2026 NBA playoffs second-round odds: Thunder are now minus-odds title favorites

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder have been favored to win the title all year, but are now favored against the field. Joshua Gateley / Getty Images Share article6The Oklahoma City Thunder have been favored to win the NBA title all season, but as contenders struggle or get eliminated, it’s starting to look less and less likely someone will take them down. The Thunder have had no trouble this postseason and are now favored against the field. OKC has minus odds (-170) to win the NBA title. On Wednesday, the New York Knicks try to keep their recent dominance going against the Philadelphia 76ers and the San Antonio Spurs try to get even with the Minnesota Timberwolves. This story will be updated throughout the second round as the odds change with the results for every game. Series odds: Pistons -210, Cavaliers +175 The Pistons labored in the first round and realistically should be eliminated. They trailed by 24 in the second half on the road while facing elimination. Yet, here they are, and they are taking advantage of this second life. Detroit raced out to a 16-point lead after a quarter and withstood a late Cleveland charge to take Game 1 111-101. Suddenly, the Pistons look like a No. 1 seed. James Harden was 1-for-7 from the 3-point line and Donovan Mitchell is complaining about only drawing two free throws, but at least his sneakers look very cool. Cade Cunningham didn’t have to do everything for Detroit, scoring 23 points on an off shooting night (6-for-19). A more balanced Pistons performance resulted in a win. Detroit was favored by barely better than a coin flip at the start of the series. Now, there’s some breathing room in the odds, but it’s still tight. Series odds: Knicks -450, 76ers +350 Are the Knicks just world-beaters now? New York followed up the 51-point win against Atlanta that closed out that series with a 39-point win against Philadelphia to open this one. The Knicks couldn’t miss. They shot 63 percent from the field and 51 percent (19-for-37) from 3-point range. New York had 74 points by halftime. Jalen Brunson had 35 points in 31 minutes. There are many ways to say the Knicks were good on Monday. Joel Embiid, meanwhile, was just 3-for-11 from the field, and Tyrese Maxey had just 13 points. This series probably won’t go this way the whole way through, but the Knicks haven’t had a competitive game in a week and a half. Series odds: Thunder -3000, Lakers +1200 The Thunder are almost boring at this point. The Lakers raced out to a 7-0 lead in Game 1 on Tuesday, but then Oklahoma City closed the first quarter on a 9-2 run to take a five-point lead and never trailed again. By the end, OKC won by 18. While every other team in the playoffs has trailed in a series, Oklahoma City hasn’t lost a game yet. LeBron James was LeBron James (27 points on 12-for-17 shooting), but he didn’t get much help. Austin Reaves was 3-for-16 from the field and Marcus Smart was 4-for-15. The Lakers need Luka Dončić back, and fast. The Thunder comfortably won and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an off night (18 points and seven turnovers). Scary. With the Celtics and Nuggets out and the Spurs down a game, the Thunder are minus odds favorites to repeat (-170) after Tuesday’s games. Game 2: 9:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday Series odds: Spurs -1200, Timberwolves +160 Several hours before Game 1 started, the Spurs were heavily favored to advance and a Western Conference final with Oklahoma City seemed nearly inevitable. Then, Anthony Edwards decided to suit up and come back from injury. Now, Minnesota has a 1-0 series lead. The Spurs are still favored to win the series after dropping Game 1 at home 104-102, but the odds moved from -1200 to -190. Minnesota was 7-to-1 advance and is now +160. Edwards scored 18 points in 25 minutes, so there should be more to come as his minutes load increases. The Timberwolves were without Ayo Dosunmu, who sat out Game 6 against Denver with a calf injury. It’s not a great sign for the Spurs that they lost at home while Minnesota had a minutes restriction on Edwards. Plus, Dosunmu could return at some point in this series. That said, while Victor Wembanyama had 12 blocks, he was 0-for-8 from 3-point range. He and De’Aaron Fox both had off shooting nights, and Julian Champagnie still had a really good open look at a 3-pointer to win the game at the buzzer. A sweep seemed possible going into the series. Now, it looks like this could be a good one. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms