2025-26 NBA Odds: Can Lakers Climb Out of Underdog Slump?

A disturbing trend has developed in La La Land — and no, we’re not talking about Luka Dončić’s altercation with J.J. Redick. Actually, it’s a betting trend. The Lakers are 37-24 on the season, firmly in the mix for the third seed in the West, assuming OKC and San Antonio continue to lead the pack at the top of the conference. Overall, L.A. is 29-9 when favored — 16-5 when favored at home and 13-4 when favored on the road. Pretty good, right? But there is always the other side of the coin. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. The Lakers are 8-15 overall as an underdog, including 2-7 as the home ‘dog and 6-8 as the road ’dog. To take it a step further, consider this: The Lakers have failed to cover in 11 straight games as an underdog. Check out the recent results: Dec. 23 @ Phoenix: Lakers (+3.5) lose by 24Dec. 25 vs. Houston: Lakers (+2.5) lose by 23Dec. 30 vs. Detroit: Lakers (+2.5) lose by 22Jan. 7 @ San Antonio: Lakers (+8.5) lose by 16Jan. 17 @ Portland: Lakers (+3.5) lose by 16Jan. 22 @ LA Clippers: Lakers (+2.5) lose by 8Jan. 28 @ Cleveland: Lakers (+3.5) lose by 30Feb. 1 @ New York: Lakers (+6.5) lose by 12Feb. 9 vs. OKC: Lakers (+6.5) lose by 9Feb. 10 vs. San Antonio: Lakers (+13.5) lose by 28Feb. 22 vs. Boston: Lakers (+1.5) lose by 22 Yeesh. And not only are the Lakers failing to cover as underdogs, they are getting blown out. In those 11 games, they’ve lost by 10 or more in nine of them and 20 or more in six of them. Five of those losses have also come on their home floor, by an average of 20.8 points. Granted, those five home games were against five of the best teams in the league, but the best teams in the league exist in the playoffs. The last time L.A. covered as an underdog was back on Dec. 14, when it beat Phoenix by two as a 1.5-point favorite. The Lakers will face the Nuggets on Thursday as 5.5-point underdogs.