Despite dropping Game 3 of the Western Conference final, the Los Angeles Lakers still have a 2-1 NBA playoff series lead over the Denver Nuggets and remain huge odds-on favorites to win the 2019-20 NBA championship.

The best basketball betting sites have placed the Lakers at -350 to win their 17th title in franchise history and LeBron James’ fourth championship in his career.

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Following the Lakers on the oddsboard are the Miami Heat (+333), who own a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern final. The Celtics dropped from +675 to +1800 after their Game 4 loss. The Nuggets, coming off two historic 3-1 series comebacks in this postseason, are in a familiar spot down 2-1 to the Lakers and sit just above the Celtics on the oddsboard at +1700.

If you’re new to betting and want to know how to bet on basketball, what NBA futures are, or even how betting works without fans in attendance, click on any of these links to get you up to speed.

For now, here are the 2019-20 NBA championship odds for the four teams still in contention in Orlando:

Who Is Favored To Win The NBA Championship?

2019-20 NBA Championship Odds Team Odds Los Angeles Lakers -350 Miami Heat +333 Denver Nuggets +1700 Boston Celtics +1800

Odds as of September 24 at Bovada

Lakers In Driver’s Seat To Win NBA Championship

We didn’t get to see the dream series everyone was hoping for in the Western Conference final and that’s likely fine by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lake Show may have dropped Game 3 but have the 2-1 series edge in the conference final vs the Nuggets. While they may not state this publicly, they have to be ecstatic to be facing Denver instead of the Clippers because the Lakers had difficulty containing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in their matchups this season.

Since LeBron arrived in Los Angeles, the Lakers have been at or near the top of the oddsboard to win the NBA championship and 2019-20 is shaping up to be a title-or-bust situation, especially if oddsmakers are tabbing them as -350 faves.

The Lakers are now 10-3 SU in the postseason bubble and don’t look to be slowing down any time soon, but the Nuggets can’t be counted out until they’re officially eliminated. To be fair, Denver has earned that right and some would argue the Nuggets should be up two games to one in this series had they not allowed a buzzer-beating three-pointer in Game 2 to Anthony Davis.

The Heat Is On In The East

At this point in the NBA playoffs, it’s hard to write off a team down 3-1 considering we’ve seen this exact series deficit overcome twice in 2020. But, when it comes to the Eastern Conference final between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, the Celtics are toast.

With a slow start by Jayson Tatum in Game 4 and the Heat playing strong team defense, the Celtics fell behind quickly and had to play catchup in the second half. After a nice surge in the fourth quarter when Boston took back the lead, Miami went to work and sealed the deal with timely baskets from Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler.

It’s incredible to watch the resiliency of the Heat in these playoffs because they eat double-digit deficits (say that three times fast) for breakfast. This was the first game of the East final in which the Heat didn’t trail by 10 or more points and if they advance to the NBA Finals, the Lakers or Nuggets will have their hands full with a team that has shown no lead is safe.

How to Read NBA Finals Odds

At the sportsbook – a fancy way to say NBA betting site – you’ll notice that the odds are listed like this:

LA Lakers -210

Miami Heat +425

Boston Celtics +550

Denver Nuggets +850

Let’s pretend you believe that the Celtics are the team to beat based on the odds listed above. If you were to lay down $100, you’d see a payout of $650 – you get your $100 back, plus your earnings of $550. Or maybe you’re set on the Denver Nuggets. That same $100 on a winning Nuggets bet would get you $950 – your original $100 is returned along with your prize of $850.

Check out our Odds Calculator to see how much you’d win based on the odds and amount wagered.

What are NBA Futures?

Futures bets made on events that have yet to take place. You make a bet like this far off in advance of the event, in this case the team to win the championship. To make a bet like this, you would first use the info contained in this article to handicap your wager. Once you’ve made your decision on which team you think has the chops to win the NBA Finals, you’re ready to go.