Despite injury concerns to two starters, the Los Angeles Lakers have quickly become an incredibly popular bet to win the NBA championship.
Key Takeaways
- The Lakers are the most-bet team to win the NBA title at FanDuel over the last 24 hours.
- The online operator has shortened L.A.’s odds during that period.
- The Lakers are currently without stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Heading into this week’s playoffs, FanDuel reported on Tuesday that the LeBron James-led Western Conference four seed has received the most wagers over the last 24 hours to capture the league title.
The most bet team to win the NBA Finals over the last 24 hours:
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) April 13, 2026
👑 THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS (+25000)
No Luka, no Reaves ... THE PUBLIC IS RIDING WITH LEBRON 😤 pic.twitter.com/GSID1T9JcS
FanDuel has since shortened L.A.’s odds from +25000 to +15000. Still, the Lakers have the 12th-shortest odds on FanDuel’s NBA champion market, right behind the Atlanta Hawks at +10000.
Five teams in the West, including first-round opponent and five-seed Houston (+5500), are listed ahead of the Lakers. Oklahoma City is a +115 favorite at FanDuel to win back-to-back championships, followed by the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics at +550 each.
The Lakers are +10000 to win the West and make the best-of-seven Finals.
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Injury issues
Los Angeles heads into the series with an unknown status on star Luka Doncic and without guard Austin Reaves until May. Doncic left the team last week to receive treatment on a hamstring strain in Spain.
He’s set to return to the Lakers on Friday, but when he’ll return to the court is uncertain. The team has not announced Doncic’s timeline.
Reaves suffered an oblique strain that will sideline him for multiple weeks, but none of that is stopping bettors, who are backing James to keep the team afloat until everyone is healthy.
Big liability
BetMGM reported this week that, at +25000 to win it all, the Lakers have received 7.9% of the championship market’s tickets and 7.4% of the handle. That’s enough, combined with the massive odds, to make L.A. the operator’s biggest liability entering the NBA postseason.
BetMGM lists the Lakers at +500 to win the series against the Rockets, who are -700 to advance.
Meanwhile, the Spurs lead all teams in the NBA championship market with 11.9% of the bets and over 20% of the handle. The Thunder are second with 15.3% of the money, but with the shortest odds, that’s the team BetMGM is rooting for in the playoffs.
“Among the true contenders, OKC is the best result on the futures market,” BetMGM sports trader Anthony Parenti said.
“The sportsbook is in the enviable position of getting to cheer for the favorite to win it all.”
