2026 NBA Championship Odds, Futures: Thunder early favourites to repeat

The Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA championship on Sunday night by beating Indiana in a seven-game Finals. OKC is the seventh straight new champion, setting an NBA record for parity in the league.

Looking ahead to next season, can the Thunder become the first repeat champions since Golden State in 2017 and 2018, or will a new contender emerge in 2026?

Led by a core of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren among others, the Thunder are early +240 favourites to repeat as NBA champions in 2026. The one stat that is concerning, however, is no championship team since 2018 has advanced past the second round of the playoffs in the following season.

Houston made a huge splash on Sunday by trading for future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant, which has bumped the Rockets to the second-shortest 2026 championship odds at +800. Durant has two titles and two Finals MVPs under his belt, but he’ll be 37 by the time next season starts and Houston gave up a lot of core pieces in the trade.

Cleveland stomped their way through the regular season to the best record in the East and swept Miami in the first round of the playoffs before falling flat in five games against Indiana. The Cavaliers are expected to largely run it back with the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley leading the way, but it’s fair to be question if they’ve learned from an early playoff exit.

After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years, the Knicks rewarded head coach Tom Thibodeau by firing him. New York has proven they’re not content with being good, they want to win. But with no coach and questions surrounding the future of players like Mikal Bridges, how do the Knicks plan on taking the next step to true contender status?

Orlando is all-in for 2026 after trading four first round picks to Memphis for Desmond Bane, who is a perfect fit for a roster that was starved of offence last season. The Magic look much better on paper with Bane, Jalen Suggs, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, but only time will tell if they can win a playoff series for the first time since 2010.