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The NBA betting public is clearly a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers’ decision to acquire Luka Dončić, even if it cost the team Anthony Davis.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Saturday that Los Angeles brought in Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris in a three-team trade with the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz. Dallas ended up with Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick, while the Jazz got Jalen Hood-Schifino and 2025 second-round picks from the Mavericks and L.A. Clippers.
As of Sunday at noon E.T., DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Lakers at +1,700 (bet $100 to win $1,700) to win the championship. By comparison, Dallas checks in at +3,500.
That is quite the movement for Los Angeles from what the line was Saturday before the trade:
DraftKings Sportsbook @DKSportsbook
Lakers odds to win NBA Finals BEFORE trading for Luka Doncic: +5000
Lakers odds to win the NBA Finals AFTER trading for Luka Doncic: +2000 pic.twitter.com/C4pkdxj2GH
The Lakers are a storied franchise with a massive fanbase, so betting movement after a major move comes as no surprise.
There are surely plenty of Los Angeles fans who rushed to DraftKings in response to the trade, which would have impacted the line. But the addition of Dončić likely caught the eye of bettors outside of just Lakers fans.
After all, he is arguably a top-five player in the league and is just 25 years old.
Pairing him with LeBron James could be a nightmare for opposing defenses as long as they figure out how to play alongside each other before the postseason. They are both ball-dominant playmakers, so an adjustment will be necessary, but there is plenty of time before the playoffs to figure that out.
Los Angeles might not be done either, as Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported a person inside the league texted, “Everybody knows the Lakers are trying to do more even after this.”
The betting line would likely change even more with an additional move, so the +1,700 number might entice more bettors at this point given that report.
Los Angeles is still looking up at the Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets in the betting market, so it’s not as if adding Dončić suddenly made it the favorite.
But it is far closer to favorite status than it was before the trade.
