2027 NBA Finals Predictions: Early Picks to Win Next Season's Championship
With the 2025-26 NBA season in the books and the New York Knicks ending their 53 year championship drought, it is now time to turn our attention to next year and see who the early favorites are to win the 2027 NBA Finals. According to the oddsmakers, the Knicks are 2nd in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics, who should have Jaylen Tatum back for a full season. Out West, it looks to be a 2-horse race between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. Let’s break down some of the value picks in each conference and discuss our NBA best bets for next season, while make sure you keep an eye out for our NBA picks for every game throughout the 2026-27 campaign.
2026-27 NBA Championship best bet: Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA Championship (+250)
Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing.
Despite falling short this year, it’s hard to overlook the Thunder in the Western Conference for the 2026-27 NBA season. Let’s face it, they have only one team to worry about in conference – the San Antonio Spurs. Making it all the way to the NBA Finals in their first postseason run as a group will certainly take a toll on the young Spurs who are ahead of schedule. The Rockets, Nuggets, Lakers and Timberwolves all have their own issues coming into the new season, so I’m having a hard time seeing any of those teams making a big enough leap to challenge the Thunder. SGA and company have one of the more stable rosters at the moment, and assuming Jalen Williams finally gets healthy, we should see them get back to the form that got them their 1st ever NBA Championship in 2025.
2026-27 NBA futures pick: Boston Celtics to win the Eastern Conference (+210)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
The Boston Celtics could be going into another revamp this offseason after a disappointing ending to what was a promising campaign. Blowing a 3-1 lead to the always-injured Philadelphia 76ers wasn’t a good look – maybe it’s time the Celtics go in a different direction? Rumor has it they are one of the frontrunners in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes; trading for him could finally signal the end of the Tatum and Brown partnership. The style of play wouldn’t change all that much with Giannis on board instead of Brown, as this team would still retain its prolific three-point shooting while adding a high-quality slasher that can attack the basket at will and defend at a high level. Experience is also on the side of the Celtics, who went all the way just 2 seasons ago. Role players like Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser are only getting better as they age. Who can realistically stop this Boston team in the Eastern Conference?
2026-27 NBA futures pick: Denver Nuggets to win the NBA Championship (+2800)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Ever since winning the NBA Championship back in 2023, the Denver Nuggets have failed to live up to their expectations. Two consecutive conference semifinals followed by a first round exit at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves tell us that this team has regressed in the past few seasons. However, despite all that, I still feel the Joker has a trick or 2 up his sleeve. Health played a major part in the Nuggets failures this past season, especially with Aaron Gordon, who was a key member of that championship-winning team. If the trio of Jokic, Murray and Gordon remains together and assuming they’re all healthy come playoff time, the Nuggets could very well push both the Spurs and Thunder to the brink. At this price, the Nuggets are worth a small bet.
Find out the NBA futures odds to win next season's championship for every team, along with a full breakdown of all the major contenders
2026-27 NBA futures prediction: Indiana Pacers to win the Eastern Conference (+1300)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
After their historic run to make it to the 2025 NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers didn’t even get a fair shot at defending the Eastern Conference crown. As we all know, Tyrese Haliburton went down with an Achilles injury in Game 7 of that series against OKC, forcing him to sit out the entire 2025-26 NBA season. With him finally getting healthy, the expectations of the Pacers fans are once again high after their team finished 14th in the East with just 19 wins and 63 losses. The addition of Ivica Zubac didn’t yield much this past season, but in the long run, his buddy-ball game with Haliburton could be huge. Big Zu thrived under the leadership of James Harden when he was with the Clippers. Although he might not be the shooter Myles Turner was, he certainly gives the Pacers defense an uplift down low. Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith are all experienced veterans at this point, so Indiana certainly has the potential to make some noise in the Eastern Conference.
2026-27 NBA futures prediction: Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA Championship (+3500)
Odds widely available at time of publishing.
It was an odd campaign for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Expectations were high at the beginning after a 64-win regular season the year before, but a slow start forced the Cavs to shake things up and add the aforementioned Harden. The team responded well to having him around instead of Darius Garland, especially on the offensive end – where they quickly became one of the more prolific teams in the NBA. However, the honeymoon period was short lived, as the team lacked intensity during the postseason, barely scraping through the first 2 rounds before ultimately being swept in the Conference Finals by the Knicks. So why exactly would we bet on the Cavs to make a step further this upcoming season? One reason – LeBron James. There is a lot of talk about LeBron planning a farewell tour next year, and Cleveland seems like the ideal situation for him to do just that. Can you imagine this Cavs team adding another experienced veteran like LeBron? All year long, they had issues at the SF position; they’d be among the favorites if LeBron returned home once again.
