Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Chris Paul is picking the Los Angeles Lakers to defeat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
Ahead of Game 1, the Point God revealed the one simple reason behind his prediction on the latest episode of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson's “DangerTalk” podcast: the Lakers are the team with his good friend, LeBron James.
“The Lakers,” Paul said when asked to make a Finals pick. “My brother LeBron over there. Never, never go against him.”
Paul didn't need to expand on his answer, though he did express appreciation for the Heat.
“I hope we get a hell of a series because I love watching Miami play,” Paul added.
Of course, Chris Paul isn't exactly going out on a limb with his prediction. The top-seeded Lakers are -380 favorites to win the series, per William Hill. The East's no. 5 seed was listed as +300 underdogs a few hours before Game 1.
Wilson initially picked Miami but admitted he was doing so to disagree with Paul and that he actually believes James will win his fourth NBA championship.
“I'm gonna go against the odds, I'm gonna go with the Heat, because Chris Paul is going with the Lakers. But … I think LeBron's gonna win it. But I'm gonna go with the Heat just to make it interesting — in a six or seven game series.”
Wilson's nonsensical pick instantly lost even more credibility when he failed to name more than a few current Heat players. On the other hand, he's currently at the front of the NFL MVP race and leading the league in touchdown passes (at a record pace), so he can get a pass on that one.
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