This has been a generational run through the Eastern Conference finals that will be talked about for years.
Not just for the Knicks, but for an anonymous NBA bettor at BetMGM who capitalized on their historic run.
The bettor has been cashing in on ladder bets for the past three weeks when the Knicks were still being doubted against the 76ers in the second round.
Now, they have amassed a small fortune betting on the Knicks against the Cavaliers: more than $1 million on 25 spread bets throughout the series.
This bettor’s strategy has been well documented; they’ve bet big with $3.6 million in wagers across their publicly tracked bets, which have paid off to the tune of $1.7 million in profit.
But the Knicks bets have been the constant money maker. The same anonymous person wagered $775,000 on the Knicks in Game 1 and needed one of the greatest comebacks in NBA playoff history to cash those bets, which paid a handsome sum of $446,000.
In Game 2, this bettor threw down another $300,000 to win $176,000 and jumped back in for Game 3 with $350,000 worth of wagers to win $217,000. After Game 3, it was clear the Knicks could not stop the Cavaliers analytically, but they certainly had them quitting on the court.
The anonymous bettor initially bet $200,000 on the Knicks to cover five different spread bets ahead of the closeout Game 4, then added another $300,000 worth of wagers later in the day per BetMGM’s John Ewing.
They stood to make $305,000 and likely didn’t even need to sweat after the Knicks used a 20-0 run at the end of the first quarter to pull away early and put the Cavaliers out of their misery.
In this bettor’s case, Cleveland’s misery was a money-making opportunity, and the Knicks’ first run to the NBA Finals in 27 years has the bettor waking up to orange and blue skies.
Betting on the NBA?
Surely these aren’t the only bets he’s placed, and he could be wagering and losing more elsewhere, but this is a steep hit for BetMGM.
The $1.7 million in profit that The Post has tracked this NBA Playoffs would sink a nice hit into their company earnings.
Last quarter, BetMGM profited $25 million, so losing $ 1.7 million to one bettor would have been a 6.8 percent hit to their earnings.
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Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.