Lakers' NBA Championship Odds Drop Following LeBron James' Groin Injury

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was injured in Saturday night's loss to the Boston Celtics.

James suffered a groin injury in the fourth quarter and did not return. The Lakers, who made a run to get within four points of Boston after trailing by double digits for most of the second half, ended up losing the game.

Following the loss, ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported that James' injury is expected to sidelined him for "weeks" an not just a few days, a brutal loss for a Lakers team that is the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and playing some of its best basketball of the 2024-25 season at the moment.

It is too early to project an accurate timetable for how long LeBron James could miss because of his left groin injury, sources told ESPN. However one source said the initial thought is that it will sideline James for a matter of weeks, not a matter of days.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 9, 2025

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the injury is expected to keep James out for one-to-two weeks, a good sign for the Lakers when it comes to havng James for a playoff run.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is expected to miss at least 1-to-2 weeks with a groin strain, sources tell ESPN. James will wait for the groin injury to calm down over the next 24 hours and receive another evaluation. pic.twitter.com/17mWxsaXN3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 9, 2025

Plus, on the bright side for Lakers fans, James compared the injury to the groin injury that he suffered on Christmas Day in the 2018-19 season. That injury sidelined James for over a month, as he missed 17 consecutive games.

It appears that the injury he suffered on Saturday night -- at least in James' mind -- is not that serious.

LeBron James said his mind immediately went to his groin injury Christmas Day 2018 when he felt a pop in his groin and missed significant time. James said he does not believe this injury is as bad as that one, and then knocked on the wooden locker behind him to not jinx it.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 9, 2025

This would be a huge boost for the Lakers, as a month-long James absence would likely sideline him for most -- if not all -- of the rest of the regular season.

In a loaded Western Conference, the Lakers can't really afford to go an extended period of time without James in action.

Oddsmakers appear to be worried about the Lakers' outlook in the West after James' injury -- as they would be after any major player goes down. Los Angeles has moved from +1000 to +1200 to win the NBA Finals this season at DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Lakers still have the fourth-best odds to win the title, behind only Boston, Oklahoma City and Cleveland. As long as James is able to return by the playoffs, the Lakers should be in good shape. However, it's worth noting that Los Angeles has the sixth-hardest remaining scheduled in the NBA this season, per Tankathon.

So, it's definitely feasible that Los Angeles could slip a bit in the Western Conference standings if James misses the majority of the team's remaining 20 games.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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