National Basketball Association

2024 NBA Draft No. 1 pick odds: Bronny James remains most bet prospect

Updated Jun. 19, 2024 3:12 p.m. ET

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Bettors continue to be all-in on Bronny James.

How in? 

So in that James currently has the most bets on him to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft at BetMGM. His odds to be the first pick currently sit at +20000.

James has the most tickets by a wide margin (30%) to go No. 1 overall. That count is over 11% more than Donovan Clingan, who has the second-highest ticket percentage (18.8%). 

Zaccharie Risacher has the third-most tickets at 17.4%. 

Clingan, the 7-foot-2 center from UConn, won two National Championships with the Huskies and averaged 13 points and 7.4 rebounds last season.

Risacher is a 6-foot-9 19-year-old who most recently played for JL Bourg in the Betclic Elite League in France. Risacher averaged 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. 

James averaged 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds and started only six games for the USC Trojans.

While James represents BetMGM's biggest liability, the book, presumably, isn't too worried. And understandably so, since the idea of James actually going No. 1 is a lengthy long shot.

One oddsmaker spoke about the growing Bronny liability, saying, "It would have to be a very big number before we become concerned." 

Bronny — son of Los Angeles superstar LeBron James — reportedly "turned heads" at the recent NBA combine. His medical clearance to participate in the combine comes almost a year after he suffered cardiac arrest while working out as a part of USC's basketball team.

However, for all the positive press that came out of the younger James' recent workouts, there has also been some skepticism.

One of those critiques was that his actual height is 6-foot-1.5 without shoes, not 6-foot-4 as previously listed. Additionally, some scouts noted that, with his current skillset, he's not NBA-ready.

At Draftkings Sportsbook, the Lakers are currently the favorite to draft Bronny James (+140). 

In the past, Lebron has been outspoken about the opportunity to play with his son. "I need to be on the floor with my boy — I got to be on the floor with Bronny," James said.

Recently, however, Lebron put great emphasis on the importance of Bronny following his own path. 

"I haven't given it much thought lately, obviously I thought about it in the past," LeBron said, almost waiving the question. The end of the day, the kid has to do what he wants to do. I don't even want to say kid no more, the young man will decide what he wants to do and how he wants his career to go." 

The Phoenix Suns have the second-best odds to draft Bronny at DraftKings (+650), followed by the Raptors, Wolves and Mavs, all at +1000.

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