Lakers NBA Championship Odds Slightly Improve as Los Angeles Builds Contender Case

Taking a look at the Los Angeles Lakers' odds to win the NBA Finals this season.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic has helped improve the team's title odds this season. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Don't look now, but the Los Angeles Lakers are building a serious case to be considered a title contender this season.

Los Angeles has won 17 of its last 20 games, moving into the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference. With Luka Doncic now in the fold, the Lakers have picked up some impressive wins, including a blowout of the Denver Nuggets and back-to-back wins over the Clippers.

LeBron James, Doncic and Austin Reaves have formed a solid trio in Los Angeles, and oddsmakers are starting to take this team more seriously as a title contender. It makes sense, especially since Doncic led Dallas to the NBA Finals last season despite getting the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.

Here's a look into the Lakers' NBA title case in the 2024-25 season.

Lakers NBA Championship Odds

The Lakers are currently +1400 at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the NBA Finals this season -- around the same price that they were following the Doncic trade. They were +1700 a week ago on DraftKings. They're currently +1500 on FanDuel.

Only the Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, and Cleveland Cavaliers have better odds to win the title this season at DraftKings. The Lakers are now tied with the Warriors for the fourth-best odds. The Nuggets (+1700) and the Knicks (+1800) are the only other teams with odds under +4000. The Thunder (+165), Celtics (+230) and Cavs (+600) are above LA.

With the Lakers battling the Nuggets for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, there is a real case this team can make a deep playoff run, especially if Doncic and James stay healthy.

First off, the Lakers have improved to 13th in the NBA in net rating, and they rank third in the league in that metric over their last 15 games.

Why is this important?

Well, every NBA champion since the 1996-97 season has finished the regular season in the top eight in the league in net rating. The Lakers certainly could push themselves into that group this season, and adding a player of Doncic's caliber may be all they need to buck the trend if they don't.

Lakers Defense Has Taken a Major Step Forward

Over their last 15 games, the Lakers have the best defensive rating in the NBA.

While some of those games came with Anthony Davis still on the team, the Lakers have shown that even without an elite defensive center, they have the wing depth to make things tough on teams at that end of the floor. Los Angeles recently held Nikola Jokic to 12 points - arguably the team's best showing against Denver in several seasons.

On top of that, the return of Jarred Vanderbilt and the acquisition of Dorian Finney-Smith have given L.A. two elite wing defenders that should help it compete with some of the top teams in the NBA.

Can Luka-LeBron Duo Lead Los Angeles to a Title?

At the end of the day, the question on the Lakers and whether or not you want to bet on them is all about how you feel about the Doncic-James duo.

LeBron has already shown a willingness to play off the ball to fit alongside Doncic, and we've seen both players be the best player on a team that reached the Finals this decade. At 40 years old, James may not be able to carry a team to the Finals, but the addition of Doncic takes a ton of pressure off of him on the offensive end of the floor.

It's hard to find a team in the NBA with a better duo, and with the Lakers nearing a top-two seed in the conference, they're looking like a pretty solid value bet at this number compared to Oklahoma City (+190) since every Western Conference team is likely to face a gauntlet in the playoffs just to make the Finals.

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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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