At +225, the OKC Thunder boast the best odds of taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy heading into 2025-26. However, right on their tails are the Denver Nuggets at +700, the second-best mark out of all 30 teams.
As fans witnessed last postseason, Denver certainly proved to be a formidable foe for Oklahoma City, as they took them to a hard-fought seven games during their second-round semifinal matchup.
In the end, the Thunder wound up prevailing and, ultimately, would go on to win the 2025 NBA Finals, though had a few plays gone a tad bit differently, there's a realistic chance the Nuggets could have been crowned as league champs for the second time in three years.
Fortunately, as we all know, things worked out well for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company when it mattered most in this particular head-to-head matchup. Of course, now gearing up for next month's tip-off, Nuggets star Aaron Gordon is outwardly confident about how he believes things should turn out a bit differently for the reigning champions during their upcoming follow-up run.
Aaron Gordon speaks out about Denver's drive to dethrone Thunder
During a recent appearance on NBA Today, Gordon was asked whether he thinks his hamstring strain in Game 6 of Denver's series against OKC played a significant role in their ultimate demise and if they would have won had he stayed healthy.
In response, the Nuggets forward quickly put an end to the hypothetical discussion, saying "I don't believe in the 'coulda, shoulda, woulda'," though did go on to send a clear message to the Thunder ahead of the new season, as he would note that even though they're a ferocious young team, "we're coming right back around."
His reasonings for why he feels so confident in the Nuggets' chances in 2025-26 seem to be largely influenced by both how well they played just last season, coupled with the club's revamped talent pool that now consists of top-flight role players like Cameron Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Bruce Brown.
Lu Dort admitted earlier this summer that, as constructed last season, the Nuggets were "the one that had us shaking a little bit," specifically crediting the fact that "they won before and they've been in those types of positions" as the main influencers for why.
With this in mind, keeping the majority of this battle-tested core intact while adding the aforementioned ballers to the mix is, without question, something that should give the Thunder concern as they attempt to pursue the league's first repeat since the 2018 Warriors.
To Gordon, Denver has "got a squad" that is capable of taking down virtually anyone in the association -- including OKC.