NBA Finals Betting Guide: Bet on the NBA Finals in 2025
NOTE: Throughout this NBA Finals betting guide, we refer to betting odds at online sportsbooks. In all cases, these lines are subject to change at any time. For the most up-to-date odds, please follow the links we provide to the websites of reputable bookmakers where you can observe the betting lines in real time.
The NBA Finals is the culmination of the NBA season and consists a best-of-seven series to determine the overall NBA champion for the year. NBA Finals betting is therefore a popular pastime for fans of basketball.
For 2025, the contenders are the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. The first game occurs Thursday, June 5 at 8:30 p.m. ET at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. We'll show you how to get started if you're looking to bet on the NBA Finals.
NBA Finals Is a Big Betting Event
As the premier event in one of the most popular sports in the United States, the NBA Finals represent a fine betting opportunity. Whether you wish to bet on the outcome of the entire series, a particular game, or even smaller events, like the performance of an individual player, you'll be able to do so easily.
There are, needless to say, quite a number of online bookmakers that offer NBA Finals betting odds. We've evaluated them all according to several criteria, including reputability, promotions, and cashier methods, to identify the best ones. Whichever of the below operators you choose to bet with, you'll be treated to fair wager grading, a plethora of available bets, and reliable payouts:
- Sportsbetting.ag - High limits and plenty of promos.
- Bovada Best for recreational bettors.
- Everygame - Largest welcome bonus (50% up to $1000 with crypto).
NBA Finals Structure
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It comes at the end of the postseason, and it pits the East and West conference champions against each other to determine the overall NBA champion for the year.
NBA Finals a best-of-seven affair in a 2-2-1-1-1 format whereby the team with the best regular season record hosts the first two games followed by two games at the home of the other team. If necessary, the teams then alternate for the last three games. However, should any team win four games, then the series ends at that point with the remainder of the seven games not taking place.
The winning team receives the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
Understanding NBA Finals Betting Odds
As we've mentioned, there are all kinds of bets you can make on the NBA Finals. However, no matter which specific wagers you're interested in, the lines are shown in a similar way.
You'll see the information shown something like the following assuming you choose to view the odds in “American” format:
Team to Win Game 2
Team 1: +135
Team 2: -145
Entities with a plus sign next to the number deliver a win of the number shown if the customer bets $100. The minus sign, on the other hand, indicates how much a person must bet if they wish to have the chance to win $100.
So for these specific odds, anyone who wagers $100 on Team 1 will win $135 if Team 1 prevails. Conversely, those who bet $145 on Team 2 will see a profit of $100 if Team 2 wins.
Of course, if your bet sizes are not these specific numbers, the payouts are adjusted proportionately. Someone wagering $50 on Team 1, for instance, will get a net win of $67.50 should that team achieve victory. Anyone who puts down $290 on Team 2 will realize a $200 win if Team 2 beats their opponents.
You can bet as little as $1, or in some cases even less, and your payouts will be calculated accordingly. Maximums vary from book to book but are generally at least a few thousand dollars for the most common NBA Finals bets.
Most Popular NBA Finals Bets
Though there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of distinct betting opportunities for the NBA Finals, there are a few that tend to generate the most action and are where the public at large concentrates its attention. We'll go through them now.
Series Winner
Perhaps the most popular wager out there, the overall series winner is also the simplest to understand. Let's take a look at the odds quoted at Sportsbetting.ag:
You simply pick the side that you think will wind up winning the entire NBA Finals series. The OKC Thunder is the heavy favorite here, and so you'd need to risk $665 to win $100 if you like the Thunder. If you're a supporter of the Pacers, though, then you stand to receive a profit of $485 for each $100 you wager on them.
Though there will be some variation in the betting odds for the NBA Finals, most of the lines you encounter will be similar to what's shown above.
Money Line
The moneyline refers to a bet on the team to win a game. If the teams are not believed to be evenly matched, then the odds on each side of the contest will differ depending on how big of a favorite or underdog a given team is perceived to be.
Here are the odds for the Moneyline and several other bets on Game 1 of the NBA Finals from Sportsbetting.ag:
Looking at the NBA Finals betting odds shown from Sportsbetting.ag above, we see that the Oklahoma City Thunder is a huge favorite to win game 1 with odds of -425. This means that for every $425 you bet on the Thunder, you could collect a gain of $100 if they win. If you elect to bet on the Indiana Pacers at +334, then every $100 you wager would win you $334 if Indiana prevails.
Spread
A spread is a mechanism for evening out the odds by giving one team basically a handicap that they have to overcome in order to be considered the winners for the purposes of the bet. We can see that the spread for Indiana is listed at “+9.5” and for Oklahoma City “-9.5”
How this will work out in practice is that the Thunder have to win by more than 9.5 in order for spread bets on them to be graded winners. The Pacers will be considered the winners as long as they win the game or lose by fewer than 9.5 points.
The lines for both sides of this spread bet are dead even at -110 for both Indiana and Oklahoma City. Introducing a spread makes it easier to bet on the side you want at close to even money.
Whichever team you select, you have to put up $110 for the opportunity to win $100.
Total
If you don't particularly favor any of the two teams to win, there are still things for you to bet upon. The total number of points scored is one of the most popular non-team specific items to wager on.
We can see from the screenshot above of the lines at SB.ag that the key number is 230.5. If you think the total points from both teams combined will be above this number, then you can bet the Over. The opposite bet is the Under, which is what you'll choose if you feel that the total number of points scored will fall short of 231.
Whichever side you select, you'll have to bet $110 to win $100 because the odds on either side are the same: -110.
Other Bets
We have gone over the most well-known bets that you can make on the NBA Finals, but there are quite a few others available. At Sportsbetting.ag, our #1 recommended NBA Finals betting site, you can see them by clicking on the little number near the bottom of the match listing.
This brings up an expanded view where you can see other possibilities that had been hidden before. Here you'll encounter such options as betting on the score achieved by a single team rather than the total, who will be ahead at the end of the first half, and the total points scored by halftime.
Live Betting
With NBA Finals live betting, you can place bets even after the game has already started! As the action unfolds and the game progresses, sportsbooks that allow Live Betting will adjust the odds in real time.
Besides betting on the final outcome of the game, Live Betting may let you bet on the results of the next play or the team to score next. Because of the fast-paced nature of this type of wagering, the lines will change rapidly, and so when you see a bet you like, you'll have to pull the trigger fast before the odds you see become invalid.
NBA Finals Prop Bets
A loose and vaguely defined category of bets, “Props” or proposition bets refers to those wagers that don't directly pertain to the final result or score of a game or series. Rather, they're concerned with more obscure minutiae, like the performance of a particular player or whether or not a certain statistic will turn out to be even or odd.
Among the props available at Sportsbetting.ag for NBA Finals are wagers on the player to score the most points over the course of the series, the number of games that the series will run, and whether or not there will be a game winning buzzer beater field goal. Elsewhere, you might see such possibilities as bets on the NBA Finals MVP.
Because the markets involved in prop betting tend to have thinner liquidity and less information available than more mainstream bets, the house edges tend to be higher. However, these same factors mean that lines are more frequently mispriced for props, allowing you to sometimes gain an advantage.
Ready to Bet?
Now that you've read all about how the NBA Finals betting odds work, it's time to pick an online bookmaker and start betting! Check out detailed information below on our top picks for NBA Finals betting and choose one to call home:
SPORTSBETTING.AG
- BONUS:
- 50% up to $250
- ★★★★★
- 4.8 / 5
Sportsbetting.ag is one of the best online sportsbooks available to Americans, and you can get 50% up to $250 in bonus funds with your first deposit. Limits tend to be high here, and even if you bet the maximum, you can bet again once a minute has passed or the odds have changed.
BOVADA
- BONUS:
- 75% up to $750
- ★★★★★
- 4.6 / 5
Bovada is renowned as a bookie that caters to recreational users. You can bet as little as $0.50 at a time here although, of course, more substantial wagers are permitted too. Deposit with crypto to get a bonus of 75% up to $750, and enjoy the many prop bets available.
EVERYGAME
- BONUS:
- 50% up to $1,000
- ★★★★★
- 4.4 / 5
Formerly known as Intertops, the entity now called Everygame has been in business more than 30 years. When you bet here, you are assured of honesty and reliable payouts. Deposit with crypto-currency today to get a large bonus of up to $1,000.
NBA Finals: Frequently Asked Questions
There are still a lot of details about NBA Finals betting that we have not had the space to go into within this article. Still, you might find the answers to your questions below.
All games of the NBA Finals are being broadcast live on ABC in 2025. To watch online for free, go to ABC.com, and sign in to your TV provider. The Finals can also be accessed on ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, and the ESPN App.
Watching the games unfold in real time is surely something that will appeal to anyone who has bet on NBA Finals this year.
The 2025 NBA Finals pits the Indiana Pacers of the Eastern Conference against the Oklahoma City Thunder of the Western Conference. The Thunder are the heavy favorites.
For the best NBA Finals betting odds, you can look to premier online sportsbooks, like Sportsbetting, Bovada, and Everygame. The NBA Finals betting lines will vary depending on exactly what you wish to bet on, and other considerations, like the amount you wish to wager and the state you reside in, can impact your plans for how to bet on the NBA Finals. Therefore, we cannot identify definitively an unquestionably best bookmaker for betting odds on NBA Finals.
June 2, 2025 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief