By Field Level Media
Oct 20 (Field Level Media) – The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are co-favorites to win the title as they close out the opening day of the 2026-27 NBA regular season in San Antonio on Tuesday night.
BetMGM is offering the Western Conference rivals at +260 to win the title. The Spurs’ odds have shifted slightly from opening at +270 to match the Thunder by opening day.
The Philadelphia 76ers have the third-shortest odds at +850 with their star- studded cast that includes newcomers LeBron James and Jaylen Brown alongside returning stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Philadelphia opened as a +6000 long shot, but those odds shifted significantly following the trade for Brown and the free-agent signing of James.
Going a bit in the opposite direction have been the reigning champion New York Knicks, who are now +1000 after opening at +700.
“The Thunder and Spurs are clear favorites to win the NBA Championship, but bettors love the 76ers,” BetMGM senior trader Anthony Parenti said. “Nearly 40% of all money wagered has been on Philly to win the title after trading for Jaylen Brown and signing LeBron James in the offseason.
“The Sixers are the biggest liability to win the championship.”
The 76ers have attracted 29.2% of all title bets and 35.9% of the money wagered since the market opened. That’s well ahead of the 5.6% percent of the tickets backing the Knicks and the 7.2% of the money backing the Thunder, which represent the second-most in both markets.
2026-27 NBA TITLE ODDS* Team | Opening Odds | Odds on July 24 | Current Oklahoma City Thunder | +260 | +275 | +260 San Antonio Spurs | +270 | +275 | +260 Philadelphia 76ers | +6000 | +1000 | +850 New York Knicks | +700 | +850 | +1000 Boston Celtics | +700 | +1400 | +1400 Cleveland Cavaliers | +3300 | +2500 | +2500 Denver Nuggets | +2000 | +2200 | +2500 Toronto Raptors | +15000 | +2500 | +2500 Minnesota Timberwolves | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 Detroit Pistons | +3300 | +2500 | +3000 Miami Heat | +3500 | +3000 | +3000 Indiana Pacers | +3000 | +5000 | +3500 Los Angeles Lakers | +2500 | +4000 | +3500 Houston Rockets | +6600 | +6000 | +5000 Atlanta Hawks | +10000 | +8000 | +6600 Golden State Warriors | +6600, | +6000 | +6600 Portland Trail Blazers | +8000 | +8000 | +8000 Orlando Magic, | +5000 | +8000 | +8000 Charlotte Hornets | +10000 | +15000 | +12500 Phoenix Suns | +8000 | +12500 | +15000 Washington Wizards | +15000 | +15000 | +15000 Dallas Mavericks | +8000 | +15000 | +20000 Utah Jazz | +15000) | +20000 | +20000 | +20000 Los Angeles Clippers | +6600 | +50000 | +75000 New Orleans Pelicans | +25000 | +50000 | +75000 Chicago Bulls | +75000 | +75000 | +75000 Milwaukee Bucks | +25000 | +75000 | +75000 Memphis Grizzlies | +50000 | +75000 | +75000 Brooklyn Nets | +100000 | +100000 | +10000 Sacramento Kings | +75000 | +100000 | +10000 *Odds provided by BetMGM
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is the +200 favorite to win Most Valuable Player honors, followed by the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at +400.
Despite the Los Angeles Lakers owning only +3500 odds to win the title, Luka Doncic leads the book with 14.1% of the total bets and 24.8% of the money backing him at +475 to win MVP.
Dallas Mavericks second-year star Cooper Flagg is the book’s biggest MVP liability at +20000.
(–Field Level Media)
