Sportsbooks Believe Los Angeles Lakers Will Hoist The Larry O’Brien Trophy

The Los Angeles Lakers face off against the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, Sept. 30. If you plan on betting on the game, odds currently have the Lakers as 5-point favorites going into the series.

Los Angeles Lakers are the favorite

What began as a 22-team face-off in the bubble at Walt Disney World has now dwindled down to the final two. It comes as no surprise that the Lakers have made it this far in the series.

The Lakers are looking to tie the record at 17 total title wins. Only one other team has won the title more than the Lakers, the Boston Celtics.

Los Angeles enters the finals as the top seed in the Western Conference. This is due in large part to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the best two players in the series.

James has played in the finals a total of 10 times and has won three of those times. Two of those wins came in 2012 and 2013 while playing for the Heat.

This will be James’ first finals appearance playing for the Lakers. Veterans Danny Green, Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard have seen six finals visits between them.

Miami Heat’s fight to the NBA Finals

The Heat are the fifth-seed in the Eastern Conference. The team has been the underdog in practically every matchup in the bubble, and still managed to come out on top each time.

Miami blasted through the Indiana Pacers in the first round and made an easy win of the Milwaukee Bucks in Round 2. The Boston Celtics put up a bigger fight, although the Heat ultimately closed out at 4-2 to win the Eastern Conference Finals.

The team has won a total of four titles, the last of which came in 2012 and 2013 with Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on the team.

The first Heat title came in 2006, the year Shaquille O’Neal parted with the Lakers to join the Heat. The team’s last finals appearance was in 2014 with James manning the helm.

Game 1 NBA Finals odds

Coming into Game 1 of this matchup, the Lakers are five-point favorites. If the Heat happen to pull out a win, lines will likely move closer to even for Game 2.

While sports betting won’t be live in Tennessee until Nov. 1, residents can cross state lines into Mississippi to bet at retail sportsbooks in the state. Here are some of the current odds:

Total games odds

Along with being able to bet on who will win the NBA Finals outright, bets can be placed on whether the series ends in four, five, six or seven games.

The Lakers won all three of their previous series matchups in five games. Miami’s three series wins took four, five and six games consecutively.

Game 1 begins on Wednesday at AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida.

Correct series score odds

Bettors are also able to wager on the exact outcome of the series. The Lakers won all three series matchups 4-1. The Heat’s wins came at 4-0 against the Pacers, 4-1 against the Bucks and 4-2 against the Celtics.

NBA Finals MVP odds

James ranks at the top of the Finals MVP odds, and for good reason. The future hall of famer already has three Finals MVP Awards under his belt from 2012, 2013 and 2016.

Miami’s Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are expected to put up a strong fight against the Lakers’ James and Davis.

Lines continue to move before the start of the series, leaving plenty of opportunity for value picks.

Player prop odds

Wagering on player props may give bettors the biggest bang for their buck. A variety of player props are available at BetMGM sportsbook with plenty of value bets to choose from.

Players looking to take advantage of prop bets can cross the border into Mississippi and place a bet in person at BetMGM inside Gold Strike Casino Resort.