Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
There are two big questions for NBA fans ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft: Who goes number one overall and which team will draft Bronny James?
Top 2024 NBA Pick: The San Antonio Spurs drafted Victor Wembanyama first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. Wembanyama was one of the most hyped prospects in years. He went on to be the sixth unanimous winner of the Rookie of the Year award.
Unlike past years that have had a consensus number-one overall pick for many months, the 2024 NBA Draft has unanswered questions about several top picks.
The current odds for the top pick at sportsbook DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG) are:
- Zaccharie Risacher: -500
- Donovan Clingan: +500
- Alex Sarr: +1,400
- Stephon Castle: +1,800
- Reed Sheppard: +2,500
Risacher has been trending as the likely first-overall pick, but many think the Hawks have not made up their minds.
Risacher opened at +275 to be the first overall pick and was available at +130 just last week, before seeing his odds improve to -225 on Monday, -275 on Tuesday and -350 on Wednesday at BetMGM, which is a joint venture between MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) and Entain. The data was reported by BetMGM's John Ewing.
Among the top bets at BetMGM are $500 bet on Zach Edey at +20,000 to win $100,000 and $2,000 bet on Sheppard at +2,000 to win $40,000
The 2024 NBA Draft is two rounds and will see its two rounds split into a two-day event for the first time in the current format. The first round airs on ESPN and ABC, units of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday. The second round airs on ESPN on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. Both rounds can be streamed on ESPN+.
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Bronny James Odds: Bronny James is the oldest son of NBA star LeBron James and one of the most talked about NBA prospects.
Once predicted to be a first-round pick, James is expected to be drafted in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft or go undrafted.
At DraftKings, James is listed at odds of +30,000 to go first overall. For the prop bet on which team will draft him, the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites at -145 followed by the Phoenix Suns (+700), Dallas Mavericks (+900) and Minnesota Timberwolves (+1,000). The Lakers have the 17th pick in the first round and the 55th overall pick, which is in the second round.
LeBron James played with the Lakers for the last six seasons and has a player option to re-sign or can opt out and test free agency. DraftKings lists LeBron's next team odds at -500 for the Lakers followed by the Cavaliers at +800.
LeBron has hinted for years that he wants to play in the NBA with Bronny, which led to speculation that a team would draft Bronny to be able to get LeBron's services as well. James has a player option deadline of June 29, coming several days after the draft.
While Bronny struggled in his freshman season at USC with 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists averaged in 25 games, he had a strong showing at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine.
One bettor took a flyer at BetMGM putting $500 on James to get taken first overall at +25,000 odds for a potential $125,000 win, according to Ewing.
Ewing reported that James opened at BetMGM with an over/under of 41.5 and that figure rose to 50.5 over time and currently sits at 54.5, which is right at the Lakers second-round pick.
At BetMGM, Ewing said 88% of the bets are on the over for James, suggesting it will be the Lakers taking him in the second round or no one drafting him at all.
Ewing said 59% of the money at BetMGM is on the Lakers drafting James for the which team will draft him prop bet.
At Fanatics, bettors are placing wagers on James going first overall.
"I'm not really surprised, since people are always intrigued with betting on long shots, especially when the long shot has a big name," Fanatics Sportsbook senior editor Max Meyer said, as shared by Fox Sports. "This draft is low on star power, so any recognizable name will drive action."
Meyer said Bronny is the second most popular number-one bet at Fanatics at 16% of tickets. He trais only Clingan (25.8%). While he ranks high in number of bets, the money placed on James is less with the potential future NBA player ranking fifth in betting handle at Fanatics at 5.3%.
Along with betting on James going first overall, bettors are wagering on the Lakers landing the NBA star's son. Meyer said from Monday to Tuesday there was around 10 times more money placed on bets for which team would draft Bronny than on who would go first overall. The Lakers rank first with 85% of the money for Bronny's team.
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