According to the Westgate SportsBook in Las Vegas, LeBron James has never faced a bigger challenge in his 15-year NBA career. 

Over the past 16 seasons, no team has been bigger underdogs (in terms of betting odds) in the NBA Finals as the Cleveland Cavaliers are against the Golden State Warriors in this year's season-ending series, according to sportsoddshistory.com.

The Warriors, who have beat the Cavaliers in the championship series two of the past three years, are 1/10 favourites to capture the title for a second straight campaign. So, if you place a $100 bet on the Warriors winning, you only stand to win $10.

On the other hand, Cleveland are 13/2 underdogs, meaning a $100 bet will earn you $650 if they cause an upset.   

Furthermore, Golden State are 12-point favourites for Game 1 of the series, tied for the largest point spread of a NBA Finals game since 1991, according to ESPN. 

Interestingly, even though James is considered by many as the best to ever play the game, the future Hall of Famer is routinely considered the underdog when he reaches the NBA Finals. In seven of nine Finals appearances, Vegas has considered LeBron as the underdog when it comes to betting odds. 

 

LeBron vs. The Odds (via ESPN)

Year  Opponent Odds Result
2018 Warriors +650 ?
2017 Warriors +250 Lost 4-1
2016 Warriors +180 Won 4-3
2015 Warriors +190 Lost 4-2
2014 Spurs +135 Lost 4-1
2013 Spurs -220 Won 4-3
2012 Thunder +155 Won 4-1
2011 Mavericks -175 Lost 4-2
2007 Spurs +360 Lost 4-0

In his first NBA Finals appearance back in 2007, James was just 23 and by far the best player on the team with the likes of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak being the most notable teammates. Facing a veteran filled San Antonio Spurs squad led by future Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich was hard to bet against and that was reflected by the odds as the Cavs were +360 underdogs. Vegas was right as the Spurs won the series in four games. 

LeBron joined the Miami Heat in 2011 and was picked as the underdog in two of his four Finals appearances in South Beach despite having Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on his side. In maybe the most disappointing moment of his career, James and the Heat were upset by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Finals after being -175 favourites at the start of the series. In 2012, the Heat were slight underdogs to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder, but were still able to win the title, the first of James' career. After beating the Spurs as a -220 favourite the following year, James and company were once again underdogs to San Antonio in 2014 after the Heat's worst regular season in the LeBron era. 

In 2015, now back in Cleveland, James began his four-year run against the Warriors dynasty in the NBA Finals. 

And the odds for this year's series are definitely not surprising when you take a look at the two rosters.

Back in 2016, James put together an incredible performance to lead the Cavs all the way back from a 3-1 deficit to give Cleveland their first title in franchise history. The Akron native was the undisputed leader of that team, but he still had very solid secondary help in All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and a healthy Kevin Love. Fast forward to 2018, Irving has left Cleveland for Boston Celtics while Love is questionable for Game 1 of the series to a concussion. And unlike the 2016 Finals, the Warriors have a guy named Kevin Durant who will not make things any easier for The King for a second year in a row. 

The numbers from the first three rounds of this spring's playoffs show the weight James has pulled for the Cavaliers.

Points Per Game Leaders

LeBron James - 34
Kevin Love - 13.9
Kyle Korver - 9.8
George Hill - 9.7

Assists Per Game Leaders

LeBron James - 8.8
George Hill - 2.2
Kevin Love - 1.6
Jeff Green - 1.3

Rebounds Per Game Leaders

Kevin Love - 10
LeBron James - 9.2
Tristan Thompson - 6.1
Larry Nance - 3.9 

The Warriors playoff stats paint a far different picture.

Points Per Game Leaders

Kevin Durant - 29
Stephen Curry - 24.8
Klay Thompson - 20.5
Draymond Green - 11.1

Assists Per Game Leaders

Draymond Green - 8.1
Stephen Curry - 4.9
Kevin Durant - 4.1
Andre Iguodala - 3.1

Rebounds Per Game Leaders

Draymond Green - 11.6
Kevin Durant - 7.1
Stephen Curry - 6.1
Andre Iguodala - 4.9

The odds have never been stacked higher against James in his illustrious career. Finding a way to beat the Warriors in the NBA Finals might go down as one of the most impressive feats in NBA history.