Russell Westbrook picked up his $47 million player option for the 2022-23 season, and the Lakers’ championship odds increased by 10%. For what it’s worth, according to the BetOnline sportsbook, now the Lakers have +1200 odds of winning their 18th NBA title in the 2022-23 season.
This boils down to Los Angeles possessing the sixth-best odds of adding another title to their collection next season. However, no one can predict the future. The Lakers and Nets had top-3 odds of winning it all last season as well.
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2022-2023 NBA Championship Odds | Top 10 Teams
Now that Westbrook is opting in for the 2022-23 season, this should put all the NBA trade rumors to bed. Head coach Darvin Ham is excited to work with the two-time scoring champion at training camp. “Don’t get it messed up, Russell is one of the best players our league has ever seen, and there’s still a ton left in that tank,” explained Ham.
Last season, Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game in 78 games played. Ham wants the guard to adjust his game to better fit his system. He turns 34 this November. The 2022-2023 NBA championship odds for the top 10 contenders are shown below.
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Will the Lakers improve next season with Russell Westbrook?
In the 2021-22 NBA season, the Lakers finished 33-49 (.402). They ranked 11th overall in the Western Conference. To say the team fell short of expectations last season would be a massive understatement. They were one of the favorites to win the 2022 NBA Finals. Yet, the Lakers couldn’t even qualify for a play-in tournament spot.
Not to mention, it was only the fourth time of LeBron James’ career that he missed the playoffs with his team. Bettors knew something was suspicious last season after the team failed to win even one preseason game. Sure, the exhibition games are usually meaningless, but at what point should the fans call out their struggles?
Furthermore, after the Wizards traded Westbrook along with future second-round draft picks to the Lakers for Kentavious Caldwell Pope, Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell, the Lakers’ win total increased to 51.5 games. Did oddsmakers overestimate the triple-double king’s impact in Los Angeles, or did Westbrook just have an underwhelming season? It’s…