The Los Angeles Lakers have been an easy bet for NBA gamblers. For the last four seasons, they have failed to reach their preseason projected win total. For the 2024-25 season, the Lakers are running back a roster that looks very similar to last season. JJ Redick was hired as the new Lakers head coach, and he will have his hands full with a team that consistently has sky-high expectations. He and LeBron James will have the Lakers preseason schedule and training camp to prepare themselves. The Los Angeles Lakers odds and projected win total are 43.5. Let’s see if they are worth taking for our best NBA bets today.
2024-25 NBA Betting Preview: Los Angeles Lakers Win Total Odds
*All Lakers betting odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook*
Lakers Odds and Betting History
The Lakers have not been the best team to bet on recently. Since the 2020-21 season, the Lakers have gone under their NBA betting win total projections every year. For the last two seasons, the Lakers have been projected at 47.5 (2023-24) and 44.5 (2022-23) wins. They missed their NBA betting projected win total by one game last season and by two games the year before.
The oddsmakers have dropped the over/under for Lakers wins to 43.5, their lowest since LeBron joined the team. This number is certainly enticing, as they won 47 games just last season. That being said, last season was ideal from a health standpoint, and the Lakers did not do much to improve this offseason.
Tough Western Conference
The Lakers won 47 games last season, finishing 12 games over .500. This would typically be considered a successful season for a team that is solid but doesn’t quite have realistic championship hopes. In a typical season, 47 wins get you a spot in the playoffs and an opportunity to compete for an NBA championship. Last season, 47 wins barely got the Lakers into the Play-In Tournament. As a seventh seed, they were eliminated in five games by the Denver Nuggets.
As the Western Conference continues to get more and more competitive, the Lakers will need some miracles to keep up. LeBron and Anthony Davis are aging, and the West seems to be getting younger and younger. Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves are led by young stars and are improving quickly. The Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns are out for blood after disappointing seasons. The Western Conference will once again be highly competitive, and the Lakers odds to grab a playoff spot are around 50/50.
Can the Lakers Win More than Last Year?
LeBron and Davis both played over 70 regular season games last year. Both James and Davis had not played over 70 games since the 2017-18 NBA season. Especially after they both played for Team USA and helped secure an Olympic gold medal this summer, another fully healthy season from them both seems unlikely.
Instead of getting their aging superstars help this offseason, the Lakers basically did nothing. They fired coach Darvin Ham and replaced him with first-year head coach Redick. Although it made many headlines, drafting Bronny James is not a Lakers roster move that will change their trajectory this season. Unless Redick is bringing some first-year coaching magic to the Lakers, don’t expect them to reach their win total of last season.
