The LeBron James led team has the best odds to win the NBA Championship according to the sports book.

With the NBA set to resume their season on July 31st the sports books released the odds on which team will win the NBA Championship. No surprise to see the Lakers as the co-favorite at +250 alongside the Bucks. The LeBron James led squad had the best record (49-14) in the Western Conference before the league hit the pause button on their season. Los Angeles is also the favorite to win the Western Conference at +165.Sports Illustrated’s gambling analyst Corey Parson breakdown if gamblers should bet on the Lakers to hoist the trophy in the NBA Finals.

Read the full transcript here:

Kaitlin O'Toole: The NBA futures betting market is back and we are breaking down the Los Angeles Lakers. Joining me now from all Lakers is Melissa Rohlin and SI's fantasy and gambling analyst Corey Parson. Listen. The Lakers had won eleven of 13 games before the league was shut down. Do you think they'll be able to bring back that momentum for the playoff season?

Melissa Rohlin: That's a great question, and I think everybody's waiting to see the answer. It's interesting because as soon as the season was paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people thought that this could actually be favorable for the Lakers, who, led by LeBron James who's thirty five years old and in his 17th season in the league. But LeBron actually said that this break from basketball actually really works against him and that his body had reached a rhythm, a routine. He was just rounding the corner and that this break definitely took away from that. So we'll see. Obviously, he's been posting a ton of videos of his workouts. I'm sure he's remained in tip-top shape. But we'll see how this break has affected the Lakers. Obviously, another huge thing that they had working for them was their chemistry. And they've been away for each other now for three months. 

Kaitlin O'Toole: So Corey, Melissa is talking about this break, how it's possibly hurting the Lakers. But what are your thoughts? How far do you see the Lakers going this playoff season?

Corey Parson: Listen, I think Melissa nailed it for a couple of reasons, you look at they have won four of the last five games, including two very impressive victories over the Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks. The two teams that won't be their main rivals going down the stretch. Now, you've got a situation where LeBron James said his body was getting into playoff mode. He was looking like he was actually going to catch Giannis Antetokounmpo in the MVP race. But now what the Lakers need to do they need to get refocused. They need to get that Mamba mentality back. And in this way, you can see to make a long run inside that bubble. I do like the Lakers as one of the teams that are going to be playing deep into it.