The Phoenix Suns made it to the NBA Finals last season, and even held a 2-0 lead on the Milwaukee Bucks before eventually falling short in their bid for the championship.
They returned every notable piece heading into the 2021-22 season, but even so, the NBA betting oddsmakers did not give them a bunch of respect. Phoenix entered the year with the sixth-best odds to win the title at +1400, according to the consensus estimates.
There was some belief that their run was a fluke, aided by key injuries to players on the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, especially. The Suns beat the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs last season, but entering this year, it was Los Angeles that was listed as the team to beat in the Western Conference.
The Lakers, who rounded out their Big Three by adding Russell Westbrook to the LeBron James and Anthony Davis pairing, were +425 to win the title in the preseason, which was behind only the Brooklyn Nets.
But as the regular season comes to a close, oh, how the tables have turned.
The Suns are the NBA championship favorites while the Lakers’ odds have sunk like a rock. Los Angeles is fighting to merely make the postseason and there is little hope that a poorly-constructed roster will turn it on if it gets there.
Superstars and big markets get an outsized share of attention in all sports, and there was plenty of optimism that LeBron and the star-studded Lakers would be on the short-list of championship favorites.
That never materialized, and meanwhile, the Suns just kept on winning, which eventually pushed them ahead of the pack. Phoenix is almost certainly going to enter the playoffs as the team to beat, and for those who still believe in the Lakers, well, the payout on a championship these days is much better than it was to begin the year.
