2025 NBA Eastern Conference Betting - Basketball Lines

2025 NBA Eastern Conference Betting Online

When the 2024-25 NBA season began all the talk was whether the Boston Celtics could repeat as champions. They were dominant the season before winning 64 games and the Eastern Conference by 14 games over the second-place New York Knicks. They then cruised through the postseason losing just three games and beat Dallas in five games in the NBA Finals to secure their record 18th NBA title. Boston went wire-to-wire as the NBA championship favorite and opened the 24-25 campaign as team to beat. By any other metric the Celtics had an outstanding season winning 61 games. However, they were overshadowed by the upstart Cleveland Cavaliers, who opened the year with 15 consecutive victories and finished as the best team in the conference with a record of 64-18.

Most expected to see the Celtics and Cavs in the conference final, but there were other clubs that had a different idea. Injuries played a part in the favorites getting knocked out in the second round, but credit strong play by New York, which overcame a pair of 20-point deficits and dethroned the champs in six games. The Knicks lost all four games to Boston during the regular year and came up large when they needed to. On the other side the Indiana Pacers were able to ride a strong finish to the regular season into the postseason and disposed of Milwaukee in five games in the first round. They upset Cleveland in five games in the second round reaching the East Final for a second straight year. Though they won 50 games and the fourth-seed the Pacers had long odds to reach the NBA Finals.

At the halfway point of the season the Pacers were just 22-19 and clinging to the sixth-seed in the conference standings. They won more than 68 percent of their final 41 games reaching 50 victories for the first time in a decade. Their up-tempo offense was difficult for opponents to stop with the Pacers averaging 117.4 points during the season. They’ve been efficient and consistent on the offensive end during the playoffs averaging 117.4 points in 16 games. They top all playoff teams shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor. The Pacers are one of 10 current NBA franchises to never win a title. They are appearing in their second NBA Finals and first since losing to the Lakers in six games in 2000. The Pacers did enjoy success during their tenure in the American Basketball Association making the playoffs in all nine of their seasons winning three league championships.

NBA Betting Lines

Eastern Conference Winners (2000)

There has not been a repeat champion in the Eastern Conference since LeBron James took the Cleveland Cavaliers to four straight NBA Finals with the help of Kyrie Irving. Cleveland won the NBA Finals in 2016, ending decades of futility among the city’s professional sports teams by beating the Golden State Warriors.

That came after James and Dwyane Wade led the Miami Heat to four straight Eastern Conference titles from 2011 to 2014. James ended up playing in eight straight NBA Finals, and that success helped spur the wild player movement that has made the NBA offseason so interesting.

Conference Finals Results By Team

The Boston Celtics have been the most successful team in the Eastern Conference by a country mile. They put together one of the greatest runs we’ve seen in North American sports by winning 11 NBA Championships in 13 seasons, and the Celtics won the Eastern Division 12 times in that stretch. They had another great run in the 1980s, winning the Eastern Conference in four straight seasons from 1984 to 1987 with Larry Bird leading the way.

Philadelphia has claimed the second-most Eastern Conference titles, but the 76ers haven’t made it to the NBA Finals since Allen Iverson was in his prime. They are one of the oldest NBA franchises, as they were originally the Syracuse Nationals, and they made it to the NBA Finals three times in their first six seasons.

We have seen the New York Knicks claim eight Eastern Conference titles, but the Knicks have not won the conference since 1999, and their last NBA title came in 1973. They made the NBA Finals three straight seasons from 1951 to 1953, but they were unable to get past the great George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers.

Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six Eastern Conference titles and six NBA championships in the 1990s. The Bulls have only been able to reach the Eastern Conference Finals once since Jordan retired though, and that was the season where Derrick Rose was named the NBA MVP.

Log into BookMaker Sportsbook and get the best Basketball Betting Odds, Basketball Betting Articles and information about this and all other sports betting events!