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Bronny James shouldn’t have much trouble surpassing expectations when he makes his NBA debut with the Lakers when you consider they’re virtually nonexistent, but some bettors are apparently hoping he defies them in a big way based on the number of people who’ve already bet on him to win Rookie of the Year.
By now, I assume most NBA fans are familiar with The Discourse that surrounded Bronny James thanks to his decision to leave USC after a single season where he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game before declaring for the NBA Draft.
You won’t find many players who boast those kind of numbers who decided to make the leap to The League, but you obviously won’t find any who happened to be the eldest son of LeBron James, who hasn’t been shy about fulfilling his longtime dream of playing alongside his kid in the NBA.
It was widely believed the Los Angeles Lakers were going to select Bronny with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and they ultimately did exactly that after Rich Paul reportedly informed every other team who’d expressed interest he’d take his talents to Australia if they had the nerve to interfere with that plan.
When you combine Bronny’s scouting report with the fact that the Hawks were expected to select either Zaccharie Risacher or Alexandre Sarr with the first overall pick (Atlanta ultimately opted for the first of those Frenchman), placing a bet on James to go No. 1 seemed like one of the dumbest wagers you could’ve possibly made.
According to ESPN, hundreds of people still decided to do exactly that after BetMGM listed him at 200-1.
However, as the outlet notes, a good chunk of those wagers was likely placed by people who were hoping to have their betting limits by positioning themselves as “dumb” bettors (sportsbooks have a tendency to automatically place a cap on customers with a history of outsmarting their oddsmakers).
I’d argue the most interesting tidbit in that article was buried at the bottom, as BetMGM says more people have bet on Bronny to win NBA Rookie of the Year than any other player in spite of the +25000 odds he’s been given (Sarr is currently the favorite at +425).
I guess you could argue there’s theoretically some value in the bet given the longshot nature, but at the same time, it’s very, very, very hard to imagine he’s going to top the rest of the field when everything is said and done.
I’ll be more than happy to print out this article and literally eat my words if that ends up being the case, but something tells me I won’t have to worry too much.