Sportradar uses AI technology to run simulations on the NBA season, with suggested results
Tech company Sportradar used its AI-based simulation of the 2025-26 NBA season to determine who the possible champions could be, with the Oklahoma City Thunder coming in at the top of the predictions.
In total, 50,000 AI-based simulations of the regular season schedule took place, with the model also suggesting possibilities for the NBA Finals games and much more, despite the outcome of sporting events never being able to be properly determined or predicted.
The results are in…
Using 50,000 AI-powered simulations, Sportradar projects the most likely outcomes of this situation. @NBA season, including the Finals winner, top conference seeds, and more.
View our full #NBA simulation results here: https://t.co/olY4Zd8GMw pic.twitter.com/xnxrRhG8ue
– Sportradar (@Sportradar) October 16, 2025
According to Sportradar, it projects “the five most likely NBA Finals games, led by the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Thunder with a probability of 9.2 percent.”
“Of the five storylines, the defending champion Thunder and Cavaliers appeared in three matchups while the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks appeared in one matchup each.”
The simulation project also predicts that the Thunder are the team most likely to win the 2026 NBA Finals, having been crowned repeat champions in 27.3% of the 50,000 simulations performed.
“Behind Oklahoma City, the Nuggets (10.3%) and Cavaliers (9.4%) were the second most likely teams to win the NBA Finals, while the Rockets (8.3%) and Knicks (7.0%) each had strong odds to win their first championships in 30 and 52 years, respectively. »
How do Sportradar NBA AI simulations work?
The company explained how the project was carried out, with tens of thousands of data points having been input into its proprietary AI engine to analyze historical data.
It was built on NBA data and team odds to win the NBA Finals, with the simulation estimating team strength and expected scores.
It also attempted to predict the NBA Playoff race in each conference: “In doing so, the simulation projects three teams most likely to return to the playoffs after missing last season: the Atlanta Hawks (75.1%) and Philadelphia 76ers (70.0%) in the East, and the Dallas Mavericks (60.3%) – led by the pick #1 overall 2025 Cooper Flagg – in the West.
This is the latest technology for analyzing sports data, but not all sporting events follow the same patterns or trends. The company added a caveat to its latest post, saying “the above information should not be used for betting purposes.”
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
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