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Thursday night’s fateful NBA playoff slate saw two teams ejected from title contention, and perhaps no other elimination in the first round will be more shocking than that of the Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic & Co. came into the postseason at +850 to win the NBA Finals, fourth on the odds board. The Minnesota Timberwolves will head to the conference semifinals to take on the San Antonio Spurs (+400) while dealing with key injuries to Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu — a difficult proposition that leaves them with 180-1 title odds.
The only first-round elimination that could potentially rival the Nuggets’ would be if the Boston Celtics were to lose their series to the Philadelphia 76ers. Boston came into the playoffs with third-best +550 title odds and are only out to +650, as they are 8.5-point favorites for Saturday’s decisive Game 7. The Sixers, who entered the postseason with 250-1 odds and some outsized betting action, have made their way down to 120-1 for the championship.
Additionally, the New York Knicks closed out their playoff series with the Atlanta Hawks and remain at 18-1 to win the NBA Finals, the same price they had going into the postseason. The Detroit Pistons maintained their pre-playoff 22-1 odds after staving off elimination by the Orlando Magic (300-1) on Friday night, as did the Toronto Raptors (400-1) via a thrilling overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers (22-1). Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers (28-1) moved on to the next round by eliminating the Houston Rockets.
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and are as of publication.
2025-26 NBA championship odds
TeamChampConferenceCurrent SeriesOklahoma City Thunder