The NBA season is nearing its climax. Before the end of June, we will know if the Thunder keeps its crown or if we have new champions. The discussions across prediction market communities are not primarily about the playoffs but about next season.
What’s the league going to look like in October? The Oklahoma City Thunder are the favorites. The Celtics, Spurs, and Pistons will own the early headlines. But true sports fans know that nothing makes a great story more than the undergos. And as Mark Twain famously said, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
Utah, Houston, and Charlotte stand out as the early underdog picks for the 2026-27 season. Interest in these teams is already building among European bettors, especially in long-term futures markets where early value can still appear before the wider market fully adjusts. At the same time, many users who follow sports betting also pay attention to related bonus and casino content, including offers such as NV Casino Promo Code and TippmixPro Bonus Code 2026, which are often part of the broader betting and gaming ecosystem they use.
For readers trying to make sense of those markets, MightyTips serves as a useful source of analysis and comparison. The platform brings together an international team of sports betting experts who publish predictions across major competitions, including the NBA, while also reviewing bookmakers, explaining betting markets, and tracking promotions that may be relevant to different audiences. Beyond match previews and picks, MightyTips also runs an up-to-date blog covering sports news, betting trends, and practical guides, making it more than just a predictions site.
On this page you’ll get first hand information of the dark horses. This includes the team structure and players that could lead them to victory.
Utah finished another bottom-of-the-West season. Keyonte George kept knocking down doors anyway. He posted 23.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game, per NBA.com. That’s not a tank-team line. That’s a foundation.
The Keyonte George contract is the offseason’s quiet bombshell in Salt Lake City. Spotrac projects an extension landing somewhere around $35 million per year. This puts him just ahead of Jalen Suggs and Dyson Daniels in average annual value. Sign the Keyonte George contract before camp, and Utah signals it’s done tanking.
Three reasons to back the Jazz overshooting their win total:
Houston went 52-30 in 2025-26. Hardly a true underdog, sure. But another first-round exit and the messy Kevin Durant integration keep the Rockets in this conversation as the East-favored title talk swells around OKC and Boston.
Then there’s Amen Thompson. The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported the Amen Thompson contract extension will check in north of $250 million across five years. That’s max money for a 23-year-old All-Defensive First Team wing. Per ESPN, he averaged 18.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 53% from the field.
“Young star Amen Thompson is expected to sign this summer,” Amick wrote in The Athletic. That handshake reshapes Houston’s plans. The Amen Thompson contract anchors a young core alongside Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. If Thompson adds a real three-point shot and a touch of late-clock craft, an All-NBA leap is on the table.
Nobody outside the Carolinas wanted to talk about the Hornets last fall. By April, they’d flipped the script entirely, winning 32 of their final 45 games and forcing their way through the play-in. Beating the Thunder, Celtics, Lakers, Nuggets, and Knicks across one stretch tells you the floor isn’t where it used to be.
A Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, and Kon Knueppel trio gives Charlotte three real scoring threats. Tre Mann supplies bench offense on a team-friendly $24 million deal. With Jeff Peterson stockpiling picks and tradable contracts, the nine-year playoff drought (the league’s longest active streak) might finally end. The Hornets also bring another lottery pick into a rotation that already proved it could beat the elites.
The 2026-27 season won’t be decided by Thunder-Spurs alone. Watch the Jazz, the Rockets, and the Hornets. Keyonte George wants to make the playoffs. Amen Thompson wants the bag, then All-NBA. Charlotte wants to remind everyone that nine years is too long.
Three teams, three different storylines, and one shared theme. Nobody in Vegas is pricing them like real contenders yet. Smart money says at least one flips the script. The early lines are still soft enough to find genuine value. And for responsible betting resources, the National Council on Problem Gambling is a good place to start.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
