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Lakers' Title Odds Raise Eyebrows Ahead of NBA Playoffs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Dible | Last updated Apr 16, 2025 10:29 AM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers are the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference heading into the NBA playoffs, which officially kick off for the franchise on Saturday, April 19, against the Minnesota Timberwolves in L.A.

Los Angeles posted a regular-season record of 50-32 , which came in behind both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets in the West, as well as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers' 50 wins tied them with the Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers for total victories on the year.

But despite finishing in a four-way tie for sixth place in the league-wide standings at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, the Lakers have the fourth-best odds to win the NBA title this postseason, as well as the second-best odds to come out of the West.

That is according to ESPN BET, which released its championship odds on Tuesday, April 15. Los Angeles is 13-1 to win it all behind Cleveland at plus-575, Boston at plus-190 and Oklahoma City at plus-180.

The Lakers are plus-600 to come out of the West, trailing only the Thunder at minus-145. The Golden State Warriors, who captured the No. 7 seed in the conference after eking out a home victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in the Play-In Tournament on Tuesday night, own the third-best odds to win the West at plus-700. Meanwhile the fourth-seeded Nuggets are 11-1 to win the conference, while the No. 5 seed Clippers are 13-1.

The Lakers and Warriors will play in the second round should L.A. beat Minnesota and Golden State triumph over the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets. Los Angeles won't face the Thunder until the conference finals, assuming both teams make it that far.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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