Oddsmakers still give the Nuggets a decent chance at a title
Apr 13, 2025, 7:55 PM | Updated: 8:01 pm
The Denver Nuggets may not be the favorites they have been the last few seasons, but they still have a pretty good shot of winning another championship as the postseason begins, according to oddsmakers.
The favorites are the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder, who were just the seventh team in NBA history with that many wins. Next are the reigning champion Boston Celtics, who finished a few games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East. The Cavs are longer shots than the first two, but just about anyone would consider those three the top dogs headed into the postseason this year.
Behind those three are a pack of three teams from the West in a hodgepodge. The Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets each have between a 7% and 3% chance at winning a championship this year, per their implied odds.
All these odds have now shifted around a bit since the bracket and path for all of the teams is now known.
NBA Championship odds
Oklahoma City Thunder: +165
Boston Celtics: +190
Cleveland Cavaliers: +700
Los Angeles Lakers: +1,400
Golden State Warriors: +1,700
Denver Nuggets: +2,500
New York Knicks: +2,500
LA Clippers: +4,000
Minnesota Timberwolves: +6,500
Indiana Pacers: +8,000
Houston Rockets: +9,000
Milwaukee Bucks: +11,000
Memphis Grizzlies: +30,000
Detroit Pistons: +50,000
Orlando Magic: +100,000
Atlanta Hawks: +200,000
Chicago Bulls: +200,000
Dallas Mavericks: +200,000
Miami Heat: +200,000
Sacramento Kings: +200,000
The Nuggets are likely to run into the favorites in Round 2, with the Thunder against the last Play-In winner taking on the winner of the Nuggets-Clippers. The bracket hurts the Nuggets’ title chances, even if the last day chaos helped the team through the first round.
THE BRACKET IS SET 🍿 pic.twitter.com/xZBRkF7LT7
— NBA (@NBA) April 13, 2025
Nuggets specific odds
To win West: +950
To beat the Clippers: -155
Series spread: -1.5 (+148)
Nuggets to sweep Round 1: +1200
Last season, a five seed made the NBA Finals, and Denver beat the eighth-seeded Heat to win the championship. There has been a four seed or lower to make the NBA Finals in four of the last seven seasons, albeit none of them won the title. It’s not since the 1995 Houston Rockets that a team seeded fourth or lower won the championship.
But the Nuggets, like that Rockets team, will be looking to build off a recent title. Though Denver’s coach just recently changed, making the Nuggets are a true wildcard with David Adelman at the helm and a revived energy — and don’t forget the best player in the world Nikola Jokic. Joker is +2,800 to capture another Finals MVP.
