The legend of Bronny James continues to grow — and not in a good way.
A month after some bettors wasted their money betting on James to go No. 1 in the NBA Draft, one bettor decided to set $1,000 on fire by placing it on James to win Rookie of the Year in the upcoming NBA season at BetMGM.
The bettor would stand to win $250,000 if the bet wins, but it almost certainly won’t.
At +25000 odds, you stand to win $250 if you wagered $1 on James.
While this bet has a better chance of winning than James going first overall based on the odds, the chances of this NBA futures bet hitting are nearly impossible.
Not only was James drafted in the second round (Malcolm Brogdon is the only second-round pick in the modern era to win NBA Rookie of the Year), but he also hasn’t done anything in the NBA Summer League to show he has the talent to win Rookie of the Year.
Coming into the draft, the big knock on James was that he’s built like a 3-and-D wing without a 3-and-D skill set, as he shot just 27% from 3-point range and 68% from the free-throw line in his lone year at USC.
Those concerns appear valid, as he’s shot just 35% from the field in four Summer League games and started the Summer League 0-for-16 on 3-pointers. His 32.5% true shooting percentage is the worst among rotation players on the Los Angeles Lakers’ summer roster.
While one Summer League showing doesn’t make or break a career, it can be a good indication of how well a player will do. In 2023, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama averaged 18 points per game in two Summer League games before going on to win Rookie of the Year in the regular season. The year prior, Paolo Banchero averaged 20 points per game before he won Rookie of the Year.
James is not either of them.
Memphis Grizzlies rookie and reigning Wooden Award winner Zach Edey is the current betting favorite to win the award (+600), but that’s more due to his size and body of work in college than his Summer League performance (six points in one game). Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard has the second-best odds (+650) thanks to a strong Summer League showing.
In a previous interview with Forbes Betting, Director of Gambling Policy with the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University Harry Levant said that a bet on James to go No. 1 in the draft was “a wager without the possibility of a payoff” that raised questions “ethics within the gambling industry.”
The ability to bet on James to win Rookie of the Year is another example of that, as the only way he wins the award is if every other impact rookie suffers some kind of significant injury (or if his dad passes to him on every possession).
To the Lakers’ credit, they’ve been transparent about their expectations for James and have avoided putting any additional pressure on the rookie. According to a report from The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, James is expected to spend a good portion of the season with the G League’s South Bay Lakers, with the 19-year-old being receptive to the assignment.
Unfortunately, all that reporting still hasn’t stopped people from wagering reckless amounts of money on a bet that won’t hit.
Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
