Jay-Z is down $1 million following the Indiana Pacers’ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
The billionaire rapper and businessman staked seven figures on the Thunder winning the series in five games for a $3.3 million potential payout.
Key Takeaways
- The Thunder had an implied 88.2 percent chance to win the series
- The Pacers are still six-point underdogs in Game 4
- Teams that go up 2-1 win the Finals 81 percent of the time
The maker of the Blueprint series dropped his $1 million wager at +230 odds at Fanatics Sportsbook last Thursday, the day of Game 1. The road to victory became much more difficult just hours later when Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winning shot gave the Pacers a 1-0 series advantage.
Needless to say, it’s now impossible for Hov to cash his bet. Luckily for him, he can afford the loss.
The Pacers entered Game 3 as 5.5-point underdogs on their home court after losing every Game 3 of their playoff run.
FanDuel Sportsbook had OKC at -550 and Indiana at +410 to win the series the morning of Game 3, while those odds have since fallen to -230 for the Thunder and +190 for the Pacers.
The Thunder’s odds carry an implied 69.7 percent chance, meaning that oddsmakers are still confident that they will hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. That’s despite the historical precedent of 81 percent of teams that go up 2-1 in the NBA Finals going on to win the championship.
That said, since the NBA switched to 2-2-1-1-1 series formatting, no lower-seeded team that went up 2-1 has gone on to win the Finals.
Finals MVP race down to three contenders
According to Thursday morning’s odds, FanDuel has MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a -240 favorite to win Finals MVP. He averaged 32.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game on 48/39/89 shooting splits, though his team is down 2-1 and on the road in Game 4.
Tyrese Haliburton is next in line at +270 odds. He had his best game of the series on Wednesday, going for 22 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds to bring his averages to 17.7 points, 7.7 assists, and 7.3 rebounds on 51.2 percent shooting. He also drilled the winning shot in Game 1 with 0.3 seconds remaining to win outright as a 9.5-point underdog.
Pascal Siakam is the only other player within touching distance of the trophy at +1000. He averaged 18.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game on 45 percent shooting and just put up 21 points and six boards in Game 3. Plus, he’s the Pacers’ leading scorer in the postseason.
Jalen Williams (+8000), Chet Holmgren (+9500), Myles Turner (+12000), Andrew Nembhard (+16000), Aaron Nesmith (+30000), and Alex Caruso (+39000) are also alive on the odds board.
Is Indy still an underdog?
The Pacers are trying to become the largest underdogs to win the NBA Finals in league history. That record is held by the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons, who beat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games as +500 underdogs.
The Pacers were at least +500 at nearly every major sportsbook. The Thunder (-750) had an 88.2 percent implied chance to win the series before a ball was dribbled.
The Pacers are six-point underdogs (+176 moneyline) for Game 4 at FanDuel.
