
The Thunder enter these NBA Finals as the seventh-biggest favorite in history, tied with the 2004 Lakers and 1986 Boston Celtics, but well below the all-time biggest odds which were held by the 2001 Lakers against the Philadelphia 76ers, via Buckets:
OKC opened up as the 7th biggest favorite in finals history 😬 pic.twitter.com/G9KZliM7KD
— buckets (@buckets) June 2, 2025
The -2000 odds held by the ’01 Lakers are simply astronomical, but they were warranted. That Lakers squad led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal swept through the entire Western Conference and, while the Philadelphia 76ers did have MVP Allen Iverson that year, it wasn’t close to enough. Iverson did steal Game 1, but the Lakers dominated from there for their second consecutive NBA Championship. Of course, the 2000 and 2002 Lakers are also on this list as well and all but one team went on to win the championship with the exception being those ’04 Lakers who famously fell to the Detroit Pistons.
How the Thunder fare in this position remains to be seen, but they have looked every bit the part of a champion throughout these playoffs. Gilgeous-Alexander has looked like an MVP while All-Star Jalen Williams has stepped up and the defense has been dominant thanks to the likes of Lu Dort, Alex Caruso and Chet Holmgren. But the Pacers won’t make it easy and this series should be a very fun one to watch.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson congratulates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
While it was undoubtedly a team effort, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was clearly the best player for the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and he was rewarded by winning the Magic Johnson Award as Western Conference Finals MVP.
And Magic himself congratulated the Thunder guard on social media for winning the award named after him. The Lakers legend noted that he loves how dominant Gilgeous-Alexander is on the court, but also remains humble off it.
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