Lakers Disrespected in 2024 NBA Championship Odds
By Cem Yolbulan
The Los Angeles Lakers have won three straight heading into the All-Star break, they have LeBron James and Anthony Davis healthy and playing well, and they just made the Conference Finals last year. Yet, they can't get any respect from oddsmakers.
We have seen this movie before. Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers were out of the playoff picture heading into the All-Star break. Then, they went on a huge run to close out the season, snagged the seventh-seed in the Play-In Tournament, and made it all the way to the Conference Finals.
However, the sportsbooks don't buy the idea that they can do it again. On FanDuel Sportsbook, the Los Angeles Lakers have the 14th-best chance in the NBA to win the title. The +5000 odds put them behind Western Conference rivals the Nuggets, Clippers, Suns, Thunder, Timberwolves, Mavericks, and the Pelicans.
2024 NBA Championship Odds
Having some of those teams above the Lakers is understandable. The Lakers have a mountain to climb as they are currently in ninth place in the West. However, being behind the likes of the Pelicans and the Mavericks is difficult to comprehend.
Despite being 30-26, the Lakers are only 3.5 games behind the fifth-seed Phoenix Suns.
Darvin Ham seems to have figured out the rotation with Austin Reaves back in the starting lineup and playing the best basketball of his season. The trade rumors are no longer hanging over the head of the team. They are healthy and they will have their entire team back once Gabe Vincent also returns from injury.
This team has proven that they can win playoff series without having home-court advantage last season. They also demonstrated that it's very hard to pick against LeBron James and Anthony Davis in high-stakes matchups as they dominated their way to the In-Season Tournament title earlier this season. No team will want to face them in the playoffs.
If you want to take advantage of the +5000 odds on FanDuel, head over now and claim your sign-up bonus of $150 when you make a winning wager of $5.
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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.