Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA Championship Odds Plummet Following Luka Doncic Injury News

The Los Angeles Lakers lost in embarrassing fashion to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, falling 139-96, but Luka Doncic was injured during the game, adding injury to insult. While the severity was unknown, he didn’t look good, and those fears were confirmed Friday afternoon when ESPN reported that Doncic has a Grade 2 hamstring strain that will keep him out the remainder of the regular season (five more games) and his postseason status is up in the air.

It’s hard to overstate the impact Doncic has had on a Lakers team that is currently ranked No. 3 in the Western Conference and had 25-1 odds to win the NBA title at BetMGM on Thursday night before the Thunder game. BetMGM cut those odds to 150-1 for the Lakers on Friday in response to the injury news. For comparison, those are the same title odds as the Atlanta Hawks.

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The sportsbook also moved the odds on the Lakers winning the West from 14-1 (fourth-best odds) to 55-1 (seventh).

Even if Doncic could return at some point in the first round, the Lakers would likely be underdogs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets or Denver Nuggets, their three most likely opponents.

“If Doncic falls out of the first round, the Lakers would be the underdog in that series,” Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk at Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, told Yahoo Sports in a text message. “I have them like a dog against Denver even with him and on the home court.”