NBA news: 2025/26 season predictions and betting tips
The 2025/26 NBA season tips off this week, which means it’s time for the tribalistic optimism that lasts until 0-2 to begin.
Every fan base thinks this is their year, and every GM is pretending that a mid-level signing has fixed all of their problems.
The reigning champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, are the favorites to repeat. Parity has brought seven champions in seven years, though, so don’t be fooled.
Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic are among those proving that White Men Can Jump. They may also bag end-of-season MVP honours.
Half these predictions will age like milk; the rest might win you a beer. Either way, I’ll be here in April pretending I knew it all along.
Join Sports News Blitz’s George Dempsey as he runs the rule over the 2025/26 NBA season and offers up 10 betting predictions.
The Oklahoma City Thunder won’t win the NBA Championship
Oklahoma City are the favourites to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy again, and deservedly so.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning MVP, Chet Holmgren looks like a future All-Star, and 14 players return from last year’s championship roster.
But repeating in this league is a nightmare. The last team to do it was Golden State, and that was back when people still bought DVDs.
Depth and chemistry will keep the Thunder near the top, yet the toll of a long playoff run is real, and their rivals have reloaded.
Denver, Cleveland, and even Houston now look better built for the grind. The Thunder will be great again, but greatness isn’t the same as glory.
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The Denver Nuggets will win the NBA Championship in 2025/26
Nikola Jokic has two missions this season: win the Championship and help the Nuggets save Bruce Brown’s career again.
Back the Nuggets to win it at 7/1.
If anyone’s going to knock off the Thunder, it’s Denver. The Nuggets pushed them to seven games last spring and somehow came out of the summer stronger.
Cameron Johnson replaces Michael Porter Jr., and Jonas Valančiūnas finally gives Nikola Jokić a backup center who won’t need GPS to find the paint.
Depth was Denver’s only flaw, and now it looks fixed.
Jokić will cruise through the regular season, and Jamal Murray will take care of the big moments, with plenty of shooting around them.
The Cleveland Cavaliers can win the Eastern Conference
Cleveland were built for the long haul, but their window might already be open.
Donovan Mitchell swears he’s still happy there, which is exactly what everyone says a few months before they aren’t.
64 wins last season proved they can dominate the regular season; now they need to turn that into something meaningful.
Back them to win the East at 11/5.
Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland still run one of the league’s most explosive backcourts, and Evan Mobley’s Defensive Player of the Year leap gave them an identity at the other end.
Boston look wounded, Milwaukee are past their peak, and New York are learning a new system.
Cleveland’s balance offers them the cleanest path to success.
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Luka Dončić can win the Michael Jordan MVP award
Luka Dončić has spent years flirting with the MVP conversation, but this might finally be the one that sticks.
Now leading the Lakers in his first full season alongside LeBron James, he’s fitter, sharper, and ready to post nightly triple-doubles that make the numbers look broken.
The question isn’t whether he’ll produce — it’s whether the Lakers will win enough for voters to care.
13 of the last 14 MVPs came from teams winning 50-plus games, and Los Angeles need that kind of consistency to keep Dončić in the race.
Victor Wembanyama will win Defensive Player of the Year
Victor Wembanyama is still growing, both statistically and probably physically.
At 1/2, Wemby looks an obvious bet for Defensive Player of the Year.
He already warps how teams attack, swatting shots from neighboring zip codes. San Antonio will underwhelm, but voters won’t be able to ignore his numbers.
Bet on the Houston Rockets to win the Southwest Division
The Rockets at 4/9 to win the Southwest feels like an obvious bet, but you can combine it with something else.
Kevin Durant’s arrival gives them late-game control, and this roster already had one of the league’s best defenses.
The Fred VanVleet injury hurts, but there’s enough young talent to keep the pace until he’s back.
For the god knows how many-th time, Kevin Durant can look forward to a successful run as part of a Big Three that definitely isn’t part of secret trade pacts by Christmas.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will win fewer than 50 games
Anthony Edwards thinks he’s Michael Jordan, so nobody tell him he’ll have to settle for 1985 Mike this season.
The Timberwolves are priced around even money at 10/11 (1.91) to go under 49.5 wins, and that line looks generous.
They’ve been brilliant the past two years, but age, injuries, and depth could catch up fast.
Mike Conley is 38, and Rudy Gobert can’t anchor forever.
The New York Knicks will win fewer games than last season
Madison Square Garden hasn’t been more confident of success since they believed they were signing Donovan Mitchell for each of the last 162 weeks.
The Knicks are 10/11 (1.91) to go under 52.5 wins, and that feels about right.
They won 51 last year, but a new system under Mike Brown will take time to bed in.
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The Golden State Warriors will win more than the Knicks
The Warriors at 10/11 (1.91) to clear 46.5 wins looks light.
They went 22-5 last season when Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler were both available, and this time they start healthy with added depth in Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton.
Steph Curry turns 38 this season, but he’s still the only man alive who can make a bad shot feel inevitable.
The Toronto Raptors will qualify for the NBA Playoffs with 40 wins
The Raptors have upgraded everywhere but the part of Canada that gets any sleep during West Coast games.
Still, 13/10 for them to reach the playoffs looks lively.
Brandon Ingram adds balance, Jakob Poeltl anchors the middle, and Scottie Barnes keeps improving as the two-way hub.
The East isn’t deep, and this roster’s too good to be sitting home in April.
It’s also good enough to surpass 37.5 wins at 10/11.
