DraftKings Bettors Absolutely Love The Lakers To Repeat As NBA Champs in 2021

The NBA is turning it around quickly for the 2020-21 season. Even though the Los Angeles Lakers were crowned champions in October of 2020, the league is pushing forward with a December start date for next season. The Lakers are the favorites to win it all in 2021 and the public doesn’t think that the quick turnaround will hurt LeBron James and company.

The Lakers are bringing in almost half of all the cash that is being put down on the 2021 NBA champion at DraftKings Sportsbook. They are also accounting for 26% of all bet tickets, which is more than double the next team, the Golden State Warriors.

Oddly enough though, the Warriors are in a completely different situation than the Lakers this year. Golden State was the second-worst team in the NBA in 2020 after losing Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry to injury. With both All-Stars coming back this year, the Warriors will be fully healthy for another run at a championship. At +800 odds, they are a decent bet.

There is one notable absence from this list — the Los Angeles Clippers. After blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs, it’s clear that the Clippers need to make some tweaks to the roster. Nonetheless, they are still +600 and in a tie for second-best odds to win the championship next year.

The Milwaukee Bucks are also +600 and they just barely squeak into the top 10 here. They are actually bringing in the same amount of cash that the Chicago Bulls (+25000) are. That shows how little confidence the public has in the Bucks to finally get over the hump in the playoffs.

All odds and betting splits courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

 

2021 NBA Championship Betting Splits

Handle Rank	Team	Odds	% of Handle	% of Bets
1	LA Lakers	+350	49%	26%
2	GS Warriors	+800	9%	11%
3	PHI 76ers	+3000	9%	8%
4	DEN Nuggets	+2500	9%	9%
5	MIA Heat	+1400	7%	6%
6	BKN Nets	+800	6%	8%
7	DAL Mavericks	+2500	4%	4%
8	BOS Celtics	+1200	2%	3%
9	CHI Bulls	+25000	1%	3%
10	MIL Bucks	+600	1%	2%