Bronny James is just days away from joining his father, LeBron James, in the NBA, but despite years of rumours and remarks implying that the two will play on the same team, a father-son pairing is far from guaranteed. Caesars Sportsbook has set the over/under for James’ draft position at 46.5. The Los Angeles Lakers, who presently employ the older James, are not expected to consider Bronny at No. 17 overall, and will not pick again until No. 55.
Currently, the odds are around 50-50 that the two of them will eventually meet in Los Angeles. BetMGM offers odds for James to be drafted by each of the 30 NBA teams. The Lakers are favoured at -130, while the implied odds are merely 56.52%. That means BetMGM believes there is a 43.48% chance Bronny will be drafted by another team. Here are the odds for all thirty teams:
Team
Odds
LA Lakers
-130
Phoenix Suns
+700
Dallas Mavericks
+900
Minnesota Timberwolves
+1000
Toronto Raptors
+1000
Philadelphia Sixers
+2000
Cleveland Cavaliers
+2500
Oklahoma City Thunder
+2500
Utah Jazz
+2500
New York Knicks
+3000
San Antonio Spurs
+3000
Los Angeles Clippers
+3500
Miami Heat
+3500
Chicago Bulls
+3500
Milwaukee Bucks
+3500
Golden State Warriors
+3500
Atlanta Hawks
+4000
Memphis Grizzlies
+5000
Portland Trail Blazers
+5000
Detroit Pistons
+5000
Boston Celtics
+6600
Denver Nuggets
+6600
Indianapolis Pacers
+6600
New Orleans Pelicans
+8000
Orlando Magic
+8000
Houston Rockets
+8000
Sacramento Kings
+8000
Brooklyn Nets
+10000
Washington Wizards
+10000
Charlotte Hornets
+10000
Phoenix was the clear second-place club here since, aside from the Lakers, the Suns are the only team James is known to have worked out for. Rich Paul, Bronny’s agent, listed Dallas, Minnesota, and Toronto as possible teams in interviews. This year, Philadelphia has max cap space and is interested in recruiting the elder James to form a star three with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, and acquiring Bronny would definitely help in that regard. Cleveland is Bronny’s hometown team. Oklahoma City and Utah have the draft capital to select any player they want, and LeBron himself has praised Thunder general manager Sam Presti. The Knicks round out the top ten after Paul and his former mentor, Knicks president Leon Rose, reportedly met to discuss their issues throughout the season.
As Paul has pointed out, drafting Bronny is no guarantee of securing LeBron Sr. Even if his son gets chosen by the Lakers, he may leave the team as a free agent. There are no guarantees either way, but Bronny will become an NBA player this week.
