2025-2026 NBA Conference Championship Odds & Futures Betting

This NBA season, every team will look to win its conference and represent it in the NBA Finals. While one conference has a couple of clear favorites and the other appears to be wide open, both races have the potential to be competitive. Here, we look at the NBA conference championship odds for both conferences and look at which teams have the best chances to come out on top.

Odds current as of April 17, 2026

Looking at the latest NBA championship odds, the favorites to win the Finals are from the Western Conference. But the East has some teams that are firmly in championship contention. The Boston Celtics were the favorites to win the East last season, but their hopes were derailed after Jayson Tatum suffered an Achilles injury in the playoffs. Still, the Celtics played at an elite level without Tatum this year and they are among the favorites in the East again this season, especially with Tatum making his return in early March.

Joining the Celtics among the favorites in the East are the New York Knicks. New York took a big risk in firing Tom Thibodeau after last season’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals, bringing in Mike Brown to replace him. So far, that gamble has had its ups and downs, but the Knicks are still among the best teams in the East and will try to prove themselves when the playoffs roll around.

The Central Division also has a pair of teams that are firmly in conference championship contention. The Detroit Pistons are at the top of the conference standings this season behind an MVP-caliber season from Cade Cunningham. And while the Cleveland Cavaliers are not playing as well as they were a season ago, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley could lead them to their first Finals appearance since LeBron James led them there, especially with the addition of James Harden paying dividends.

Odds current as of April 17, 2026

In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the odds-on favorites to get to the NBA Finals for the second straight year. The Thunder won the NBA Finals last season behind an MVP season from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. OKC is at the top of the Western Conference standings again this year and they will hope for their role players to stay healthy, as that might be the only thing that can derail their hopes of reaching the Finals for the second year in a row. Jalen Williams’ health has been especially dicey this year, though he has made his return to the floor in time for the postseason.

Another team whose health could determine its viability in the West is the Denver Nuggets. Denver has spent some time without Nikola Jokic due to injury this season. But he looks healthy at this point in the season, and the Nuggets will be in a position to threaten the Thunder and the rest of the Western Conference so long as that remains the case.

Along with those two Northwest Division teams in the West, there is a pack of teams that could go on a run to reach the Finals. The San Antonio Spurs have a game-breaker in Victor Wembanyama that every other team in the conference will need to contend with. The Houston Rockets have one of the best scorers in the league in Kevin Durant. And the Minnesota Timberwolves have formed a dangerous duo in Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. While it would take a ton to overcome OKC in the West, there are some candidates who would be able to do so this year if they get hot at the perfect time.

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Jay Sanin

Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.