Stephen A.: LeBron, Bronny’s special moment won’t come without scrutiny (2:24)
Stephen A. Smith explains why the factors that led to LeBron James and Bronny James sharing the court together will invite scrutiny from NBA fans. (2:24)
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David Purdum, ESPN Staff WriterOct 24, 2024, 02:16 PM ET
- Joined ESPN in 2014
- Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008
The NBA oddsmaking team at Caesars Sportsbook wanted to keep it simple — Bronny James over/under 0.5 points in Tuesday’s opener between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
It would become not only the most popular NBA player prop of the night, but also one of the most popular ever for the sportsbook.
“We had two-way action all day on it,” David Lieberman, who oversees NBA odds for Caesars, told ESPN. “This reminded me a bit of how popular the Caitlin Clark props were this year in the WNBA.”
FanDuel said Bronny James prop bets attracted more betting interest than props on Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Bronny’s father. The action on Bronny was mostly small bets, but bookmakers said there were wagers in the four- and five-figure range on his props.
“We opened it 0.5 just to keep it simple, will he score, basically,” Lieberman said. “The betting was actually pretty evenly split between the over and under; probably more tickets on the over, but the money was close.”
Jake Bensimon, a sports bettor in Maryland, said he placed a $2,500 bet on Bronny to score over 1.5 points with FanDuel at -135 odds. He shared a screenshot of his bet with ESPN and said it was the first NBA prop bet he’d ever made.
“[It’s] strictly a bet on Lebron creating a bucket for his son,” Bensimon wrote in a direct message on X. “I figured it was something LeBron will prioritize and the line seemed fair.”
Bronny went 0-2 from the field, missing an open 3-pointer and a putback off an offensive rebound in three minutes of playing time.
Some major sportsbooks waited until just hours before Tuesday’s game to put up prop bets on Bronny and didn’t attract much action. ESPN BET elected not to put up any Bronny props. Caesars Sportsbook, however, said it will continue to post prop bets on Bronny this season.
“It will be an interesting storyline and year, and it’s a market that bettors clearly want,” Lieberman said.
The Lakers host the Phoenix Suns on Friday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN). ESPN BET is offering +175 odds on both Bronny and LeBron making a 3-pointer against the Suns, among other “Like Father, Like Son” props.
