One thing is certain as the NBA Finals are about to get underway – we’re going to have a first-time champion. Neither the Oklahoma City Thunder or Indiana Pacers have ever won the NBA Finals. Both the Pacers and Thunder lost in their only previous shot at the NBA championship.
Oddsmakers are certain that the Thunder will be the team to end this title drought. Oklahoma City is set as overwhelming -675 favorites in NBA Finals betting.
Let’s look at the latest betting line. Remember, odds are always subject to change.
 | Moneyline |
|---|---|
| Oklahoma City Thunder | -675 |
| Indiana Pacers | +460 |
Indiana lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals. Twelve years later, the Miami Heat won the NBA title in a five-game set against the Thunder.
Prior to making any bets on your NBA playoffs picks, you definitely should be checking out the latest NBA Finals Vegas Odds. You can also assess the most recent developments in NBA prop bets. You should also be taking advantage of these Vegas betting site bonuses to make the most of your NBA betting.
The Thunder won outright and also covered the spread in both games this season against the Pacers. Oklahoma City is 29-1 straight up against Eastern Conference opposition and 22-5-4 against the spread when facing teams from the other conference.
If you’re thinking of placing a Game 1 bet, the Thunder are 9.5-point home favorites. Oklahoma City is also 4-1 ATS this season when playing with four or more days of rest between games.
While Oklahoma City is the No. 1 seed in the West, Indiana entered the NBA playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the East. A seed that low hasn’t won the NBA Finals since the sixth-seeded Houston Rockets in 1995. In fact, lower-seeded teams are 8-3-2 in the past 13 NBA Finals.
The Pacers were a dismal 10-15 on December 8. They went 39-16 the rest of the way during the regular season. Add to that a 12-4 slate in the NBA playoffs, and Indiana has amassed a 52-21 record and a .712 winning percentage since the slow start. That’s the second-best win rate in the NBA over that span.
At the outset of the season, Indiana was given +5000 odds to win the title in NBA futures betting. Should the Pacers beat the Thunder, that would be the longest preseason odds ever assigned to an eventual NBA champion.
The problem facing the Pacers is that the one NBA team to perform better than them since December 8 is the Thunder. Oklahoma City is 62-14 over that time period. That’s an .816 win percentage.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA MVP. He also was the top scorer in the league (32.7 points per game). He averaged 39 points in Oklahoma City’s two wins over the Pacers this season.
Add to that superstar ability one of the best defenses in NBA history. Three times this season, Oklahoma City held an opponent under 80 points. That’s an NBA record. In 38 games, the Thunder made at least 10 steals. That’s a franchise record. Guard Jalen Williams was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team.
How easily oddsmakers think the Thunder will dispose of the Pacers is evident in an exact number of games in the series NBA Finals prop bet at Betonline. Five games is set as the +180 chalk for this wager. A 4-1 Oklahoma City victory is established as the +210 favorite in an exact series outcome prop.
The total road wins for the NBA Finals is set at 2.5. The under is the -200 favorite on this prop.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the -3000 favorite to lead the series in scoring and the +350 chalk to make the most steals. Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren is the -200 betting choice to be the top rebounder in the set.
Indiana isn’t completely forgotten in NBA Finals props. Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is the -600 pick to dish out the most assists. Teammate Myles Turner is the -115 choice to make the most blocks.
The Thunder are the most prohibitive favorites in the NBA Finals this decade. In fact, since 2000, only the 2000, 2001 and 2004 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2018 Golden State Warriors were set as such heavy chalk. All but the 2004 Lakers would win the title.
It was the smothering defense of the Detroit Pistons which created that upset of the Lakers in 2004. Indiana is the biggest underdog in any NBA Finals since those Pistons. But in this instance, it’s the Thunder who play the smothering defense and that’s what will win the day. It’s why you should be going with Oklahoma City in your NBA Finals betting.
