The 2024-25 NBA regular season is officially over, and the NBA Playoffs get underway on Saturday.
There will be 16 teams in the playoff field, but title chances are a longshot for half of those teams. DraftKings Sportsbook currently gives only eight teams a 40-to-1 or better chance to win the 2025 NBA Finals (and only five teams better than a 25-to-1 shot to win it all).
Here’s how we rank those eight teams as 2025 NBA championship contenders:
8. Denver Nuggets
NBA title odds: +4000
Regular season: 50-32; No. 4 seed in West
Preseason ranking: No. 3
It’s been a disappointing season for the Denver Nuggets, who entered the season with +950 odds to win the NBA title. The Nuggets proceeded to fire head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth in the final days of the regular season.
So, why is Denver even on this list? Well, it would feel stubborn to completely write off a team that won the championship two years ago and has the best basketball player in the world. After all, star power can take teams a long way in the NBA postseason. And perhaps a coaching change provides a spark.
Until Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets are officially eliminated, they should be viewed as a threat.
7. Los Angeles Clippers
NBA title odds: +2500
Regular season: 50-32; No. 5 seed in West
Preseason ranking: Not ranked
The Clippers enter the postseason red-hot, tied for an NBA-best eight-game winning streak. They have wins in 15 of their last 17 games and 18 of their last 21. There’s not a better time of the year to be playing your best basketball.
Additionally, Los Angeles has three players averaging over 20 points per game, in James Harden (22.8), Norman Powell (21.8), and Kawhi Leonard (21.5).
Leonard has been on a tear, with 20-plus points in 15 consecutive games (capped off by a 33-point performance in the Clippers’ season finale victory over the Golden State Warriors). Does the two-time NBA Finals MVP have one more magical run in him?
The Clippers will get a big test immediately against the Nuggets in the first round; Denver has home-court advantage. DraftKings has the series as a true toss-up (each team is -110 to win). And after that series, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the likely second-round opponent. The Clippers would be higher on this list if not for immediate challenges that make the path more difficult.
6. New York Knicks
NBA title odds: +2800
Regular season: 51-31; No. 3 in East
Preseason ranking: No. 5
The Knicks will be a tough out in any series and will battle on each end of the floor. Jalen Brunson embodies the team’s competitiveness and is capable of taking over a series, as he did last year in a first-round series win over the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 35.5 points and 9.0 assists.
But is the team’s ceiling high enough for a title run? There are many skeptics. And the Knicks didn’t silence the doubters against the league’s top teams this season, going 0-10 in games vs the Thunder (0-2), Boston Celtics (0-4), and Cleveland Cavaliers (0-4).
5. Golden State Warriors
NBA title odds: +1600
Regular season: 48-34; No. 7 in West
Preseason ranking: Not ranked
The Warriors get the benefit of the doubt this time of the year as four-time NBA champions since 2015, and with 2022 NBA Finals MVP Steph Curry still capable of being the best player in the playoffs. Curry scored 37 points in the Warriors’ Play-In victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
And Curry wasn’t even Golden State’s leading scorer in that game. That would be in-season addition Jimmy Butler, who scored 38 points. Butler, the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals MVP, brings a great two-way game and toughness that can be instrumental to postseason success.
4. Los Angeles Lakers
NBA title odds: +1400
Regular season: 50-32; No. 3 in West
Preseason ranking: Not ranked
LeBron James and Luka Dončić.
Nothing more needs to be said as to why the Lakers are in the title-contending mix on the surface.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA title odds: +700
Regular season: 64-18; No. 1 in East
Preseason ranking: Not ranked
Now we get to the tier of very realistic championship contenders.
Cleveland put together a remarkable regular season, finishing with the league’s second-best record. The Cavs’ offense has been a buzzsaw, leading the NBA in points per game at 121.9. It’s been a teamwide effort, with seven players averaging at least 10 points per game.
Ultimately, it likely comes down to if the Cavaliers can get by the Celtics, before factoring in an NBA Finals matchup vs the Western Conference. The Celtics needed just five games to beat the Cavs last postseason. There’s no doubt the Cavs were a fantastic regular-season team, but they still need to go out there and prove it deep into the playoffs to get the basketball world to buy in.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA title odds: +165
Regular season: 68-14; No. 1 in West
Preseason ranking: No. 2
Oklahoma City enters the playoffs as the betting favorite to win the NBA championship, and it’s easy to understand why.
The Thunder had the NBA’s best record by four games and easily led the league in point differential (+12.9). They’ve also shown that they can win in any environment, putting together a 35-6 record at home and a 32-8 record on the road. No other team in the Western Conference has lost fewer than 17 road games this season. Winning on the road is a crucial ability in the postseason.
Oklahoma City is loaded and has seven players that average at least 10 points per game. NBA MVP favorite
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the way with 32.7 points per game.
For the Thunder, the big question is if they’re battle-tested enough for postseason basketball. Oklahoma City had a second-round exit last season.
1. Boston Celtics
NBA title odds: +190
Regular season: 61-21; No. 1 in East
Preseason ranking: No. 1
The Celtics steamrolled through the 2024 playoffs with an amazing 16-3 record en route to the NBA title. They followed that up with a 61-21 record this season and had an NBA-best 33-8 record on the road.
Boston is a problem on both ends of the floor for opponents.
The Celtics’ defense has held offenses to 107.2 points (second-best) and a 45.0 field-goal percentage (second-best) this season, and this strength was shown off throughout the 2024 postseason. Offensively, Boston is led by stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, with the 7’2″ Kristaps Porzingis offering another high-scoring matchup problem for defenses.
It’s really difficult to take down a champion, especially one with the relentless ability both offensively and defensively that the Celtics present.
