A peculiar betting trend has taken shape ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft on June 26: Bronny James, son of NBA legend and all-time leading scorer LeBron James, has emerged as BetMGM's biggest liability to be selected first overall.
Despite being projected by most experts as a likely second-round pick, the 19-year-old former All-American who played his freshman year in college for USC appears on a whopping 36.8 percent of all BetMGM tickets related to the No. 1 pick. For context, Alex Sarr and Donovan Clingan each appear on just 14 percent of No. 1 pick tickets.
MORE: Sporting News' complete two-round NBA mock draft
However, a little more context is needed to truly understand this perplexing turn of events. While Bronny appears on easily the most tickets overall, he also represents just over four percent of the No. 1 pick handle — aka the total money bet on that particular market. Sarr dominates in that regard, accounting for over 65 percent of the handle, while Clingan represents over 23 percent.
"We’re not concerned with racking up a liability there," said BetMGM Senior Trader Halvor Egeland after Sporting News reached out for a comment on the recent Bronny developments. "It's all relatively small wagers — nothing over $100."
Aah, now it's all starting to make sense. At +20000 to go first overall, Bronny seemed too tempting for many bettors to pass up. So, they either threw in a $5-$20 lotto-ticket wager on him, hoping for a $1,000-$4,000 jackpot, or they tossed him into a parlay hoping for an early retirement.
As BetMGM explained in its official statement, they aren't concerned in the least — nor should they be, according to all the expert mock drafts and NBA analysts.
Sporting News NBA Draft expert Kyle Irving projected Bronny to go 55th overall to the Lakers in his most recent mock draft, and no expert intel suggests the 6-1 swingman will go anywhere near the top of the draft board. That's not to say Bronny isn't an NBA-level talent — just that he probably won't elevate to lottery-pick status because of his name.
MORE: Haters need to grow up — Bronny James is a real NBA Draft prospect
The Athletic's NBA expert Shams Charania recently tweeted that the Suns have shown interest in drafting Bronny at No. 22 overall, and that Phoenix and Los Angeles are among the short list of teams LeBron's son will work out for ahead of the draft.
Many NBA experts and draft analysts believe Bronny to the Lakers makes the most sense. Practicing and playing alongside his superstar father will likely give him a fair shake amongst teammates and the league in general, and could very well help expedite his development and evolution as a pro.
LeBron, perhaps the most influential hoops star outside of Michael Jordan, has alluded many times to his desire to play on the same NBA team as Bronny. Many believe that if LeBron can influence the hiring of coaches and acquisition of free agents, he can certainly convince Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss to draft his son.
Not surprisingly, BetMGM lists Los Angeles as a +180 favorite to draft Bronny while no other team has shorter odds than +1000. The Lakers appear on over 22 percent of Bronny-related draft tickets, and they represent 33 percent of the Bronny draft handle.
The mystery of Bronny's ultimate destination will be solved soon enough. In the meantime, the books are open to whomever wants to try their hand at predicting the future. Just don't go into this guessing game thinking you'll end up rich on June 26th.
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