NBA Title Odds: LeBron James To Lakers Sets Off Predictable Shift In Futures
Get this: What LeBron James does has a huge impact on NBA betting odds. Whodda thunk it?
The superstar’s agency quietly announced the biggest basketball story of the summer Sunday night when it revealed James had signed a four-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
And in that instant, James made the Lakers — who finished 35-47 last season — an NBA title contender. In fact, only the Golden State Warriors have better odds at winning the 2018-19 championship, according to BetOnline.ag.
The Lakers, as of Monday morning, are just +400 to win the title next season. That seems a little high, right? As it currently stands, there’s little to no chance a team of LeBron and a bunch of good — maybe not great — young talent and veterans is able to topple the Warriors or even the Houston Rockets in the West.
However, it’s likely sportsbooks are factoring in a little Kawhi Leonard insurance with that number. That 4-to-1 number probably is assuming the Lakers are able to add Leonard and/or DeMarcus Cousins before the season begins. So the books are more likely to give L.A. more credit than it deserves than less in order to cover themselves. If you think the Lakers are likely to acquire another star or two and they were listed at 10- or 12-to-1, that’s a lot more value. So the books are probably protecting against that.
Regardless, that didn’t stop bettors from hammering the Lakers after the news broke.
Here’s how the list of top contenders currently stands.
Golden State Warriors +150
Los Angeles Lakers +400
Boston Celtics +450
Houston Rockets +700
Philadelphia 76ers +1000
Oklahoma City Thunder +2500
San Antonio Spurs +2500
Toronto Raptors +4000
James’ impact stands out more when you look at how his decision affected the futures odds.
