The Oklahoma City Thunder's title odds haven't budged much since Jalen Williams went down with a significant injury in Sunday night's win over the Clippers. But the implication of the team's pre-injury odds make it clear what's expected to happen from here.
OKC entered the season tied with the San Antonio Spurs as the +260 co-favorites at BetMGM to win this season's championship, and +145 co-favorites to win the Western Conference. Subtract the team's second-best player and most versatile defender and... well, you don't need me to tell you they're no longer the favorites.
Even if the odds at BetMGM still have the Thunder and Spurs tied at +300 to win a title.
2026-27 NBA championship odds
- Spurs +300
- Thunder +300
- 76ers +850
- Knicks +1000
- Celtics +1300
- Raptors +1600
- Timberwolves +1600
- Rockets +2200
A closer look shows the Spurs did move ahead of OKC in the conference market, at +160
odds to the Thunder's +180. Even more, the Spurs are outright title favorites at other sportsbooks like FanDuel, even though OKC beat them in the opener and remains unbeaten at 3-0.
That's the impact of Williams' injury, before we even know the exact nature of it or a timeline for his return. Which goes to show just how bad it appeared, and how important he is to the Thunder after they lost to the Spurs last postseason with Williams sidelined.
While his injury puts the Spurs back in the West driver's seat, however, it doesn't mean they're inevitable. If anything, it probably shifts value to some of the other unbeaten teams to win the conference, like the Timberwolves (+750) and Rockets (+900) -- who beat the Spurs on Friday.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jalen Williams' injury puts the Spurs back in the Western Conference driver's seat
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