On Tuesday, Lakers rookie Bronny James made history by checking in for the first game of his NBA career, doing so with four minutes to play in the second quarter, alongside his more accomplished father, LeBron James.
LeBron James called it a moment he would never forget.
Said Bronny: “I tried not to focus on everything that was going on around me and tried to focus on going in as a rookie and not trying to mess up. But yeah, I totally did feel the energy, and I appreciate the Laker Nation for showing the support for me and my dad.”
What happened from there, though, was probably predictable. Bronny James played three minutes, missed two shots—including one 3-pointer—and went to the bench as a minus-5 in the box score in his NBA debut.
And yet, somehow, according to BetMGM, Bronny James has significant backing as a dark-horse Rookie of the Year candidate. His odds are listed at plus-30,000 at the site, but it is reporting that James has 17.6% of the incoming tickets to win the award.
Bronny James Lakers Bet? ‘Huge Waste’
That jibes with an ESPN report on Tuesday that stated, “FanDuel reported Tuesday that 20% of the money that had been bet on its odds to win Rookie of the Year was on James, the most of any player. James’ odds to win the award range from 250-1 to as long as 1,000-1 at sportsbooks.”
This matter was brought to an NBA assistant coach on Tuesday, who laughed.
“Yeah, I have to say, to call that a huge waste of money is an understatement,” the coach told Heavy. “He is an easy young man to root for, and I think everyone can appreciate why the Lakers—why LeBron, really—wants him on that roster and wants to help him get his career started. But he is not going to play. He shouldn’t play.”
Indeed, the Lakers have some depth at guard, with D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves the starters and Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht and Max Christie off the bench. It’s hard to envision a role at all for Bronny James, let alone a role that gets him enough playing time to be Rookie of the Year.
BetMGM reports that the bulk of the incoming money is on former Purdue star and Grizzlies first-round pick Zach Edey, who is taking in 30.1% of the tickets and is a plus-300.
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This article was originally published on Heavy.com
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