-
David Purdum, ESPN staff writer
The NBA betting team at Caesars Sportsbook wanted to keep it simple – Bronny James had an over/under of 0.5 points in Tuesday’s opener between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Not only will this become the most popular NBA player prop of the night, it will also become one of the most popular sports props of all time.
“We had a two-way business all day,” David Lieberman, who oversees NBA odds for the Caesars, told ESPN. “It reminds me a little bit of how popular Caitlin Clark’s props have been this year in the WNBA.”
FanDuel said Bronny James’ bets drew more betting interest than props on Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Bronny’s father. The events on Bruni were mostly small bets, but bookmakers said there were bets of between four and five numbers on his props.
“We opened with 0.5 just to simplify things, basically is he going to score,” Lieberman said. “The bet was actually split almost evenly between over and under; there may have been more tickets on the over, but the money was close.”
Jake Bensimon, a sports bettor in Maryland, said he placed a $2,500 bet on Bronny to score over 1.5 points with FanDuel at -135 odds. He shared a screenshot of his bet with ESPN and said it was the first NBA prop bet he’s ever made.
“(It’s) a strict bet on LeBron to make a bucket for his son,” Bensimon wrote in a direct message on X. “I thought it was something LeBron would prioritize and the line seemed fair.”
Bronny went 0-2 from the field, missed an open 3-pointer and grabbed an offensive rebound in three minutes of playing time.
Some major sportsbooks waited until a few hours before Tuesday’s game to place prop bets on Bronny and they did not attract much excitement. ESPN BET chose not to release any props for Bronny. However, Caesars Sportsbook said it will continue to publish prop bets on Bronny this season.
“It’s going to be an interesting story and year, and it’s clear that punters want this market,” Lieberman said.
The Lakers host the Phoenix Suns on Friday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN). ESPN BET offers +175 odds on both Bronny and LeBron nailing a 3-pointer against the Sun, among other “Like Father, Like Son” props.
