Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat 2020: NBA Finals Odds, LeBron James Takes On Pat Riley

A decade after Pat Riley brought LeBron James to the Miami Heat, the two basketball legends are on opposing sides in the 2020 NBA Finals.

James and the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Heat in the NBA’s bubble in Orlando, Florida, beginning Wednesay night. The Lakers, who Riley led to four championships in the 1980s as a head coach, are a heavy betting favorite to defeat the current squad Riley built as Miami's team president.

The Lakers have -400 betting odds to win the title, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. The Heat have +300 odds, making them one of the biggest underdogs in the Finals of the last few years.

The Toronto Heat upset the Golden State Warriors as +230 underdogs to win the 2019 NBA Finals. When Golden State swept James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, they did so as better than -1000 favorites, according to SportsOddsHistory.

Cleveland was a +250 underdog against Golden State in 2017. James and the Cavs upset the 73-win Warriors in 2016 as +180 underdogs. The 2015 NBA Finals that started the rivalry between Golden State and Cleveland saw the Warriors as -220 favorites to start the series.

Los Angeles easily has the two best players in the 2020 Finals with James and Anthony Davis. Davis was an All-NBA First-Team selection in his first season as a Laker. He led Los Angeles with 31.2 points per game in the Western Conference Finals.

James was the MVP runner-up and remains the top player on the planet, proving this postseason that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard are still not on his level. The three-time champion posted 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in the conference finals clincher against the Denver Nuggets

While the Lakers have two of the NBA’s top five stars, Riley’s Heat don’t have even an All-NBA second-team selection on the roster. Jimmy Butler made the third team, though he wasn’t the team’s best player in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Bam Adebayo led Miami with 21.8 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists in six games against the Boston Celtics. The 23-year-old is becoming a superstar in the bubble, three years after being selected 14th overall by the Heat in the NBA Draft.

Tyler Herro, the No.13 pick a year ago, averaged 19.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the conference finals. Goran Dragic scored 20.5 points per game, one of four Heat players to average at least 19 points per game in the series. Butler was the other.

As James goes for ring No. 4, he'll try to defeat the man that helped him win his first two NBA championships.

James joined the Heat in 2010 as a free agent, teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. As part of his recruiting pitch, Riley famously dropped several of his championship rings on a table in front of James as evidence that he could help the NBA's top star finally win his first title.

The Heat won the Eastern Conference all four years during James' stay in South Beach, winning the 2012 and 2013 championships.

In 2014, the last time the Heat reached the finals, they were beaten by the San Antonio Spurs in five games. Only a few weeks later James spurned Riley by heading back to Cleveland.

His departure didn't appear to sit well with Riley, but James won his third ring with the Cavaliers two years later as Miami was trying to rebuild a contender. James moved to LA after th 2018 season.