News that James will join the Lakers led sportsbooks like the influential Westgate SuperBook to slash the team’s future odds of winning the NBA title from an opening 20-1 during June’s NBA Finals to 7-2 — making the Lakers and Boston Celtics the co-second choice behind the favored, two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors at 10-11.
“The odds, most of the time, don’t reflect our power rankings. It’s about betting patterns. And we know we’re going to take a boatload of money on the Lakers from now until the end of the season,” Westgate SuperBook director Jay Kornegay said.