NBA Betting News This Month | Best And Worst 2027 Finals Odds | Biggest Early Season Questions | October 16, 2026

Another NBA regular season is underway, and it opens with all the usual questions. The most important of those inquiries: Which odds to win the 2027 NBA Finals offer the best bang for their buck? And equally important, which NBA championship lines are you better off avoiding?

Other questions are floating around the basketball-sphere as things get started, too. The NBA prop betting market has name-checked Victor Wembanyama as the odds-on favorite to win his first MVP award, but can anybody catch him? How will the new-look Philadelphia 76ers fare to start the season? Can the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers play enough defense to emerge as meaningful contenders?

This list could go on. And on. And onward still. But we’re here to spotlight our best and worst NBA Finals bets to start the season, as well as check in on the way-too-early MVP race. First, however, let’s begin with five things we’re watching for to begin the 2026-27 NBA regular season.

We have singled out six teams for this exercise: three with title odds we would pounce on right now, and three others would avoid. To keep things fresh, we will alternate between a “best” selection and “worst” selection. Championship odds for each squad will be listed, with lines  coming directly from Bovada.

Best title odds nomination: Los Angeles Lakers (+4000)

We would typically avoid a big-market behemoth like the Lakers. Public action tends to tilt their title odds. Yet, the opposite is happening this time.

Indeed, the Lakers have questions. But they will be an offensive machine if Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves play in a bunch of games. There is also a chance their defense is better than expected. Walker Kessler is among the NBA’s best rim protectors when healthy. Los Angeles could use more two-way guys on the perimeter, but Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle and Quentin Grimes can all play the aggressive style head coach JJ Redick wants to instill.

While we would not put the Lakers firmly inside the inner-circle of title contenders, they are currently hovering around No. 14 in the title-odds hierarchy. They are certainly better than that.

Worst title odds nomination: Golden State Warriors (+8000)

Last time we checked in with the Golden State Warriors, their titles odds sat at +6000. They have since gotten longer. But not long enough.

This roster is old. And injured. Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porzingis will all miss extensive time to start the season. Draymond Green and Al Horford have both faded on offense. The burden upon 38-year-old Stephen Curry’s shoulders is insane.

To that end, the Warriors already seem to be waiving the white flag when you read comments like this from head coach Steve Kerr:

Kerr with a very honest acknowledgment for fans buying tickets early in the season hoping to see Steph every night. He says “be mindful” of all the games early. He said Warriors are ramping up Steph differently this year. He’s not taking as many full court reps in practice.

— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) October 15, 2026

Go ahead and fade the Dubs’ title odds with confidence.

Best title odds nomination: Utah Jazz (+12500)

Counting on the Utah Jazz to win the title jumps the shark. They have their own defensive questions, and they’ll be heavily reliant on two youngsters in Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey. Both may be ticketed for eventual stardom. But expecting them to drive winning at the highest level as a rookie and sophomore, respectively, is a tall order.

Still, pairing them with Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George gives the Jazz a clear path toward a top-seven offense. The supporting cast is deep enough, and more importantly, Utah has the asset stash to take a midseason swing. If they decide to acquire a starting center to play alongside Jackson and/or extra point of attack defense before the trade deadline, they could be a legitimate and immediate force in the Western Conference.

Worst title odds nomination: Boston Celtics (+1400)

It isn’t hard to convince yourself the Boston Celtics will once again be a regular-season wins machine. They picked up 56 victories largely without Jayson Tatum last year. While they traded Jaylen Brown, a core with Tatum and Paul George should theoretically beat last year’s nucleus that had Brown, but not Tatum or George.

This logic might fly during the regular season. The playoffs are a different animal. Even for a team that embraces three-point variance like the Celtics, you need multiple guys who can operate in the muck. Tatum could do that before his Achilles injury, but can he do it now?

And even if he can do it now, the Celtics went from having two players, with Brown, who could generate shots against elite defenses to having one. This is going to bite them when the playoffs roll around unless they make a major trade—which we don’t see them doing. 

Best title odds nomination: Indiana Pacers (+4000)

Serious question: Did we all just forget the Indiana Pacers actually had a chance to win Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder before Tyrese Haliburton suffered an Achilles injury that derailed the night…and the entire 2025-26 season?

Worrying about what Haliburton looks like following such a serious setback is perfectly fair. But even if he’s operating at 80 percent capacity, the Pacers have one of the best starting lineups in the league with him, Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith. Of course, if preseason is any indication, Haliburton is operating at well over 80 percent capacity:

Wrote about Tyrese Haliburton getting back to where he left off in his triumphal return to OKC

On what stood out from him going left as a right-hand dominant PG coming back from a right Achilles injury & the full-circle moment leading to a new direction: https://t.co/4ntSLRgVuN https://t.co/VTdUsnM0PM

— Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) October 14, 2026

On top of that, the bench is genuinely deep. Indiana can get to a lot of different looks by working in some combination of T.J. McConnell, Jarace Walker, Obi Toppin, Jay Huff and Ben Sheppard. Don’t rule them making a trade for a bigger wing, different type of guard or backup big ahead of the deadline, either.

Worst title odds nomination: Denver Nuggets (+2700)

With all due respect, what are we doing here?!

Yes, the Nuggets still have Nikola Jokic. They also, at full strength, have one of the league’s best core lineups with him, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson and Christian Braun. The problem? They don’t have much else.

DeMar DeRozan profiles as Denver’s sixth man. While you can certainly trust, his fit as a ball-dominant non-spacer who can’t defend is dicey. Let’s not forget he turned 37 in August, either. This could be the year he suffers a starker drop-off in production.

Even if he doesn’t, the Nuggets don’t have anyone else they can caps-lock TRUST. Spencer Jones, Alpha Diallo, Trevon Brazille, Tyus Jones, Marvin Bagley III and Cam Whitmore are all varying degrees of interesting. But the odds of more than one of them being viable in a playoff rotation aren’t great. Bake in Gordon’s murky injury history and Denver’s penny-pinching making it unlikely they pursue upgrades at the deadline, and you’ve got the mother of all paper tigers—a team that might win 50-plus regular-season games, but has less than a puncher’s chance of winning more than a single playoff series.

2027 NBA MVP favorites

Before we depart, let’s have our usual look at players with top-five MVP odds:

1. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs (+200)
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder (+350)
3. Luka Doncic (+500)
4. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets (+500)
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1100)

Despite seeing some line movement elsewhere, Victor Wembanyama remains heavily favored to win his first MVP award. For those who care, he’s also favored to win Defensive Player of the Year.

All of which makes sense. Voters gravitate towards new blood. Nikola Jokic has three MVPs, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just won his second in a row. Even after Wemby finished in the top-three of MVP voting, he’s the fresher face.

NBA GMs vote on the best defenders:

Best defensive player – Victor Wembanyama – 97%

Best perimeter defender – Amen Thompson – 30%

Best interior defender – Victor Wembanyama – 97%

Most versatile defender – Victor Wembanyama – 30%

(Via https://t.co/eyCCL6Z6IJ) https://t.co/t6jS7ndgLs

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 15, 2026

Much like last time, our favorite dark horse candidate is Giannis Antetokounmpo at +1100. This isn’t quite the +1600 he was laying last time around, but it’s still good enough to pounce. Linemakers still seem to be undervaluing him. The bare-bones Milwaukee Bucks had the point differential of a title contender with him on the floor last year. Pairing him with Bam Adebayo on the Miami Heat should culminate in a ton of wins and wild stat lines—provided Giannis remains healthy.

Previous NBA betting news updates

• [October 1-15]: Win totals for every team were finalized, and the Miami (over), Warriors (under) and Nuggets (over) immediately emerged as our best bets.
• [September 1-30]: The Nuggets trading Peyton Watson to the Cavs has a material impact on title odds.
• [August 1-31]: Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs opens as the odds-on favorite to win MVP.
• [July 1-31]: The Cleveland Cavaliers were favored to land LeBron James.
• [June 16-30]: The Oklahoma City Thunder open as favorites to win the 2027 NBA title.
• [June 9-16]: Jalen Brunson wins Finals MVP as the Knicks upset the Spurs to become 2026 NBA champions.
• [June 1-8]: The Spurs enter the NBA Finals as favorites to beat the Knicks.
• [May 27-31]: The Spurs beat the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and emerge as new title favorites.
• [May 20-27] :Giannis Antetokounmpo is most likely to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to Bovada.
• [May 13-20]: Bovada oddsmakers have the Cleveland Cavaliers as the most likely landing spot for LeBron James in free agency this summer.
• [April 23-30]: The Oklahoma City Thunder increased their lead over the San Antonio Spurs as favorites to win the 2026 NBA Finals.
• [April 15-22, 2026]: The Boston Celtics entered the playoffs as the odds-on favorites to win the Eastern Conference despite being considered a preseason long shot.
• [April 8–15, 2026]: Los Angeles Lakers odds drop sharply after injuries to Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique), creating uncertainty around their playoff availability.
• [April 1–7, 2026]: Cade Cunningham returns from injury for the Detroit Pistons, with the team still holding top seeding but sitting fourth in Eastern Conference title odds.