Sportsbooks favor LeBron and the Lakers to go back-to-back

The Los Angeles Lakers ended their decade-long wait for a 17th NBA Championship in October and with LeBron James and Anthony Davis set for another year in LA, they are favorites with the bookmakers to win another title in 2021.

Frank Vogel’s team is priced at +350 to surpass the record of 17 chips which they share with the Boston Celtics. The Celtics fell to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals this year, but could certainly go one better next time around.

Boston is +1400 with Bet365 to win their 18th championship which, considering there are some +800 numbers out there, might be considered very generous odds.

But as far as the biggest challenger to the Lakers is concerned, they can look a bit closer to home at the Los Angeles Clippers. It remains to be seen what happens to their roster with Ty Lue taking over the reins as coach, but Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are expected to stay put.

The Clippers, who at various points during last season were favorites for the title, are +550 to make up for what was ultimately a disappointing 2019-20 campaign.

Fans of the Milwaukee Bucks were also underwhelmed with how things panned out despite another MVP season for Giannis Antetokounmpo. A 4-1 series defeat by Miami in the Conference Semifinals was not in the script, and with one year left on the Greek Freak’s contract, the Bucks are a best price of +650 to triumph 50 years on from their one and only championship win.

Injuries to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, coupled with the departure of Kevin Durant, meant that the Golden State Warriors took a year off from title contention but they are +800 to come back firing next season with what would be their fourth chip under coach Steve Kerr.

Golden State has the second overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, and whether they grab a highly-rated rookie or trade it away in a win-now move, they are a force to be reckoned with in 2020-21.

Another team many anticipate great things from is the Brooklyn Nets, who the sportsbooks seem to be having a tough time pricing up. Some betting sites have them at +600, but others have gone as big as +1200 which is surely too big for a roster that boasts two former NBA All-Star Game MVPs in the shape of Durant and Kyrie Irving.

The Nets were swept by the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs last time out, but the plan was always for 2020-21 to be the year in which they make a proper run at it.

Not many predicted that Miami would make it all the way to the finals and come close to denying their former star, James, but a heroic team effort led by Jimmy Butler saw them completely surpass expectations. Repeating that is a tall order, but +1600 is a more than fair price.

At +2000 is the Toronto Raptors, while the Denver Nuggets can be snapped up at +2500 and the Dallas Mavericks are +2800 if you shop around. Each of those teams has plenty of potential and star power – it’s just a case of putting it all together.

It’s surprising to see the Houston Rockets as big as +3000, and likewise the Philadelphia 76ers at +4000, but in such a competitive league, they are perhaps a bit off the pace.

The campaign will begin in late December at the earliest, and the regular season may be shortened so that the normal October-June timeframe can be in-play for 2021-22.