With the NBA draft beginning tomorrow, few players are more anticipated than Bronny James. Following a lackluster and challenging season at USC, Bronny James made the somewhat surprising decision to enter the NBA draft. He averaged a modest 4.8 points, 2.1 assists, and 2.8 rebounds with below-average shooting efficiency in college. If he was any other prospect he’d have no chance to be drafted, but he’s not just any other prospect. With his father, LeBron James, vocal about his intentions to play with his son, Bronny has a fair chance to be selected over the next two days. We’ll break down some of the best betting lines to nail where he’ll land in the draft.
With the Lakers being the home of LeBron for the last 6 seasons they are the natural landing spot for Bronny James. At -135 they’re the strongest bet to unite father and son to the same team for the first time in NBA history.
This isn’t a guarantee, however. With LeBron entering the final year of his contract with the Lakers. It’s expected that he will opt-out of his final year to become a free agent, but it is unclear if he is looking for a new team. Either way, adding Bronny James to the Lakers roster would instantly provide LeBron with a massive incentive to stay. There is little doubt in the league that the Lakers are heavy favorites to acquire Bronny for this very reason.
This line has slowly been settling over the last few weeks, but at -150 for Bronny to be selected below 50 makes sense. Many of the Bronny suitors have slowly been pulling back interest as it seems less likely that LeBron intends to leave the Lakers.
The Lakers have a second-round pick at 55, which falls firmly under this line. Even if Bronny doesn’t end up going to the Lakers it’s more likely a team would purchase a later pick at the back end of the second round to get him. The Indiana Pacers are a team with several picks under this line, and will most likely trade them away on draft night. If anyone is looking to sneak in about the Lakers to take Bronny odds are they will use one of those picks to do it.
With the Lakers clearly being the favorite to take Bronny James in the draft, and their second-round pick being at 55 this is a brainer. At -110 odds this might be the most interesting Bronny bet on the books. Some of the alternatives such as picks 45-50 at +1000 are interesting as well considering these later picks have little value to teams. A team could select Bronny as an intriguing piece or as a G-League prospect for publicity. Though, this is just speculation, and the Lakers remain the best bet to select Bronny.
With Bronny James in the draft, it feels certain he’ll be a prime target for the Lakers. Following his slow season at USC, Bronny is much more of a bargaining chip to negotiate with his father. The cross-section of LeBron James’ free agency and Bronny entering the draft has made the likelihood of Bronny being drafted much higher. With the Lakers selecting at 55 in the draft, Bronny is a favorite to land that spot.