After missing the 2022 NBA Playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers are chasing their second NBA title since 2020. The road to the Finals currently includes a Western Conference championship series versus the top-seeded Denver Nuggets. The Lakers odds are available to bet on below. As of May 22, the Lakers NBA title odds were at +2800 while the Denver Nuggets were at -210.
The Lakers versus Nuggets game lines, series prices and props are available to bet on below.
The Lakers have had a tough time of late living up to their status as one of the marquee franchises in the NBA. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and company missed the playoffs entirely last year and dealt with significant injuries to its two big stars all season long. However, the 2023 NBA Playoffs have been a different story. L.A. advanced out of the play-in tournament as the 7 seed, and have since knocked out Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies along with the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Los Angeles Lakers odds
View the updated LA Lakers odds below, including moneyline, point spreads and totals for Game 4 versus the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers dropped Games 1 and 2 at the Ball Center where the Nuggets are 8-0 this postseason. Los Angeles also lost Game 3 at Crypto.com Arena. Will L.A. win Game 4 at home? Sportsbooks have the Lakers as a -3 Game 4 favorite as Monday afternoon. Through the first three games of the conference finals, LeBron James is averaging 23.5 PPG, 9.9 RPG and 6.3 APG. Anthony Davis’ 14.1 RPG leads all NBA players during the postseason. For the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic is averaging a triple-double with 29.9 PPG, 13.2 RPG and 10.1 APG.
Lakers Versus Nuggets Series Odds
Even with the slow start, injuries and making the NBA Playoffs as a play-in team, the Lakers were expected to have a tight series against the Nuggets. The franchises split their four regular season games. However, now with Los Angeles down 0-3, the Lakers-Nuggets series odds have shifted to Lakers at +1200 and Nuggets at -2500.
Lakers NBA title odds
The Lakers made a number of major moves at the trade deadline, acquiring Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, and D’Angelo Russell. With Anthony Davis and LeBron James both healthy (for now), their roster coming back from the All-Star break looked a lot more like the one that hoisted the championship trophy in 2020 than it has the last few years. The moves improved the Lakers odds to win the NBA title.
To make another run to the Finals, L.A. needs to start by beating out six other Play-In Tournament contenders – the Trail Blazers, Thunder, Warriors, Jazz, Pelicans, and Timberwolves. They’ve already played Portland four times, tying the season series 2-2, but still have eight games remaining versus the other five teams in the mix.
If they can find their way into the playoffs, it’s likely they’ll do so as the 8-seed in the West, squaring them up against the top-seeded Denver Nuggets who own a five-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers and Nuggets split the season series 2-2, but L.A. managed to win two of the three matchups with both Anthony Davis and LeBron James on the floor. As for their chances against the rest of the West should they manage to get by Denver, they’re 15-20 in conference games this season.
Lakers roster
- LeBron James
- Anthony Davis
- D’Angelo Russell
- Rui Hachimura
- Jarred Vanderbilt
- Malik Beasley
- Austin Reaves
- Troy Brown Jr.
- Mo Bamba
- Lonnie Walker IV
- Wenyen Gabriel
- Max Christie
- Scotty Pippen Jr.
- Davon Reed
- Cole Swider
Who are the best players on the Lakers?
Improved supporting cast or not, the Lakers can put their championship aspirations to bed if either Anthony Davis or LeBron James miss further time due to injury. They’re 87-47 over their last three seasons when James and Davis play in the same game, good for a 65% winning percentage. When one or both of them don’t play, that number drops to about 38%.
LeBron James: At the ripe age of 38 years-old, LeBron continues to accomplish unheard of feats in the NBA. Every point he scores for the rest of his career will be the new all-time record after he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for first place on the NBA’s career scoring list earlier this season. Add the fact that he’s also recorded the fourth-most assists during his 20-year career and he’s already secured his place in history as one of the two or three greatest to ever play the game. He’s also on the verge of breaking his own record as the oldest player to ever record 30 points per game in a regular season, after he did it at 37 years of age last season.
Anthony Davis: Davis has continually battled injuries all season, much as he has his entire career, only managing to play in 36 of the Lakers 60 games. When he has taken the floor for L.A., he’s been his usually-dominant self, scoring 26.0 points per game and leading the league with 12.3 rebounds per game. Considering Davis played all 21 postseason games for the Lakers during their 2020 title run, it’s safe to say the Lakers will need AD healthy and available if they have any chance of repeating.
Lakers props
Prop bets on Lakers odds are a fun way to wager on the future success of the Lakers (also known as futures bets) or individual player performances. By using our props tool you can easily search for Lakers team and player props and view all of the different offerings in one convenient table.
Lakers current season
To say the Lakers stumbled out of the gate this season would be an understatement. More like, they never left the stable, losing their first five games and 10 of their first 12. They managed to climb out of the Western-Conference cellar by winning eight of their next 10 games, but a lot of that was fool’s gold. Three of those eight wins came against the Spurs (14th in the West) and one over the Pistons (last in the East). Even their victory over the Nets lacked the power of a true “statement game” with Brooklyn missing three of their starters.
It would be lazy to blame their struggles on Davis’s consistent absence from the lineup. They’ve only managed a record of 16-19 when AD suits up, an identical 45% winning percentage to the 11-13 record they’ve posted without him. Instead, their underachievements are more likely attributable to a lack of interior defense (they’re 24th in allowing points in the paint), abysmal three-point shooting (29th in three-point field goals), and a failure to get back on defense (24th in fast break points surrendered).
Breaking for All-Star weekend was bittersweet for the Lakers. “Bitter” was losing four of their last six games, including defeats to the Pelicans, Trail Blazers, and Warriors, three teams sitting between them and a playoff spot. “Sweet” was welcoming four new players to the team, elevating hopes for their playoff chances. Moreover, they have the sixth-easiest strength of schedule the rest of the way and 10 of their 23 remaining games are against teams currently sitting between them and that coveted 6-seed – the Warriors, Mavericks, Thunder, Pelicans, Jazz, and Timberwolves. Still, they’ll have to fare better in those matchups than they have so far this season, as they’ve lost 8 of 11 against those six teams.
Lakers transactions
The Lakers and Wizards kicked off the NBA trade season on Jan. 23 when Washington sent Rui Hachimura to L.A. for Kendrick Nunn. Hachimura has been a solid addition to the Lakers’ rotation, scoring 10.7 points per game and adding 6.1 rebounds. Most importantly, he provides a big body for the team’s second unit that has surrendered the 4th most rebounds per game to their opponents.
Hachimura’s arrival in Los Angeles was just the beginning of a very busy trade deadline period for the Lakers. Their three-team trade with Utah and Minnesota landed them Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and D’Angelo Russell in exchange for Russell Westbrook, Damian Jones, and Juan Toscano-Anderson. Sending Westbrook to Utah can probably be seen as addition-by-subtraction for the Lakers considering the tension in the locker room between him and fellow Lakers teammates and coaches.
Even if they don’t make the Playoffs, the Lakers’ recent trades have to be seen as a step in the right direction. The additions of Beasley, Hachimura, and Vanderbilt will provide them with the quality wing defense they’ve been lacking since losing Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso following their championship season in 2020. Especially when you look at the spots on the floor where their defense has been most vulnerable, allowing the second-most points from the mid-range and fifth most from above the break.
The combined defensive efforts of Beasley and Vanderbilt in the starting lineup will make up for any holes created by their new point guard D’Angelo Russell and his deficiencies on that end of the floor. Russell, in his own right, should bolster a Lakers’ offense that has hit just 10.4 three-pointers per game, good for second-fewest in the league. He and Beasley have already combined for 14 made threes in their first three appearances.
How to bet on the Lakers
Moneyline
A wager for the Lakers to win “on the moneyline” simply means you’re betting that the Lakers will win the game. Take the below example:
- Lakers -120
- Kings +150
Oddsmakers have the Lakers as favorites in this scenario as indicated by the negative number on their moneyline (-120). This means it would take a $120 wager to win $100 profit, plus the $120 originally posted for the bet. Since the Kings are considered the underdogs in this matchup, a winning bet of $100 would yield $150 in profit on top of the initial $100 wagered. As long as you bet on the eventual winner of the game, the margin of victory is irrelevant to the payout on a successful moneyline bet.
Point Spread
Point spread betting is determinant on the margin of victory by the winning team. Consider the following example:
- Lakers -3.5 (-110)
- Celtics +3.5 (-110)
Here, the Lakers are favored by 3.5 points, indicated by the “-3.5.” This means they need to win by at least four points for a bet on L.A. to “cover” the point spread to cash. As 3.5-point underdogs, the Celtics have more margin for error and can lose by 3 points or less (including a victory) for a bet on their point spread to pay out.
The amount those bets pay out is determined by the (-110) odds listed next to each team’s point spread (and of course, the amount wagered). In this instance, both teams have the same (-110 odds) so a $110 bet on the winning team pays the bettor $100, plus the $110 wagered. A $100 bet would earn the bettor $90.91 plus the initial wager, and so on.
Total (Over/Under)
Over under betting is a line set by the books predicting the combined number of points scored in the game by both teams. Like prop betting, wagering on the total is a bet on whether the total points scored will be more or less than the line set by the oddsmaker. For example, if a game between the Lakers and Warriors has a point total of 230 points and the final score is 121-110 (a 231-point total), those who bet the over would cash out.
Live Betting
Betting on games while they’re in-play is known as live betting, where oddsmakers offer live odds that update to mirror the ebbs and flows of the game while it’s occurring. Live betting can be rewarding for those who prepare ahead of time and come with a plan. For example, if the Lakers (-250 on the moneyline) are heavy favorites in their matchup with the Miami Heat (+180 on the moneyline), a $100 bet on the Lakers before the game starts would only win $40.
Let’s say, however, the Heat come out scorching-hot from deep and take a 61-52 lead into halftime. At that point, oddsmakers will have their lines updated to reflect the current score, meaning a bet on the Lakers to win at that moment will likely yield you plus-odds (probably somewhere around +180). By waiting until halftime to bet on the Lakers, and presuming they pull out the victory, you’ve increased your winnings from $40 to $180.
This is a good time to bring up “hedging” your bets as well. Using the same teams and odds for our example, let’s say you bet on the Heat (+180) to win before the game started, but at halftime they’re down by 8 points and it doesn’t look like they have a comeback in them. By laying a live bet on the Lakers (-300) at the half to win, you can recoup some of the loss you incurred by incorrectly betting on the Heat.
Parlays and Teasers
Parlay and Teaser bets allow people to tie multiple different bets together for a larger payout. In this case, all of the bets grouped into one parlay or teaser must be successful for the bettor to cash out.
A Parlay is the most straightforward method of grouping multiple bets together. Let’s say you think the Lakers (-155) moneyline against the New York Knicks is a great bet and you want to parlay it with the Phoenix Suns points spread (-3.5 at -115 odds) over the Los Angeles Clippers. In order to win your bet, you need the Lakers to win by any amount and the Suns to win by at least four points. If one bet fails to hit you lose the entire wager, but if both bets are successful, you’ll see a nice payout at around 2:1 on your money.
A teaser is a tactic used to shift two different point spreads or point totals in the direction that you prefer. For example, the Lakers are -4.5 favorites in their matchup with the Knicks and the Suns are -5.5 favorites this time against the Clippers. A common teaser in the NBA is a 4-point teaser, where you group at least 2 games together to shift the lines by four points in either direction. If we like the Lakers and Suns to win their games, but don’t feel comfortable with the amount of points in the point spreads, we can group them together and tease them both by four points so that the new lines are Lakers -0.5 / Suns -1.5. Again, both bets need to hit correctly to cash.
Futures
Futures are long-term bets that can range from an offseason to a full season (or beyond). Team win totals, award winners, and player performances are common futures and oftentimes offer plus-odds.
Lakers Franchise History
Formerly the Minneapolis Lakers, the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1960 where it would become one of the most iconic and decorated sports teams in the world. They tied the Boston Celtics for most NBA championships (17) when they hoisted the trophy in 2020, and hold the lead for most Playoff appearances over the Celtics 62-59.
Star players have been a staple in L.A. since Wilt Chamberlain came to town in 1968, boasting players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (second-leading scorer in NBA history behind LeBron), Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O’Neal, and the late Kobe Bryant. Nobody has scored more points wearing the purple and gold than Bryant, who is also fourth on the all-time scoring list.
FAQ
What are the odds that the Lakers are going to win the championship this year?
At oddsmakers are giving the Lakers a 40-1 chance the Nets win the championship, with an implied probability of 2.44%.
How likely are the Lakers to make the playoffs?
The Lakers currently have odds to reach the Western Conference Playoffs, meaning their implied probability is 51.22%
Are Lakers out of the playoffs?
The Lakers look set to play in the NBA play in tournament. LeBron James’ squad was 40-38 and in the seventh spot in Western Conference playoff picture on April 4.