2026 NBA title odds: How the contenders rank after free agency and trade frenzy

The Oklahoma City Thunder are still the clear favorites to win the NBA title again next season, but the start of the offseason has seen a number of top contenders make bold moves to position themselves as a serious threat to the Thunders new crown.

The betting odds have seen several notable shifts below the Thunder at the top.

Advertisement For starters, the Denver Nuggets (+600 on BetMGM) are now second in the odds behind Oklahoma City (+275) after adding a number of supporting pieces to go with Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets took the Thunder to Game 7, and Aaron Gordon was hampered by a hamstring injury in that game.

Denver is still only two years removed from a championship and has the best player on the planet.

Its not hard to envision how Denver could be primed for another run if the additions of Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown Jr., Jonas Valanciunas and Tim Hardaway Jr.

prove valuable.

The Houston Rockets remain among the top three (+800) with the Kevin Durant trade fueling much of the optimism.

The Rockets are adding Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela to fill out what is looking like a scary roster, but Houston was already among the top contenders before those moves.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (+850) and the New York Knicks (+900) remain at the top of what appears to be a wide-open Eastern Conference.

After that, there have been plenty of shifts.

Lets see how things stack up after two days of free agency, with a focus on the teams that have moved the most in the futures odds.

2026 NBA championship odds Biggest risers Biggest transactions Odds move (from opening odds to now): +1600 to +700 Denver needed to improve its depth after seeing its supporting cast have a very inconsistent playoffs.

The Porter Jr.

for Johnson swap opened up some cap space for Denver, swapping an expensive shooter for a cheaper one.

The other moves are clear upgrades.

Brown was a part of the Nuggets title team and returned on a veteran minimum, Valanciunas could give Jokic more of a breather and Hardaway gives the Nuggets much-needed shooting help on the wings.

John Hollinger on the live blog : The Dario Saric for Jonas Valanciunas trade is an absolutely incredible deal for the Denver Nuggets.

They just traded $5 million in dead weight to the Sacramento Kings to get the best backup center of the Nikola Jokic era.

Biggest transactions Odds move: +25000 to +2500 Trae Young remains the cornerstone, but the supporting cast looks deeper and much more talented with those three additions.

Atlantas regular starting five figures to be Young, Porzingis, Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels, last years No.

1 pick Zaccharie Risacher and Jalen Johnson, who was averaging 18.9 points, 10 rebounds and five assists before missing the second half of last season due to injury.

Add Alexander-Walker and Kennard to a bench unit in a depleted Eastern Conference, and its easy to see why Atlanta surged up the odds.

Advertisement Jared Weiss on Atlantas rapid rebuild : [Porzingis] may be the best player Young has ever played with when healthy, particularly considering how well they will accentuate each others strengths.

Porzingis averaged about 20 points per game in his two seasons with the Boston Celtics, and he wasnt even the second option.

He has a chance to make it back to the All-Star Game playing alongside Young and will be the key to pushing the Hawks toward a return to the conference finals.

Biggest transactions Odds move: +1800 to +1200 Orlando has become the trendy pick for new and improved contender.

The Magic were the worst 3-point shooting team in the league this past regular season (31.8 percent) and still made the playoffs.

Orlandos response was to add one of the best 3-point shooters in the league in Bane.

Signing Jones gives Orlando a point guard who can create and is another strong shooter from beyond the arc.

The Magic emphatically addressed their biggest weakness while keeping the main core of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs intact.

It may not be a title-contending core, but Orlando is in the right conference to make a playoff run.

Zach Harper from Day 1 free agency grades : I think basketball diehards everywhere have been dying to get a point guard like Jones to Orlando for a couple of years, and he should fit perfectly with Desmond Bane.

Biggest fallers In the Eastern Conference, the favored Knicks and Cavaliers have seen their odds get a bit longer, mostly due to the Magic and Hawks emerging as contenders who did not appear to exist before.

Similarly, the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs have seen other teams pass them in the Western Conference despite not making major changes.

The Indiana Pacers lost Myles Turner to Milwaukee, which saw the Pacers odds go from +6600 to +8000.

However, Tyrese Haliburtons Achilles injury meant the Pacers were already a long shot, at least for 2026, before Turners exit.

Advertisement None of the teams mentioned above truly qualify as fallers in quite the way Boston does.

Biggest transactions Odds move: +1600 to +4000 With Jayson Tatum out with a torn Achilles, the Celtics had already taken a massive hit in futures odds before the opening odds were out.

Still, the Porzingis and Holiday trades showed Boston is not trying to win this year with the remaining core.

The Celtics are in cost-cutting mode, at least for a year, before revving back up.

Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are still a strong duo at the top of the roster, but theres a lot less to like about Boston right now, especially after Luke Kornet agreed to sign with the Spurs.

Jay King on Bostons exodus : Though Brad Stevens has been able to address a salary-cap dilemma, positioning the Celtics under the second apron with a chance to potentially dip under the luxury tax threshold, his desire to do so has already come at a significant cost.

The Boston frontcourt now looks like a glaring weakness.

Implied rankings based on title odds 1.

Oklahoma City (+275) 2.

Denver Nuggets (+600) 3.

Houston Rockets (+800) 4.

Los Angeles Lakers (+1600) 5.

Minnesota Timberwolves (+1800) 6.

LA Clippers (+2000) 7.

Golden State Warriors (+3000) 8.

Dallas Mavericks (+4000) 9.

San Antonio Spurs (+5000) 10.

Memphis Grizzlies (+12500) 1.

Cleveland Cavaliers (+850) 2.

New York Knicks (+900) 3.

Orlando Magic (+1200) 4.

Atlanta Hawks (+2500) 5.

Philadelphia 76ers (+3300) 6.

Boston Celtics (+4000) T-7.

Detroit Pistons (+6600) T-7.

Milwaukee Bucks (+6600) 9.

Indiana Pacers (+8000) 10.

Toronto Raptors (+25000) Betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic .

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(Photo of Nikola Jokic and Isaiah Hartenstein: Joshua Gateley / Getty Images).

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