NBA Finals Betting Odds Reveal Two Truths for Indiana Pacers originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, after a dominating regular season, opened the NBA Finals as -700 favorites to beat the Indiana Pacers. That tied them with the 2004 Los Angeles Lakers for the seventh-biggest favorites in league history.
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Those Lakers would go on to lose to the Detroit Pistons in five games.
As the Pacers and Thunder prepare for Game 5 in Oklahoma City on Monday with the series tied at two games apiece, the Thunder remain heavy favorites, sitting at -450, according to DraftKings.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is easily the best player in the series, and if the Thunder win, he is a lock to win Finals MVP. As a result, he has -500 odds to take home the Bill Russell Award, with Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam tied for a distant second place, with +850 odds.
That reveals two undeniable truths for the Pacers: one, they are still heavy underdogs despite showing they can win at the Paycom Center, and two, they don’t have a clear first option.
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While Haliburton and Siakam are clearly the best players on the roster, Obi Toppin has twice scored 17 points off the bench, and Bennedict Mathurin’s 27-point masterclass in Game 3 earned him some Finals MVP buzz, although it was short-lived after his blunder-filled fourth quarter in Game 4.
If the 2004 series tells us anything, it’s that the Pacers should not be counted out, although both teams have already proven that they can win on any given night, and the odds seem to be in the Thunder’s favor.
Check out the All Pacers homepage for more news, analysis, and must-read articles.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 16, 2025, where it first appeared.