Few could have predicted that the Oklahoma City Thunder would face the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals this season, but here we are, set up for an entertaining matchup with two battle-tested, well-rounded teams that can score in bunches.
Oklahoma City swept the Memphis Grizzlies in Round 1, held off the Denver Nuggets in seven games in the conference semifinals and beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference finals.
The Pacers, which entered the playoffs as a 4-seed, knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, took out No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in five games and handled the New York Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference finals.
It all leads to this, a NBA Finals where the Thunder enter as the decisive favorite despite all the Pacers have done during the playoffs. So how should you bet this series? And which props stand out?
Here are NBA betting experts Andre Snellings, Eric Moody, Eric Karabell, Jim McCormick and Steve Alexander with the bets they like most.
Odds are updated as of publication. For latest odds go to ESPN BET
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers
Favorite bets for the series
Oklahoma City Thunder 4-2 exact series result (+400). The Thunder's elite defense, net rating (+11.2) and superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander give them the edge. It's difficult to see the Pacers offense having the same success against an Oklahoma City team that forced nearly 18 turnovers per 100 possessions. The Thunder have a deep rotation, play with discipline and are eager to etch their names into NBA history. -- Moody
Series Total Games U 5.5 (-130). Oklahoma City is a juggernaut. Credit the Pacers for overcoming obstacles to get here, but this one feels similar to the Western Conference finals, when I didn't see a 6-game series. I see the league MVP and a suffocating defense taking over, giving up one road game and finishing the championship in five games. -- Karabell
Pacers win series 4-3 (+1200). Do I believe the Pacers are going to win this series? Not really, but I do think they have a better chance than people are giving them credit for. They seem to be a team of destiny and I don't love the odds/payouts for a Thunder win. However, if the Pacers can pull off a miracle it will likely be in seven games and I like the idea of laying $100 for a chance to win $1200. -- Alexander
Pacers +2.5 over Thunder (+110). The Thunder enter the Finals as clear favorites, for good reason, but the Pacers are still better than many credit them for. Since Jan. 1, including playoffs, the Thunder have the best record in the NBA (53-13)... but the Pacers have the second-best (46-18), ahead of the third-place Boston Celtics (43-17) and fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers (40-18). If either the Celtics or Cavaliers had made the Finals, with the type of regular season they had, this would have been expected to be a close series. But because the Pacers had a slower start to the season, the expectation is the Finals will be a blowout. The Pacers were clearly the class of the East in calendar year 2025, and are more likely to make this a competitive series than the oddsmakers have caught up to. -- Snellings
Series correct score: Thunder 4-1 over Pacers (+210). These are the shortest odds of any exact series bet, with a Thunder sweep next in line. Clearly, the betting market and basketball punditry expect a short series to unfold. This angle has the Pacers winning once, much like the Timberwolves achieved in the prior round. It's difficult to identify a schematic or personnel advantage the Pacers can wield for more than one victory. TBut this exact outcome appears both rewarding from an odds perspective and viable in the context of the matchup between a very good Indiana team and an historically dominant Oklahoma City campaign. -- McCormick
Favorite player prop bets
Isaiah Hartenstein Most Total Rebounds in the series (+400). With Myles Turner struggling on the glass and Pascal Siakam leading the Pacers in the postseason with just 5.8 RPG, the Thunder's edge in the paint is clear. Hartenstein, brought in to dominate the boards, is built for this moment and should be a nightmare for the Pacers' frontcourt over the series. -- Moody
Aaron Nesmith Most Total 3-pointers made in the series (+400). Nesmith has led both teams in 3-pointers made in the playoffs thus far, averaging 2.7 3PG to edge out Haliburton (2.4 3PG). Nesmith's average actually went down slightly in the last two games of the Conference finals, after he hurt his knee and played limited minutes in those games. But he'll have close to a week to heal ahead of the start of the Finals, and will be looked upon as the main 3-and-D option for the Pacers against a Thunder defense that specializes in hindering on-ball scoring (which is what Haliburton does) moreso than spot-up shooting (Nesmith's forte). -- Snellings
Pascal Siakam to average more than 5.5 rebounds in the series (-130). It's fun to play tickets that have impressive odds, such as Nesmith or Hartenstein leading the series in specific categories. It's also fun to play series props that have a higher floor, if lower return. Siakam will have to position himself around the glass often in a matchup that heavily favors the Thunder in this area of the court. With Siakam as a fixture on both sides of the floor for Rick Carlisle, opportunity rates such as minutes and potential rebounds should prove plentiful. -- McCormick
Tyrese Haliburton to record 16+ assists in any game in the series (+265). We all know of the tenacious defense the Thunder bring to the table, meaning Haliburton may have a tough time scoring, which means he should be looking for open teammates more than usual. He recorded 16+ assists only one time this season, but I could see him hitting that number in this series. He led the league in assists at 9.8 per game this season, so hitting 16 in one of these games is not that far of a reach. -- Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to score 30+ points in each game of the series (+440). I like this prop from two directions. One, SGA is a low-variance scorer, which means that every game he is more likely to score between 30-35 points than to be under 25 or over 40. He's a metronome like that, and already has a streak of five-straight and another streak of four-straight 30+ point games during this playoff run. Secondly, the opponent with the closest scoring profile and skillset to SGA that the Pacers have faced in these playoffs was Donovan Mitchell... and Mitchell scored at least 33 points in every game in that series, playing more than 20 minutes. There's a good chance SGA can achieve something similar to Mitchell, and at +440 there is good juice in taking the chance that he does. -- Snellings
Other favorite bets
Pascal Siakam Finals MVP (+1800). Don't get me wrong, I have Gilgeous-Alexander as the favorite to win this award, but at -600 there is no value in making that bet. If the Pacers pull the upset, Haliburton is most likely to win Finals MVP, but we're just coming off Siakam being named MVP of the Conference Finals and we're also just a year removed from Jaylen Brown winning Finals MVP as the "second option" on the Celtics last season. So, at +1800, Siakam could make a solid long shot value play. -- Snellings
At least 260 total points scored in a game (+125). The Thunder and Pacers have produced elite offensive ratings even in the context of a more physical and demanding stage of the postseason. The offensive efficiency delivered by both teams would rank in the top seven for the regular season, signaling the ability for each team to overcome playoff-caliber defensive schemes. This is all to say that even as the Thunder are likely to slow down the pace-driven Pacers, there will likely be a game that ends up as a track meet. Put me down for at least one of these games to have real offensive fireworks. -- McCormick