Sportsbook Offers Offensively Low Odds for Pat Riley to Earn Honor

Bovada Sportsbook oddsmakers sound like they side with Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler in his feud with Pat Riley.

The popular sportsbook offers +50000 odds for Riley to win executive of the year. For those unfamiliar with betting, you win $500 if you bet $1 at +50000.

In other words, Bovada essentially believes not even a miracle would land Riley his second Executive of the Year award.

How low is +50000 in the grand scheme of things? The Heat are +10000 to win the Finals. Most teams with worse odds of winning the Finals are either destined for the Play-In Tournament or a losing season.

At least fans can talk themselves into betting a team with +100000 odds, like the Detroit Pistons or Brooklyn Nets, to win the Finals. All it takes is a massive trade, an extended winning streak or two, and some playoff magic.

Pat Riley has the lowest odds to win executive of the year at +50000

(Per @BovadaOfficial ) pic.twitter.com/cUAxwGhGDh
— Emo Jimmy (@HeatCulture13) January 12, 2025

Those outcomes are extremely unlikely and may require some sort of divine intervention. But, they’re not impossible.

On the other hand, Riley can’t do much to help himself at this point. It’s strange to think the sportsbook thinks so little of Riley, one of the greatest minds in modern basketball history.

Then again, even Riley's biggest supporters would likely agree the odds are merited. Fans and pundits universally agree he’s botched the Butler trade saga, which arguably began when Riley publicly criticized the All-Star forward’s durability last spring. Critics have also recently blasted Riley for the roster he built around Butler.

Butler requested a trade Jan. 2. He is expected to rejoin the Heat when his seven-game suspension ends Friday.

We’ll see if Butler and Riley attempt to publicly make nice in the coming weeks. The trade deadline is Feb. 6, and there is no indication the Heat will deal Butler.

Bovada isn’t alone in doubting Riley. Former NBA guard Raymond Felton blasted Riley and his supporters last week on To The Baha.

“This some [BS], Pat,” Felton said. “I’m gonna be honest, this some BS. … Anybody who’s not telling you that is a yes man.”

Felton called the situation “messy” and blamed Riley for escalating things.

“You’re wrong in this situation,” Felton said. “Let that man go; he’s unhappy. Obviously, you’re unhappy with him, too. So ya’ll just part ya’ll ways instead of going about it like this.”

LOVE HONORS FATHER

Heat veteran forward Kevin Love went back to his roots this weekend.

Love arrived at Saturday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers wearing an Oregon Ducks jacket. His father, Stan Love, is an Oregon Hall of Famer and a former All-Pac-8 power forward.

The elder Love later played five NBA seasons, averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds.

Kevin pulled up to the game in Portland rocking the @OregonMBB jacket to show love to his father, Oregon Hall-of-Famer Stan Love 🙌 pic.twitter.com/EuiFflPOXL
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 12, 2025

Unfortunately for Love, he didn’t see the court in Miami’s 119-98 victory over the Trail Blazers. Love, who averages 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds, hasn’t played since Dec. 29.

The gesture is nonetheless a sweet one, especially as the 36-year-old nears the end of his playing career. There’ll only be so many more opportunities for Love to celebrate his family and honor those who paved the way for him to become an All-NBA forward.

JOVIĆ FINDING SHOOTING STROKE

Miami Heat forward Nikola Jović has found his shooting stroke at the perfect time.

Jović tallied a season-high 21 points on eight of 12 shooting Saturday night. He added eight rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block in Miami’s third straight win.

Jović made four of seven threes off the bench. Miami outscored Portland by 20 points with the third-year forward on the floor.

“We have great players [and] it’s easy to play around them,” Jović told reporters. “As long as you’re in the right spot at the right moment … I feel like we can always play good basketball.”

StatMuse reported Jović is the youngest player in Heat history with such a stat line.

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.