LeBron James To Lakers Changes NBA Title Betting Odds, Warriors Still Favorites

The Los Angeles Lakers have even better odds of winning an NBA championship next year following their acquisition of unrestricted free agent LeBron James on Sunday night.

Per his agency Klutch Sports Group, James signed a four-year $154 million deal in a move that has made the Los Angeles team, having last reached the playoffs in 2013, an instant title contender.

Many sportsbooks were already giving the Lakers good odds for a playoffs run but after the news broke on Sunday, Westgate SuperBook gave the franchise +450 odds of winning a first title since 2010, only to be decreased later on to +350 after a respected wager came in.

Those odds are not based simply on James' arrival but also the prospect of him receiving "anticipated support and the possibility of adding to the roster" according to Westgate assistant manager Jeff Sherman. That could possibly be in the form of San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard who has made no secret of his desire in becoming a Laker.

Regardless, bookmakers still see the Golden State Warriors as the favorites to complete a three-peat. Steve Kerr's men swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals last month for their third championship in four years and were given -110 odds of doing the same in 2019.

With James moving to the Western Conference for the first time in his career, one team that will clearly benefit is the Boston Celtics. Despite the absence of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward due to injury, they took the James-led Cavaliers the full distance during the Eastern Conference Finals only to crucially lose Game 7.

With the injured duo set to return next season as well as the continued development of their young prospects such as Jayson Tatum under the tutelage of head coach Brad Stevens, Westgate are giving them the same +350 odds as the Lakers to win their first NBA title since 2008.

As for the Houston Rockets, who themselves took the Warriors the full distance only to lose the deciding Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals, they have +700 odds of winning a championship next year. However, their path to the NBA Finals will be much harder with the addition of a James-led Lakers in the same conference.

The young and promising Philadelphia 76ers meanwhile, will have the fifth-best odds when it comes to winning a championship at +1400.

When the betting odds were originally posted for next season, the Cavaliers were given +3000 odds of winning just a second championship in their history due to the uncertainty surrounding whether James would use his player option or become an unrestricted free agent.

But with the 33-year-old now confirmed for the Lakers, things do not look bright for the Cavs, with Westgate now offering them +50000 odds of winning a championship — the same as the Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings, both of whom failed to reach the top 10 of their respective conferences last season.