2025 NBA Western Conference Betting - Basketball Lines

2025 NBA Western Conference Betting Online

The best team in the Western Conference took care of business advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. The Oklahoma City Thunder won a franchise record 68 games and finished the regular season 16 games ahead of the Houston Rockets in the conference standings. They were one of the most well rounded clubs all season ranking among the top 5 in scoring and points allowed. They averaged 120.5 points per game with seven players averaging in double figures. The leader of the group was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who topped the entire NBA with 32.7 points per game to earn NBA MVP honors.

After earning the West’s top seed last season, the Thunder were eliminated in the second round by eventual conference champ Dallas. A year of seasoning helped the young squad this time around. The Thunder swept Memphis in the first round and they were locked in a duel with Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in the second round. A stunning loss in Game 1 of that series could have been devastating. They fell down two games to one with an OT loss in Game 3 and needed to win once on the road to win the series. In vintage form they won Game 4, 92-87, holding the Nuggets to 31 percent shooting. Though they were the fourth-highest scoring team in the NBA during the season, the Thunder enjoyed plenty of success thanks to their defense. They held opponents to an average of 107.6 points and they were the most efficient on that side of the ball.

The conference final looked like it was going to be a longer series than it turned out to be. Minnesota won each of its first two series in five games to reach the semifinal round for the second straight season. Unfortunately for the Timberwolves the result was the same. Just like Dallas did the year before, OKC won the series in five games, including a 30-point blowout in the clincher when they held the Wolves to nine first quarter points. SGA was the star pouring in 34 points. One of the youngest teams in the NBA, the Thunder are set up for long-term success much like the Golden State Warriors, who won five straight conference titles from 2015-2019 and the Los Angeles Lakers, who won seven Western Conference titles in 11 years at the start of the 2000s.

NBA Betting Lines

Western Conference Winners (2000)

Since Michael Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls for a second time, the Western Conference has been the dominant conference. Teams from the West are 17-8 in the last 25 NBA Finals, and that should speak to overall dominance in the conference. However, three teams have been responsible for nearly all of that success (Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Golden State).

Conference Finals Results By Team

It’s incredible to see the difference in the success that the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers have had in comparison to every other team in the Western Conference. The Lakers have won the Western Conference a whopping 32 times, and they have made numerous runs thanks to some of the biggest stars in the game. George Mikan, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant all had a ton of success with this franchise.

The Golden State Warriors are a distant second in terms of most successful teams in Western Conference history. They are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA as they were part of the BAA as the Philadelphia Warriors, and they made it to the NBA Finals three times before heading to the West Coast. Golden State won the Western Conference six times in eight years, including five title in a row, and the Warriors claimed four NBA titles in that stretch. That has made them an undisputed dynasty under Steph Curry.

Obviously, there are some strange teams to see on this list as "Western Conference champions." The Atlanta Hawks have always played in the Eastern Conference, but the team that preceded them, the St. Louis Hawks, won four Western Conference titles. The Milwaukee Bucks used to be in the West, while the Detroit Pistons were in the West when they were known as the Fort Wayne Pistons.

Four of the five franchises that have never taken part in an NBA Finals are in the Western Conference. Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans, and the Los Angeles Clippers have never won the West, and Sacramento’s only conference title came back in 1951 when the Kings were known as the Rochester Royals.

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