Sixers’ Paul George weighs in on NBA’s next face of the league, MVP race, and more
Paul George talks all things NBA and gives us some insight on his partnership with Kinder Chocolate for their Pass the Fun campaign.
The first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs are in the books and the conference semifinals are officially underway.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers got the second round of the NBA playoffs started Sunday, and the other three conference semifinals series in the Eastern and Western Conferences are set to begin on Monday and Tuesday. Of the eight teams still remaining in the postseason, only the Golden State Warriors didn’t make it this far last year.
Those familiar dynamics has created a quartet of compelling matchups, with star power, regional rivalries, a dominant regular season team and the defending champion all involved. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics still loom large for oddsmakers trying to peg the favorite to win this year’s NBA championship after the opening few weeks of the league’s postseason, but they’ll each have to fend off worthy challengers to advance to the conference finals.
Here’s an updated power ranking of every NBA playoff team taking part in conference semifinals series based on their odds to win the 2025 NBA championship:
NBA playoff odds 2025: Power ranking conference semifinals teams
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Monday, May 5.
Favorites
The Oklahoma City Thunder began the 2025 NBA playoffs as the betting favorite to win the championship and their first-round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies didn’t change that designation. The defending champion Boston Celtics remain right on their heels, while the Cleveland Cavaliers’ title hopes took their first dent when they lost Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers.
Contenders
The Minnesota Timberwolves‘ title chances took a jump after a convincing upset of the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, as did the Pacers after easily disposing of the Milwaukee Bucks and then stealing a win on the road against the Cavaliers. The Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks each saw their championship odds decline slightly after tough first-round series wins.