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Why Bronny James winning NBA Rookie of the Year is sportsbooks’ worst-case scenario
Plus, Zach Edey is drawing some hype.
While the consensus among NBA draft experts and those in the media was that while there wasn’t a generational talent in the 2024 NBA draft – like Victor Wembanyama in 2023 – there still should be many good players that can help rosters. Much was made of LeBron James’ son, Bronny James, generating a ton of NBA betting interest as the potential No. 1 overall pick, but it ended up being moot as Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher went first to the Atlanta Hawks. Bronny was chosen 55th by the Los Angeles Lakers.
As always, though, there is an interesting market for 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year, with No. 2 pick Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards) the slight favorite in the market at +500 at DraftKings Sportsbook, followed by Risacher (+650) and No. 4 pick Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs) at +800.
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Defying the odds?
One of the more polarizing players in the draft follows those three with +1000 odds (DraftKings), — Memphis Grizzlies No. 9 overall pick Zach Edey. Edey, the 7-foot-4 Canadian center from Purdue, won back-to-back National Player of the Year awards in college and led the Boilermakers to the national championship game this past season, where they fell to Castle’s UConn. Many draft pundits were shocked that Edey went in the lottery, let alone the top 10, as he isn’t a 3-point threat and there were concerns about his upside. But there are also very few humans as big as he is, and the Grizzlies must have a plan in place to maximize his talents.
Edey opened with 25-1 odds to win the NBA ROY at BetMGM but moved all the way down to 9-1 in the days after the draft.
“We did see some sharper clients bet it, I think because of the situation,” Halvor Egeland, senior NBA trader at BetMGM said over the phone. “It’s a name people recognize in this class. I don’t think Edey moves too well and doesn’t provide spacing. I know he’s shot better over his career and he could improve, but him clogging the lane for Ja Morant isn’t going to work out well.”
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Validated on: October 31, 2024
Edey had an incredible senior season at Purdue in which he averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. In his stellar college career, Edey increased his points and blocks averages in each of his four seasons. All this came after the big man was ranked outside the top 400 recruits in his high school class.
Betting on Bronny
As for the player with the biggest liability at top sportsbooks? That’s Bronny James, without a doubt.
“Bronny is by far our biggest liability, like 10 times the closest player, which is Edey,” Egeland said. Bronny has by far the most bets, triple of Edey and Dalton Knecht is third. I don’t think many people think Bronny has a legitimate chance to win the award, but once it becomes a media story, we take action on it. People like the story and with the big odds, they figure, ‘Why not?’”
LeBron’s eldest son played one season at USC, where he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.3 minutes per game. Bronny’s college start was delayed after he suffered a cardiac arrest during a summer workout.
The biggest bet at BetMGM that Egeland recalled was a $100 wager on Bronny. The Lakers guard scored four points in his Summer League debut on Saturday in Sacramento.