Latest news with #SportsOddsHistory
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NBA Finals 2025: 'I can guarantee we'll be cheering for OKC' — Why sportsbooks are rooting for the Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the largest NBA Finals favorites (-700 at BetMGM) in their franchise's history against the Indiana Pacers (+500), but sportsbooks will still be cheering for Oklahoma City when the series tips off Thursday night. "The Thunder have been our best result just about the entire playoffs," Halvor Egeland, BetMGM trading manager told Yahoo Sports. "That remains the case and with where the finals pricing is, I can guarantee we'll be cheering on OKC." Advertisement Sportsbooks were helped in the futures market tremendously by the Los Angeles Lakers losing in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games. The Lakers were BetMGM's biggest liability "by a decent margin" to win the title, and among those bets was a $100,000 wager on Los Angeles at 10-1 odds that would've won $1 million. The Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics all were potential hazards for sportsbooks — and all were eliminated before the conference finals. "Our best result is Oklahoma City," Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook said. "Their odds were low enough all season that liability didn't accumulate. They were one of our best scenarios going into the playoffs, and we do very well on them." Indeed, the Thunder's longest odds came before the season, when they were 10-1 to win it all at BetMGM for three total days last June. Oklahoma City was a +185 favorite entering the postseason and -175 entering the conference finals against the Timberwolves. The Thunder at -700 are tied for the seventh-biggest favorite in the NBA Finals since 1968, according to Sports Odds History. Advertisement The Pacers, on the other hand, opened as a long shot with 50-1 odds, and those odds got as high as 150-1 in March. Even entering the playoffs, Indiana was 80-1 to win the title, and the Pacers didn't get into single digits until before the conference finals against the New York Knicks, when they were +800 to win the title. Indiana wasn't even the favorite (+135) in its series against New York. 'Many bettors have backed the Pacers during a playoff run that includes taking down the top-seeded Cavs and the high-profile Knicks with multiple dramatic comebacks," Adrian Horton, director of North American sports trading for ESPN Bet, said. "Given their relatively long price compared to OKC, who have taken care of business as a 1-seed, it's the Pacers who are our bigger liability today.' BetMGM told Yahoo Sports there are "a couple" of Pacers futures wagers with a chance to win six figures at 125-1 odds. Sherman said Westgate took a $400 wager on Indiana at 150-1 in mid-February, along with two $200 wagers at that price, making Indiana a "small liability." Not many bettors were backing Indiana down the stretch of the regular season, despite the Pacers now sporting a record of 46-18 since Jan. 1. Advertisement "Certainly for the Eastern Conference futures, having the Pacers come through was a huge win," Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata in Atlantic City (a BetMGM book) noted. "We had liability on both the Knicks and Celtics and were pretty much break even on the Cavs. The Pacers were pretty much ignored in the futures all year." Likely due to the big potential payout, bettors have been backing Indiana to beat Oklahoma City, with a staggering 92% of the bets and 91% of the total dollars wagered so far on the Pacers to win the finals. If the Pacers pull off the stunner, it would be the biggest NBA Finals upset since 2004 when the Detroit Pistons (+500) beat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. Game 1 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET Thursday on ABC. The Thunder are 9.5-point favorites, with the total at 230.5.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
The biggest favorites in NBA Finals history, including the 2025 Thunder
The biggest favorites in NBA Finals history, including the 2025 Thunder With their Game 6 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday, the Indiana Pacers became just the fourth No. 4-seed to reach the NBA Finals since the expanded playoff format in 1984. As such, they had to pull off a couple of upsets to get as far, winning series over the Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers as betting underdogs entering each. That also means they're a big underdog against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. In fact, the Pacers are the biggest finals underdog since the Cavaliers in 2018. And where there's a big underdog, there's a massive favorite, and that certainly applies to OKC. The Thunder currently hold -700 odds to beat Indiana, which would tie them as the seventh-biggest finals favorite ever, according to SportsOddsHistory data that go back to 1973. Biggest NBA Finals favorites (since 1973) The odds are a good sign for the Thunder, as every other team to have odds of at least -700 went a combined 7-1 in the finals, with the only loser being the 2004 Lakers that marked the end of the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal era.
Indianapolis Star
4 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Pacers are biggest betting underdogs in NBA Finals in seven years
The Indiana Pacers aren't strangers to being underdogs after winning each of their last two playoff series as such. But after topping the New York Knicks to advance to their first NBA Finals since 2000, the Pacers are facing the biggest odds they've seen to date in the championship round. At BetMGM, the Pacers have +500 odds to come out on top over the Oklahoma City Thunder, making them the biggest underdogs in the NBA Finals since the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the Golden State Warriors in 2018 as +688 underdogs, according to SportsOddsHistory. The Thunder have -700 odds to come out on top. Additionally, oddsmakers like the series to end early, with +200 odds on a five-game series leading the way. The next-best result after Thunder in five is a Thunder sweep at +325.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Pacers open as biggest NBA Finals underdogs in 7 years
Pacers open as biggest NBA Finals underdogs in 7 years The Indiana Pacers aren't strangers to being underdogs after winning each of their last two playoff series as such. But after topping the New York Knicks to advance to their first NBA Finals since 2000, the Pacers are facing the biggest odds they've seen to date in the championship round. At BetMGM, the Pacers have +500 odds to come out on top over the Oklahoma City Thunder, making them the biggest underdogs in the NBA Finals since the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the Golden State Warriors in 2018 as +688 underdogs, according to SportsOddsHistory. The Thunder have -700 odds to come out on top. Additionally, oddsmakers like the series to end early, with +200 odds on a five-game series leading the way. The next-best result after Thunder in five is a Thunder sweep at +325. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the overwhelming favorite to win finals MVP at -625 odds, followed by Tyrese Haliburton at +700 and Pascal Siakam at +2200.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
2025 NBA Finals odds: Oklahoma City Thunder are biggest favorites in franchise history vs. Indiana Pacers
The Oklahoma City Thunder are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 after dispatching the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games. They will face the Indiana Pacers, who knocked off the New York Knicks in six games on Saturday night, and the Thunder are overwhelming favorites in the series. In fact, Oklahoma City is the biggest finals favorite in franchise history. The Thunder opened as -800 favorites in the NBA Finals at BetMGM, with the Pacers as +550 underdogs. Advertisement Oklahoma City was a -175 favorite back in the 2012 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, but ended up losing the series in five games. The Seattle SuperSonics were -140 favorites in the 1978 NBA Finals against the Washington Bullets, per Sports Odds History. The biggest favorites in NBA Finals history were the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers, who were -2000 against the Philadelphia 76ers and won the series in five games. The 2018 champion Golden State Warriors were the second biggest of all time as -1075 favorites over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Who were the biggest favorites to lose in the Finals? Well, that again would be the Lakers, who fell as -700 favorites to the 2004 Detroit Pistons. Oklahoma City has arguably been the best team in the league all season, going 68-14 in the tough Western Conference to earn the No. 1 seed, which included a historic 55-23-4 record against the spread in the regular season — the best ATS mark in 35 seasons. Advertisement While the Thunder have struggled against the spread in the postseason (7-9 ATS), they have been impressive and won games when it has mattered most — winning Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals and hitting clutch shot after clutch shot in Game 4 against the Timberwolves in the last round. The Pacers are in the finals for only the second time in franchise history (in 2000 they lost to the -800 favorite Los Angeles Lakers in six games) and have been impressive in the postseason, winning seven games outright as underdogs. Indiana was a -190 favorite at sportsbooks in its Round 1 series against a banged-up Milwaukee Bucks team, before being underdogs (+425 series price) against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Knicks (+135) in the last two rounds. Game 1 of the NBA Finals is 8:30 p.m. ET Thursday on ABC. The Thunder are 9-point home favorites with a total of 229.5.
