Will the Lakers make the playoffs this season? (2024 NBA playoff odds giving Los Angeles a shot)

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have been making a push for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, which would guarantee them a playoff spot, but they are still 3.5 games back with just seven games to play. 

Los Angeles is likely to end up in the play-in tournament, with oddsmakers setting them at -2000 to be there in the 2023-24 season. 

Still, the Lakers are surprisingly favored to make the playoffs, as they’ve gotten through the play-in before, most recently in the 2022-23 season. 

Can James and Anthony Davis lead the Lakers back to the playoffs this season? Vegas is giving them a chance, but it may not be as likely as you’d think:

Lakers’ odds to make the playoffs in 2023-24 season

At DraftKings Sportsbook, the Lakers are -120 to make the playoffs, which is an implied probability of just 54.55 percent. 

Right now, the Lakers are in a prime spot to land the No. 9 seed, sitting 1.5 games up on the No. 10-seeded Golden State Warriors and just 1.5 games back of the No. 7-seeded Sacramento Kings. 

Despite technically being favored to make the postseason, the Lakers have the worst odds of a team favored to do so, and two of the teams listed below will have to miss the playoffs for the Lakers to get in:

• Sacramento Kings: -150 (implied probability of 60.0 percent)
• Golden State Warriors: +225 (implied probability of 30.77 percent)
• Dallas Mavericks: -10000 (implied probability of 99.01 percent)
• Phoenix Suns: -285 (implied probability of 74.03 percent)
• New Orleans Pelicans: -1600 (implied probability of 94.12 percent)

We’ve seen the Lakers navigate the play-in to earn the seventh spot on multiple occasions, but in the No. 9 spot, they’d need to win multiple games to earn the No. 8 seed. That’s certainly going to make things tougher for the team to come through at these odds. 

Should you bet on the Lakers to make the playoffs?

I’d lay off betting on the Lakers to make the playoffs right now, as I think bettors will be able to get a better number if the team does land in the No. 9 spot. Right now, oddsmakers are likely factoring in for the possibility that the Lakers could sneak into the No. 8 seed since the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings are both facing extremely tough strength of schedules the rest of the season.

The Suns are No. 1 in the league and the Kings are No. 4, per Tankathon, so it’s possible the Lakers could leap them if they finish the season strong. 

If Los Angeles ends up in the No. 9 spot, it’ll likely be plus money to make the playoffs. I’d much rather take that and count on LeBron than lay the -120 with seven games left in the season.

If you want to bet on the Lakers’ odds to make the playoffs, make sure to download DraftKings! New users that sign up with the link below will receive $150 in bonus bets if they simply place a $5 wager!

Odds update periodically and are subject to change.