The Kings have shocked the NBA world this season, but one fan was willing to bet on them since the beginning. Literally.
Before the start of the 2022-23 season, one bettor at Caesars made two massive wagers on the Kings to win it all, per Draft Kings’ Ben Fawkes.
The bettor placed two futures on the Kings winning the title. The first was a $10,000 bet at 750-1 odds and the second was an $8,000 bet at 350-1 odds.
If the Kings not only end their 16-season NBA playoff hiatus but win the NBA Finals, they will help make one person a whopping $10.3 million richer.
Sacramento hasn’t made a playoff appearance since the 2005-06 season, the longest postseason drought in NBA history.
But the light -- or perhaps the beam -- at the end of the tunnel is within reach for the Kings this year. They currently hold a 35-25 record, good enough for third in the loaded Western Conference.
The Kings enter Tuesday with 22 regular-season contests remaining and are determined to maintain their status as a top-three seed and secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Sacramento has a 98.9 percent chance to make the playoffs and a 96.7 percent chance to be a top-six seed in the conference, per Basketball Reference’s playoff probabilities report.
As NBC Sports California’s Tom Dierberger pointed out, the Kings need to finish 10-12 or better over their final 22 games -- a task that’s far from impossible.
The odds are in their favor, and the bettor certainly is hoping the same.