Thunder odds-on NBA title favorites as second round begins
Eight teams are left standing in the NBA playoffs, but it's the top overall seed that stands head and shoulders above the field.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are heavy favorites to win their second straight league title as the conference semifinals began Monday night.
At both DraftKings Sportsbook and BetMGM, the Thunder are -145 favorites to win the NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference behind the Thunder, have the second-shortest odds -- +370 at DraftKings and +375 at BetMGM.
Oklahoma City, buoyed by a 24-1 start to the regular season, sailed to the league's best record at 64-18. Then the Thunder swept the eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs, the only series to finish 4-0.
The Spurs may pose the biggest threat to the Thunder of any potential opponent, should they meet in the Western Conference finals. The regional rivals played five times in the regular season, a rarity created by their clash in the NBA Cup semifinals, and the Spurs took four of the meetings.
The New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons are the favorites from the Eastern Conference -- with third-seeded New York earning much shorter odds than top-seeded Detroit after the Pistons needed to rally from a 3-1 hole to eliminate the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic.
The Knicks are +900 to win the NBA title at both DraftKings and BetMGM. They're also the +135 favorite to win the Eastern Conference at DraftKings and +150 at BetMGM.
The Pistons sat at +1800 to win the title at DraftKings, and +260 to win the East. BetMGM likes them a tad better, pinning them at +1700 odds for the championship and +250 to win the East.
DraftKings odds to win NBA Finals (as of May 4, 8 p.m. ET):
--Oklahoma City: -145
--San Antonio: +370
--New York: +900
--Detroit: +1800
--Cleveland: +2200
--L.A. Lakers: +2800
--Philadelphia: +4000
--Minnesota: +7000
BetMGM odds to win NBA Finals (as of May 4, 8 p.m. ET):
--Oklahoma City: -145
--San Antonio: +375
--New York: +900
--Detroit: +1700
--Cleveland: +2000
--L.A. Lakers: +2500
--Philadelphia: +3500
--Minnesota: +8000