Earlier this month, ESPN’s panel of NBA insiders made their picks for the NBA Finals, and 50% of them predicted that the Los Angeles Lakers would be the last team standing. Before the season was suspended, the same group gave the Lakers a 28.9% chance of winning it all, which was the second-highest percentage behind the Milwaukee Bucks (60.5%).
The drastic change in percentage was indicative of how much the tone around the Lakers was shifting before season’s abrupt suspension, which was likely a result of them beating the Milwaukee Bucks and LA Clippers in back-to-back games.