NBA Championship Odds: NBA Finals Betting Update Ahead of Nuggets vs. Lakers Tonight

The Denver Nuggets (44-25) and Los Angeles Lakers (42-25) headline tonight's NBA slate with a heavyweight showdown and the NBA Championship odds for the two Western Conference contenders are likely to move following this game. Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. ET (ESPN) from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Our NBA championship odds update takes a look at the latest NBA Finals betting lines with a focus on the two title challengers. Our best sports betting sites list the Lakers as 1-point betting favorites at home despite the Nuggets having shorter NBA championship odds.

Both Denver and Los Angeles have been red-hot down the stretch, but can either push the Oklahoma City Thunder atop the West and fight for a spot in the NBA Finals?

🏆 Live NBA championship odds

Updated NBA championship odds from our best live betting sites.

🔢 NBA championship odds update 

The top three NBA championship odds contenders - Boston, Cleveland, and Oklahoma City - separated themselves from the pack months ago. Fans have waited patiently for another contender to step up, specifically in the West. It seems two challengers have emerged with the postseason looming.

Denver, much like Milwaukee in the East, was being put into those conversations out of respect. The Nuggets are recent champions, having won the NBA Finals in 2023 behind NBA MVP odds contender Nikola Jokic. Jokic is also unbelievable right now as he enjoys the best season of his career to date.

However, the same cannot be said for Los Angeles, which was in the Play-In Tournament odds for much of the season. Everything changed at 12:12 a.m. ET on Feb. 2.

When the Lakers stunned the sports world and acquired Luka Doncic via a trade with Dallas, the franchise had hope once again. There was a belief around the building that the team finally had a plan post-LeBron James. Not many people accounted for the impact this season, though.

The duo of Doncic and James has been nearly flawless. The Lakers are 14-6 since bringing Doncic to the City of Angels, with only three of those losses coming when both superstars take the court. Los Angeles has ascended the standings in the West, and the oddsboard reflects the new reality.

The Lakers now have the same NBA Championship odds (+1700) as the Nuggets to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy, according to our best sportsbooks. These odds give each team an implied probability of 5.56%, according to our odds converter.

It's hard to argue with the oddsmakers, as both must be seen as legitimate contenders. Denver is playoff-proven, and Los Angeles is guaranteed to have two of the best players on the court at any given time as long as Doncic and James remain healthy.

🥊 Is Nuggets vs. Lakers a playoff preview?

Truth be told, the Western Conference playoff race is too close to call at the moment, so it's hard to say with certainty whether this is a playoff preview or not.

It'd take a miracle to catch Oklahoma City for the No. 1 seed, but a lone game separates the 2-seed and 5-seed. Locked in the thick of this race, of course, is both Denver and Los Angeles. A 4-5 first-round matchup is possible, but in all likelihood, these teams are on a collision course for later in the postseason.

Who would win this theoretical series?

The Lakers and Nuggets meet for a fourth and final time this season tonight. It'll be the first time Doncic and James take the floor together against Jokic and Co., so tonight's result could reveal a lot about a potential seven-game playoff series.

Denver is 2-1 against Los Angeles this season, including a five-point win on March 14 that did not feature either of the Lakers' stars.

The margins between the two are razor-thin as the depth behind the big names for both can best be categorized as inconsistent. This is reflected in the Western Conference title odds, where only the Thunder (-125) have better odds than the Nuggets (+650) and Lakers (+700).

Odds to win the Western Conference

Here are the odds to win the Western Conference ahead of Nuggets vs. Lakers on Wednesday:

📊 Live Nuggets vs. Lakers odds for March 19

📺 How to watch Nuggets vs. Lakers tonight

📅 Date: Wednesday, March 19
🕗 Time: 10 p.m. ET
📍 Location: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles)
📺 TV: ESPN
💻 Streaming: ESPN+

❓ NBA championship FAQs

Who is favored to win the 2025 NBA championship?

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the favorites to win the 2025 NBA championship at +185. Those odds imply a probability of 35.09% that the Thunder can win their first Larry O'Brien Trophy since the franchise relocated.

Who won the NBA Finals last year?

The Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA Finals, defeating the Dallas Mavericks in five games.

When will the 2025 NBA Finals be decided?

The last NBA Finals began on June 5. Expect the 2025 postseason to run on a similar schedule.

Who is favored to win the Western Conference?

The Oklahoma City Thunder are -125 to win the West, which implies a 55.56% probability. The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers are trading as the second- and third-favorites with +650 and +700 odds respectively.

💰 NBA betting odds pages

🏀 Best NBA betting sites

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