You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident youβre betting with more than just gut instinct.
2026-27 NBA Preview
The 2026-27 NBA season gets underway in October, the regular season will conclude in April 2027, and the NBA Finals will take place in June 2027.
This will be the 81st season of the NBA in which the New York Knicks will head into as reigning champions, having won just their third championship in 2026 after a 53-year wait.
| NBA Championship 2026/27 21 Jun @ 00:00 - Win Tournament | ||
|---|---|---|
| OKC Thunder | 3.60 | |
| SA Spurs | 3.70 | |
| PHI 76ers | 10.00 | |
| NY Knicks | 10.00 | |
| BOS Celtics | 15.00 | |
The NBA Cup continues in the new season for what will be its fourth season. The NBA All-Star game will take place at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Do you need some advice on who to back in the NBA? If so, why not check out who OLBG's expert basketball tipsters are tipping? Check out the current basketball tips on OLBG.
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NBA Coaching Changes
Here are the coaching changes from the 2025-26 to the 2026-27 season.
- Chicago Bulls: Tiago Splitter replaces Billy Donovan
- Milwaukee Bucks: Taylor Jenkins replaces Doc Rivers
- New Orleans Pelicans: Jamahl Mosley replaces James Borrego
- Orlando Magic: Sean Sweeney replaces Jamahl Mosley
- Dallas Mavericks: Vacant (Jason Kidd left)
- Portland Trail Blazers: Vacant (Tiago Splitter left)
The Ultimate Guide on How to Bet on Basketball - Tips, Strategies and More
NBA International Games in 2026-27
Preseason Games
The NBA Global Games, which are played in the pre-season, will feature two games in China.
- October 9th - Rockets vs Mavericks (NBA Global Games)
- Venetian Arena (Macau, China)
- October 11th - Mavericks vs Rockets (NBA Global Games)
- Venetian Arena (Macau, China)
Regular Season Games
For the International Games this season, which will count as regular-season matches, there will be three of them.
- November 7th - Nuggets vs Pacers (NBA Global Games)
- Mexico City Arena, Mexico City (Mexico)
- January 14th - Spurs vs Pelicans (NBA Global Games)
- Accor Arena, Paris (France)
- January 17th - Spurs vs Pelicans (NBA Global Games)
- Co-op Live, Manchester (UK)
NBA Finals - Past Champions
The NBA's history stretches back to 1947, when the now-defunct Chicago Stags defeated the Philadelphia Warriors for what would become the NBA Championship.
Only two franchises have won double-digit championships: the Lakers with seventeen wins and the Celtics, who won in 2024, ending a sixteen-year wait for a championship and moved them on to eighteen championships.
The Last 10 NBA Champions:
| Year | Western Champions | Result / MVP | Eastern Champions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San Antonio Spurs Mitch Johnson | 1 -4 Jalen Brunson | New York Knicks Mike Brown |
| 2025 | Oklahoma City Thunder Mark Daigneault | 4 - 3 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Indiana Pacers Rick Carlisle |
| 2024 | Dallas Mavericks Jason Kidd | 1 - 4 Jaylen Brown | Boston Celtics Joe Mazzula |
| 2023 | Denver Nuggets Michael Malone | 4 - 1 Nikola JokiΔ | Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra |
| 2022 | Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr | 4 - 2 Stephen Curry | Boston Celtics Ime Udoka |
| 2021 | Phoenix Suns Monty Williams | 2 - 4 Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks Mike Budenholzer |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Lakers Frank Vogel | 4 - 2 LeBron James | Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra |
| 2019 | Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr | 2 - 4 Kawhi Leonard | Toronto Raptors Nick Nurse |
| 2018 | Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr | 4 - 0 Kevin Durant | Cleveland Cavaliers Tyronn Lue |
| 2017 | Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr | 4 - 1 Kevin Durant | Cleveland Cavaliers Tyronn Lue |
If you need more info for your basketball bets, why not check out the Best Basketball Tipsters page to see which of the top OLBG tipsters currently have tips on this sport? The highlighted tipsters have shown a recent profit for their basketball tips.
Most Successful Franchise
Which team has won the most NBA Championships?
The Boston Celtics have won the most and are one of only two franchises that are in double figures for championships, and twelve that have won multiple championships.
New to betting on basketball? Why not head over to our betting school, where you can find a great article on Basketball Betting Advice?
How often do Favourites win in the NBA?
As you can see below in the table, which highlights the favourites' winning percentages when playing either at home or away during the regular season, they do not differ a great deal when the side is on the road, which is very interesting.
If you look at the 2023-24 season record, more favourites won on the road than they did at home, which was also the case during the 2021-22 season, meaning two of the last five seasons have seen more winning favourites on the road than at home.
When you talk about consistency, you cannot get a better example than the last three seasons for overall winning favourites. There have been 851, 850 & 847 winning favourites, that is just a difference of 4, which is incredible consistency!
| Season | Home (W-L) | Road (W-L) | Overall (W-L) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 521-246 (67.93%) | 315-146 (68.33%) | 836-392 (68.08%) |
| 2022-23 | 543-245 (68.91%) | 269-171 (61.14%) | 812-416 (66.12%) |
| 2023-24 | 524-232 (69.31%) | 327-139 (70.17%) | 851-371 (69.64%) |
| 2024-25 | 504-209 (70.69%) | 346-159 (68.51%) | 850-368 (69.79%) |
| 2025-26 | 509-202 (71.59%) | 338-171 (66.40%) | 847-373 (69.43%) |
| Totals | 2601-1134 (69.64%) | 1595-786 (66.99%) | 4196-1920 (68.61%) |
How many Points are scored in the NBA?
Below is a table highlighting the regular-season games over the last five seasons and how many points both the hosts and visitors averaged during those seasons, as well as the game average.
As you can see, the totals do not differ a great deal. Last season saw the highest game average, with it going over 230 for the only time in the last five seasons.
The Atlanta Hawks games average the most during the regular season, with an average of 234.9 points, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, the Magic had an average of 220.4.
| Season | Total Games | Home Ave | Road Ave | Game Ave |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 1230 | 111.5 | 109.8 | 221.2 |
| 2022-23 | 1230 | 115.9 | 113.4 | 229.4 |
| 2023-24 | 1224 | 115.2 | 113.1 | 228.4 |
| 2024-25 | 1224 | 114.7 | 113.1 | 227.7 |
| 2025-26 | 1224 | 116.5 | 114.7 | 231.2 |
| Totals | 6132 | 114.8 | 112.8 | 227.6 |
Author Information
Andy Powell manages this NBA Preview, Statistics and Betting Guide and other basketball content in this section of the site, as well as the Basketball Tipsters in the OLBG tipster competition in his role in the OLBG Expert Team. Andy meticulously updates the data and results for these pieces. You can get Basketball betting advice in our bookmaker reviews as well as in our Best Basketball Betting Sites Guide.
**Statistics included in this blog include regular-season matches only from the start of the 2021-22 season to the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. The matchup decides the home and away teams.
Andy Powell
Expert Guide
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