Here come the San Antonio Spurs!
Written off by many as a bubble team when the season began, the Spurs have moved within three games of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference standings on the strength of a six-game win streak. That span includes an impressive 116-106 victory over the aforementioned Thunder, whom the Spurs are now 4-1 against this season.
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San Antonio has a golden opportunity to move even closer – and improve its title odds – as OKC deals with an abdominal strain to reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Let’s break down the latest odds as the league officially enters the second half of the season following its annual All-Star break.
🏆 2026 NBA Championship odds
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Team |
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Oklahoma City Thunder |
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Denver Nuggets |
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Cleveland Cavaliers |
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New York Knicks |
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Boston Celtics |
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San Antonio Spurs |
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Detroit Pistons |
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Houston Rockets |
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Minnesota Timberwolves |
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Los Angeles Lakers |
The Thunder’s odds have moved from +230 before the season began to +130 today. Rounding out the Top 5 are the Denver Nuggets (+500), Cleveland Cavaliers (+1200), New York Knicks (+1200), and Boston Celtics (+1200).
The Timberwolves have tumbled from +1400 to +3500 over the past week after losing two straight games to the Pelicans and Clippers and failing to make any truly impactful moves at the NBA Trade Deadline.
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📈 2026 NBA Finals odds over time
Here’s a visual representation of how the NBA championship has odds evolved since the offseason.
🔮 NBA Championship prediction
Oklahoma City has the cleanest runway to be the best team in 2026: an MVP-caliber engine in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entering the heart of his prime, a two-way star wing in Jalen Williams, and a 7-footer in Chet Holmgren whose blend of rim protection, spacing, and feel supercharges modern schemes. That trio already drives elite half-court efficiency and a top-tier defense, and it’s backed by organizational continuity that reliably turns role players into playoff-useful pieces. Holmgren’s strength and timing appear to be fully NBA-hardened, unlocking more switching and fewer help-and-recover compromises, while SGA’s mid-range and foul-drawing remain matchup-proof in May and June.
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Depth and optionality push the Thunder over the top. They can win big or small, play five-out without sacrificing rim protection, and toggle between pressure defense and conservative coverages depending on opponent. Crucially, they still have surplus picks and cap flexibility to plug the inevitable holes that show up in a long postseason, whether that’s a second unit scorer, another stretch big, or a specialist wing.
Pick: Oklahoma City Thunder
Stake: 2 units
💰 Sportsbook betting splits and insights
Highest ticket percentage
• Nuggets 8.8%
• Thunder 8.7%
• Mavericks 8.2%
Highest handle percentage
• Thunder 17.9%
• Mavericks 16.3%
• Lakers 13.3%
Biggest liability
• Mavericks
• Lakers
• Warriors
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Data courtesy of BetMGM.
2026 NBA Championship opening odds
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here
