Bronny James, Los Angeles Laker?
Bettors are certainly taking that approach ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft, a two-day event which begins with Wednesday’s first round.
A month ago, the son of Laker star forward LeBron James was listed at +160 at BetMGM to join his dad. In odds provided this week to Covers by the online sportsbook, the Lakers are now -120 and have received 31.9% of the tickets and 52.2% of the handle.
DraftKings has the Lakers as a -110 favorite to select Bronny with 64% of the handle on the 6-foot-4 guard out of USC.
Which team will draft Bronny James is the most popular NBA draft market available at Fanatics Sportsbook. The online operator reported that 58% more tickets are on this market than which player will be the No. 1 overall pick.
Luring LeBron?
Much of the Bronny James draft odds change could be associated with what the Lakers have done this offseason. J.J. Redick was hired last week to coach the team. He already has a relationship with LeBron as the two did a podcast together this year.
ESPN reported that the Lakers are committed to re-signing LeBron, who has to opt into his final year with the franchise by June 29 or become a free agent. The Lakers are looking to sign him to a three-year max extension, according to the report.
Both rounds of the draft will happen before LeBron makes that decision. He has openly said that he wants to play with Bronny, but he also made it clear that a team shouldn’t draft his son in order to lure him there in free agency.
Other potential suitors
The Lakers could give LeBron the best of both worlds, though, by drafting his son with either the 17th overall pick on Wednesday or the 55th selection on Thursday, much to the chagrin of sportsbooks.
No other NBA team has more than 15% in either tickets or money to draft Bronny at BetMGM.
The Phoenix Suns at +700 are second with 15% of the handle while the Cleveland Cavaliers at 12.2% have received 12.2% of the money.
The Dallas Mavericks, a team popularly linked to Bronny James on social media, have gone from +2,500 to +900 over the last month, but just 4.4% of the bets and 1.1% of the money are on the Western Conference champions. They're featured in our Bronny James draft analysis and predictions.
By making the playoffs, Dallas gave up its first-round selection to the New York Knicks via a trade, so the Mavericks will pick dead last at No. 58 overall in the second day.
Still betting No. 1 overall?
The Atlanta Hawks, who have the first pick of the NBA draft, have received the fifth-most tickets to select Bronny James but just 0.7% of the money at BetMGM.
However, James to go No. 1 overall is the online sportsbook’s biggest liability for that market.
Bronny James is the most bet player at @BetMGM to be the 1st Overall Pick in the NBA Draft tomorrow 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/q7pgvDyLcQ
— Covers (@Covers) June 25, 2024
James is not projected to be a first-round pick in most NBA mock drafts or NBA draft betting odds, but that hasn’t stopped bettors from getting down on +25,000 odds for him to be selected first overall.
He has the highest ticket count at 25.2% in that market. That’s up from 22.5% of the bets a month ago.
DraftKings has James getting 15% of the bets to go No. 1 overall, tied for the third-highest ticket count. He’s getting 6% (fourth-most) of the handle.
DraftKings has Bronny’s draft position set at over/under 41.5 with 44% of the tickets and 55% of the bets on the over.
