Sports betting has changed the way we think about sports, and the LA Lakers are one of the most bet-on teams in the NBA.
The Lakers are currently the most bet-on title team across all sports books, making their downfall top of mind for all the book companies.
“They’re always going to be one of the top NBA teams bet with us, just like the Yankees [are for MLB] and Cowboys [are for NFL],” trading strategy manager at BetMGM, Hal Edeland, told The Athletic. “Between LeBron James and the Lakers, those are two of the biggest fan bases in the NBA. But once the Luka trade happened, that Lakers action was supercharged. Adding to the excitement level with someone like Luka, it just became a perfect storm.”
Sports Books Are Rooting Against The LA Lakers
The line for the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA title moved all over the place before and during the season. They opened at +2500, rose all the way to +4000, then almost immediately fell to +1800 after the shocking Doncic trade. It fell as low as +700 and now sits at +1100 on the eve of the NBA Playoffs beginning, on BetMGM books.
Per a report from Max Meyer of The Athletic:
“According to Pikkit, an app that allows sports bettors to sync their sportsbook accounts, the Lakers were sixth among all teams in both bets (3 percent) and money (2 percent) on NBA title bets tracked from when the market was first posted on Jun 18 all the way to Feb. 1.”
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“From Feb. 2 to now, Los Angeles has captured 30 percent of all bets and 35 percent of all money among all NBA title bets tracked by Pikkit. There have actually been more Lakers title bets tracked on Pikkit in that span of 10-plus weeks than any other team has received in the entire 10 months that NBA championship odds have been up.”
These numbers are even more remarkable considering the LA Lakers play in a market where sports betting is still illegal.
On BetOnline, the Lakers are 4th in title odds, sitting at +900. Oklahoma City has the best odds at +180, Boston comes in 2nd at +200, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are 3rd at +550.
If the LA Lakers do win the title, a lot of sports bettors will come away very happy, and the sports books will have one of their biggest losses in quite some time.
Los Angeles begins their quest for a title on Saturday night at 5:30 PM against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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