{"id":621345,"date":"2026-04-22T15:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/621345\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T15:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:57:10","slug":"nba-championship-and-finals-mvp-odds-lakers-flip-odds-on-rockets-thunder-the-odds-on-favorites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/621345\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA championship and Finals MVP odds: Lakers flip odds on Rockets, Thunder the odds-on favorites"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> entered the 2026 playoffs as 150-1 long shots to win the NBA Finals after a dismal end to the regular season, as well as key injuries to leading scorers Luka Doncic<\/a> (hamstring) and Austin Reaves<\/a> (oblique). However, LeBron James<\/a> and company willed the Lakers to two victories to open their first-round series against the Houston Rockets<\/a>, vaulting them to 35-1 for the title. The Rockets fell to 300-1 after entering the postseason around 60-1.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles was 12-1 to win the 2026 Finals at its peak and is one of the largest liabilities across the sportsbook marketplace, with BetMGM, Caesars and DraftKings all reporting significant action backing the 17-time champions. The Lakers could see their odds shorten further if Doncic or Reaves are able to return, with the latter reportedly a possibility by the end of the first round.<\/p>\n

At the top of the odds board, the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> achieved odds-on status after their Game 1 thrashing of the Phoenix Suns<\/a> and are -120 for the title. Just behind them, the Boston Celtics<\/a> and San Antonio Spurs<\/a> both lengthened from +550 to +650 following Game 2 losses to the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> and Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>, respectively. San Antonio had entered the playoffs at +500 and as a serious sportsbook liability, so bettors will be monitoring the concussion suffered by superstar Victor Wembanyama<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the Denver Nuggets<\/a> saw their title odds lengthen to 11-1 from +900 pre-playoffs after dropping Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>, who were 100-1 entering the fray, 150-1 after losing Game 1, and are 90-1 approaching Game 3. The Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> (14-1) have improved slightly since the beginning of the postseason, while the New York Knicks<\/a> (22-1) and Detroit Pistons<\/a> (28-1) lengthened after disappointing starts.<\/p>\n

Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a> and are as of publication.<\/p>\n

2025-26 NBA championship oddsFinals MVP odds leaderboard entering Round 1<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, Thunder +115
Victor Wembanyama<\/a>, Spurs +550
Jayson Tatum<\/a>, Celtics 11-1
Nikola Jokic<\/a>, Nuggets +850
Jaylen Brown<\/a>, Celtics 13-1
Cade Cunningham<\/a>, Pistons 22-1
Jalen Brunson<\/a>, Knicks 25-1
Donovan Mitchell<\/a>, Cavaliers 30-1
Jalen Williams<\/a>, Thunder 40-1
Chet Holmgren<\/a>, Thunder 40-1
James Harden<\/a>, Cavaliers 50-1
Jamal Murray<\/a>, Nuggets 60-1
Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a>, Knicks 100-1
Jalen Duren<\/a>, Pistons 100-1
Derrick White<\/a>, Celtics 100-1
De’Aaron Fox<\/a>, Spurs 100-1
Stephon Castle<\/a>, Spurs 100-1
Evan Mobley<\/a>, Cavaliers 140-1
Anthony Edwards<\/a>, Timberwolves 180-1
Luka Doncic<\/a>, Lakers 150-1
Payton Pritchard<\/a>, Celtics 150-1
Kevin Durant<\/a>, Rockets 180-1
Jalen Johnson<\/a>, Hawks 200-1
Tyrese Maxey<\/a>, 76ers 180-1
Joel Embiid<\/a>, 76ers 200-1
Alperen Sengun<\/a>, Rockets 200-1
LeBron James<\/a>, Lakers 250-1
Julius Randle<\/a>, Timberwolves 600-1
Jarrett Allen<\/a>, Cavaliers 300-1
Aaron Gordon<\/a>, Nuggets 300-1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2026 playoffs as 150-1 long shots to win the NBA Finals after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":621346,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-621345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}