Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77). Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Bets are pouring in on the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA title and Dallas Mavericks forward Luka Doncic to claim the MVP award as the 2021-22 season tipped off Tuesday.
The Lakers are the second favorite at most books at a consensus +400 behind the Brooklyn Nets. But several books are taking far more handle on Los Angeles.
Brooklyn opened the season Tuesday with a 127-104 loss to the Bucks at Milwaukee. The Nets are the prohibitive NBA championship favorite at +230 at BetRivers and DraftKings and +240 at BetMGM. FanDuel also puts the Nets in the role of favorites at +250.
BetMGM has the Lakers at +400 and the Golden State Warriors tied for third at +900 with defending champ Milwaukee. FanDuel has the Bucks third at +650.
BetRivers has significant liability on the underdog Chicago Bulls, who didn’t make the playoffs last season but spent big to add Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso.
“Kyrie Irving’s absence has dominated the leadup to the new NBA season, but the Brooklyn Nets nonetheless remain one of the most popular bets to win the title. Only the Lakers have garnered more interest from bettors in terms of overall tickets,” said Mattias Stetz, the COO of Rush Street Interactive, which owns and operates BetRivers. “In terms of futures liability, the Bulls are at the top of the list, ranking third in handle behind the Lakers and Clippers at a current price of 60-1. The lion’s share of that action has come from our Illinois clients, who clearly like the offseason additions of Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan, as well as the long-shot value in a team they believe could make some noise in the East.”
The Bulls are +6000 at BetRivers and 14th from the top of the futures board for the 2021-22 title.
The largest bet placed at Westgate Superbook in the NBA title futures market was on the Lakers, a $100,000 wager at 7-2 odds.
BetMGM has expansive markets involving playoff seeding and total wins with the Nets the favorite to be the top seed in the Eastern Conference at -130. Brooklyn also is the top pick to lead the NBA in regular-season wins at +275. Milwaukee (+375), the Lakers (+650) and Utah Jazz (+650) are close behind.
Doncic stands at +500 in NBA futures at FanDuel, ahead of Kevin Durant of the Nets (+650) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (+750).
Lakers guard LeBron James and defending MVP Nikola Jokic are +1600 at FanDuel.