Following the Thunder’s Game 5 win, Oklahoma City holds a 3-2 series lead in these NBA Finals vs. the Pacers. The Thunder now has a chance to clinch the NBA Championship with a win in Game 6 in Indiana on Thursday. As always, there has already been plenty of debate about who should win NBA Finals MVP and below are the current odds for the award on DraftKings Sportsbook.
2025 NBA Finals MVP Odds
The Thunder are a huge -1600 favorite to win the NBA Finals and targeting an Oklahoma City player for Finals MVP is obviously a must at this point, as only one player in NBA history has been named Finals MVP from the losing team of the series. With a Thunder player almost guaranteed for the award, there really is only two realistic options in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (-550) and Jalen Williams (+750). Any other Oklahoma City player making a serious run for this award would require some legendary performances the rest of the way and feels virtually impossible.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31.4 PPG in the Western Conference Finals, en route to being named the Western Conference Finals MVP. The guard led Oklahoma City in scoring by almost 10 points in the series, with Williams ranking second with 22.2 PPG. Rightfully so, Gilgeous-Alexander received all nine votes from the media panel for the award.
However, things have been slightly different in the NBA Finals. Gilgeous-Alexander is still the Thunder’s leading scorer, with 32.8 PPG, but Williams has been outstanding, as well, averaging 25.8 PPG. Both players have had some memorable moments in this series so far. After the heartbreaking Game 1 loss, in which Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points, the Kentucky product led Oklahoma City with 34 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the bounce-back win for the Thunder in Game 2, which was a must-win for the club. Gilgeous-Alexander also essentially saved the season for Oklahoma City in Game 4. Trailing in the fourth quarter of that contest, the Thunder were about to be down 3-1 in this best of seven, but Gilgeous-Alexander was extremely clutch and scored 12 points in the final frame, leading the Thunder to the pivotal comeback win on the road.
As for Williams, after having solid, but relatively quiet showings in the first two games of this series, the first-time All-Star has improved in each contest, scoring 26, 27 and 40 points, respectively. The 40-point outing in the huge Game 5 win for the Thunder this past Monday was outstanding by Williams and is the most any player has scored so far in these NBA Finals.
Still, Gilgeous-Alexander’s more consistent play, and most notably his heroics in the late rally for the Thunder in Game 4, currently feel like to much overcome for Williams in this Finals MVP race. In terms of plus/minus, Gilgeous-Alexander currently sits at 2.8 for this series, while Williams is at 1.2.
While Williams’ performance in Game 5 will never be forgotten by Thunder fans, its hard to envision another showing like this from the forward, in which Williams’ efforts outshine Gilgeous-Alexander, who, let’s not forget, was just named the MVP of the NBA for the regular season just a few weeks ago.
While we saw a surprise winner of the NBA Finals MVP last season, with Jaylen Brown winning the award over Jayson Tatum, despite the latter leading the Celtics in points, rebounds and assists. Don’t expect another upset for the award this season, though, as Gilgeous-Alexander almost certainly will be hosting the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy either Thursday or Sunday night.
If looking to bet on this market, backing Gilgeous-Alexander at -550 is the obvious choice, even at the unappealing odds. However, if that price is too short for your liking, waiting to see if the Pacers win Game 6 and extended this series to a Game 7 makes a ton of sense. If Indiana is able to win Thursday’s Game 6, all of the key Pacers’ odds for NBA Finals MVP will improve and Gilgeous-Alexander’s odds likely will become less favored. The guard almost certainly would still be the favorite heading into a Game 7, but his odds could decrease to around -250, making Gilgeous-Alexander a must-bet for this market.
A Game 7 of this series would be back in Oklahoma City and the Thunder would be a heavy favorite to win that tilt, barring any major injuries in Game 6. The Thunder are 10-2 at home this postseason with a huge 25.2-point margin of victory, so the Thunder winning a Game 7 at home would be very likely and Gilgeous-Alexander being one of the main reasons for that clinching win would be a guaranteed outcome.
