LeBron James playing alongside his son Bronny was the biggest news on Tuesday night. The father-son duo was an NBA first as the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Lakers won 110 to 103, and expectedly, there was considerable focus on Bronny's performance, which, to be honest, was neither bad nor spectacular. He went 0-2, one of which was a three-pointer, and also got a rebound.
Bronny finds himself needing to prove that he deserves his spot in the Lakers and is not just a golden pick planted by his dad. CBS Sports Bill Reiter explained his challenges.
"It's hard to ignore the pestering worries that, at best, Bronny is here in the league too soon, shoved to the front of the line by the forces of his father rather than his own talent, and that Tuesday's debut with dad — and the laudatory coverage sure to follow — will make things harder… Jealousies are real. And if he largely stays in the NBA this season, or spends ample time in the G League, he will be playing against, and sometimes with, those who covet what he has, and resent how he got it."
Bookmakers were also keeping a close eye on Bronny on Tuesday. The young player has become a popular pick among bettors for the 'Rookie of the Year' award.
He is definitely not the favorite, but betting fans apparently do not care. If he somehow gets the award, it would be the worst possible result for sportsbooks because his odds are massive.
Bronny has +30000 odds for Rookie of the Year at BetMGM and has attracted 17% of bet tickets in the category, the highest rate currently. Zach Eddy is the favorite to win at +300 odds and does lead the handle at 30.1%.
Halvor Egeland, BetMGM trading strategy manager, speaks on the current situation and customer betting patterns.
"Bronny James winning Rookie of the year is the worst NBA awards result right now. Ideally, Zach Edey doesn't win the award either. (Nikola) Jokic winning another MVP (+475) would be great for BetMGM, especially with bettors being all over Anthony Edwards (+1200) to win his first MVP."
PointsBet numbers on Bronny are even higher, but they do not think he will pull a fairytale upset.
"Most bets are on Luka (Doncic) for MVP but most money is on Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander). (Russell) Westbrook has the most bets on the Sixth Man of the Year market, shortly followed by (Donte) DiVincenzo. For Rookie of the Year, as you would expect since he's 1000-1 (+100000) Bronny has the largest liability by far, but Edey has the most bets and most money (possibly because he's Canadian and the favorite)." - PointsBet Trader.
Glen Hyslop at BetVictor was more blunt in his skepticism of Bronny scooping the Rookie of the Year award and causing any financial shake-up.
"We have not seen any action on Bronny to be rookie of the year and with his preseason stats despite being the son of 'The King,' our punters were not suckered into backing him. After only playing three minutes in the opening match, I think this will set the tone that he will get limited court time in his first season. We are in the process of revising these markets after the opening two games and we currently make him 300/1 (+30000) to be Rookie of the Year. Zach Edey from the Grizzlies has been the popular choice and is the current favorite for the award."