Kings odds of beating Warriors are historically bad; 25,000 reasons they could be wrong
Oddsmakers aren’t giving the Kings much of a chance of winning their first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, but there are some gamblers out there with 25,000 reasons to question those odds.
Game 1 will be played Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The Kings are entering the playoffs with homecourt advantage as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. The Warriors are coming in as the No. 6 seed, but they are heavy favorites, according to the sportsbooks.
The Warriors opened as -260 favorites at BetOnline with the Kings listed as +220 underdogs. The odds give the Warriors a 68.8% likelihood of winning the series. According to Action Network, no top-three seed since 1990 has gone into a first-round playoff series as a bigger underdog than the Kings.
Here are the top-three seeds that faced the longest odds over the past 34 years.
2005: The third-seeded Seattle SuperSonics were +100 underdogs against the No. 3 Kings. The Sonics won the series 4-1.
2006: The third-seeded Denver Nuggets were +145 underdogs against the No. 6 Clippers. The Clippers won the series 4-1.
2014: The third-seeded Toronto Raptors were +110 underdogs against the No. 6 Brooklyn Nets. The Nets won the series 4-3.
2015: The third-seeded Los Angeles Clippers were +160 underdogs against the No. 6 San Antonio Spurs. The Clippers won the series 4-3.
2019: The third-seeded Portland Trail Blazers were +145 underdogs against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blazers won the series 4-1.
2021: The third-seeded Nuggets were +110 underdogs against the No. 6 Blazers. The Nuggets won the series 4-2.
2021: The second-seeded Phoenix Suns were +155 underdogs against the No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns won the series 4-2.
Interestingly enough, five of those seven underdogs went on to win the series. Maybe Sacramento can join that list.
The Warriors have a huge advantage in playoff experience after winning their fourth NBA championship in nine years last season. That could be a deciding factor in the series, but the Kings have been underestimated from the start of the season. They opened with +25000 odds to win the Pacific Division. Anyone who wagered $100 on them to win the division just collected a cool $25,000.
The Kings went 48-34 this season to win the Pacific Division by three games. The Suns (45-37) finished second in the Pacific Division followed by the Clippers (44-38), Warriors (44-38) and Lakers (43-39).
The Lakers punched their ticket to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed with a play-in victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. This marks the first time all four California teams will appear in the playoffs. The Kings and Lakers will play each other if they both advance beyond the first round, no matter how small the odds.
