Yahoo Sports NBA Finals odds: With Clippers and Bucks out, huge bet comes in on favored Lakers to win championship
The path for a Los Angeles Lakers championship is pretty clear.
The Lakers got past the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals, then saw the Los Angeles Clippers blow a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers’ chances to win a title also improved when the Milwaukee Bucks, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, lost to the Miami Heat.
The Lakers are big favorites at BetMGM, and one bettor placed a huge wager on Los Angeles to win the title.
At BetMGM on Thursday, a $200,000 bet came in on the Lakers to win the NBA Finals, according to MGM head public relations Elisa Richardson. A Lakers title would be worth $121,212 to that bettor. That’s a lot of faith in LeBron James and Anthony Davis to finish the job.
Lakers are huge favorites to win title
The Lakers were -164 to win the title after the Clippers were eliminated, but have jumped up to -176.
Here are the updated odds to win the NBA Finals at BetMGM:
Lakers: -176
Heat: +400
Boston Celtics: +550
Nuggets: +900
The Clippers loss changed a lot. The Nuggets are huge underdogs in the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers. The Lakers are -715 to win the series, with the Nuggets at +500. The Celtics were favored to win their series against the Heat, but are already trailing 1-0.
The Nuggets could upset the Lakers. The Heat have knocked off a No. 1 seed already. The Celtics could come back against the Heat, win that series and beat the Lakers too. But the odds reflect how overwhelming a favorite the Lakers are to win it all.
Lakers’ last title was 2010
It has been a long drought of playoff success for the Lakers, relatively speaking.
Before this season, they hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2013. They hadn’t won a playoff series since 2012 and the last time they’d been this deep in the playoffs was 2010, when they won a championship.
Another title would be huge for James. He has already won titles with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, and leading the Lakers to the 17th championship in franchise history would carve out a new section of his legacy. On the other hand, the failure to win it all would lead to a revival of some tired criticism of James, especially with the Lakers such a heavy favorite to win it all.
If the Lakers can win the title, it’ll be a nice windfall for one big bettor.
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