With each successive game helping LeBron James inch his way closer to becoming the greatest scorer in league history, the actual matchups themselves practically feel secondary. It’s easy to forget there will be nine other players on the court tonight playing for two different teams.

The host Lakers are seen as -6.5 favourites on the NBA odds.

While we’re at it and given the circumstances, here are the odds for when King James may break the record.

Thunder vs. Lakers NBA Betting Odds

Since exiting the bubble, the purple and gold have a 5-2 edge over Oklahoma City. In fact, the Lakers have manhandled the Thunder the last two times they’ve competed, winning by 19 points on each occasion. It’s tempting to talk about how well LeBron plays against the Thunder, but the truth is he hasn’t played against them much, only suiting up once in the past four opportunities.

OKC is struggling to make the playoff push some thought they were in the process of doing just a few weeks ago. They’re still three games under .500 (25-28) and have split their previous 10 games evenly between wins and losses. That doesn’t matter as much to those who prefer looking at spreads and covers. The Thunder are an enviable 32-20-1 in that category, although have fallen against the spread three times in the last four games.

We’ve talked a lot about how L.A. outright win-loss tally (25-29) closely mirrors that of their efforts against the spread (25-28-1), so there’s no point in beating a dead horse. Emphasis for tonight’s contest should be put on the fact that they are more competent at home (13-12) than when playing away (12-17). Having a healthy Anthony Davis should help as well.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder haven’t rolled as loudly as they did in December and early January. Their inconsistency is even more frustrating because they topple teams one would think they’d lose to yet go out meekly to squads that are ripe for the taking. Wins against the Nuggets and Cavaliers impressed, whereas losses to the Rockets and Hawks were causes for concern.

They don’t have much time to think about what went wrong against the Warriors on Monday night. The hosts were the ones working up a storm. Klay Thompson went “beast mode” from three-point range, shooting 12-16. Think about that, 12-16 on three-point shots. Jordan Poole was an assist machine, serving up 12 dimes. On the topic of assists, the Warriors executed 43 to OKC’s 21. It was the sort of discrepancy that not only looks good on the stats sheet but on the hardwood floor too. It was a vintage Warriors performance. Silky passes, confusing movements, and ruthless shooting.

Luguentz Dort is listed as Out, which may help LeBron.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers haven’t played since Saturday night when they allowed an 11-point lead at the break to evaporate, ultimately falling 131-126 to the New Orleans Pelicans. There were plenty of fans in the stands wearing LeBron James jerseys despite that the game was down in Louisiana. It was the home team cooking up some spicy second-half basketball that was too hot for the Lakers to handle.

L.A. undoubtedly wants that game back. They played very good basketball in the first two quarters, looking like a team willing to pounce on an opponent who had been flailing in recent weeks. But if the 2022-2023 season has taught us anything, the Lakers simply cannot be trusted to play hard for 48 minutes. Brandon Ingram looked like the player who helped push his team into the playoffs last season, tallying 35 points off 15-28 shooting. Jonas Valanciunas corralled no fewer than 14 rebounds.

NBA Prediction: Who Will Win Thunder vs. Lakers?