NBA Playoffs 2026: LeBron James, Lakers biggest underdog for their first-round series since 2013

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in NBA history and used to winning championships and advancing far into the postseason.

They’re not used to being an underdog — especially a big one — in the first round of the playoffs.

But with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves both sidelined for at least the first portion of Los Angeles’ Round 1 matchup with Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets with Grade 2 strains, that’s exactly where the Lakers find themselves.

Los Angeles opened as a +550 underdog against Houston in Round 1 at BetMGM sportsbooks, with the Rockets a massive -800 favorite. It’s the fifth-biggest underdog the Lakers have been in first-round series since 1988 — per Sports Odds History — and the biggest since they were +650 against the San Antonio Spurs back in 2013.

The Spurs swept the Lakers 4-0 in that series.

Los Angeles has been an underdog of +550 or worse four other times in that time span, and hasn’t won one of the series. Of course, in three of them, the Lakers were at least a 10-1 underdog (implied probability of 9%), including a 20-1 underdog against the Phoenix Suns in 1993.

Can LeBron pull off some more postseason magic and at least extend the series until either Reaves or Doncic can return?

The Rockets are 4.5-point road favorites in Game 1 on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).