Oklahoma City Thunder Are the Clear Favorites in the NBA Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder stands as one of the most significant betting favorites in the NBA Finals over the last two decades. The Thunder commenced as -750 favorites against the Indiana Pacers in the Finals at ESPN BET, while the Pacers were listed as +525 underdogs on Saturday.

Since 2005, only the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors (-1075 against the Cleveland Cavaliers) had more favorable odds entering the Finals than this season’s Thunder.

Game 1, where the Thunder are favored by 9 points, is scheduled for Thursday in Oklahoma City. OKC triumphed over the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, marking their return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2013.

The Western Conference champions will compete against a Pacers team that started the season with 50-1 odds to win the championship but made a remarkable playoff run, defeating the New York Knicks on Saturday in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pacers, with 50-1 odds, would represent the largest preseason long shots to win the title in the last 40 years. However, history does not favor them.

In the past 50 years, only two teams that began the NBA Finals as at least +200 underdogs — the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons at +500 and the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors at +230 — have succeeded in winning the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, as per the betting archive SportsOddsHistory.com.

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