LeBron James has been in the spotlight from the moment he was born, but now it’s Bronny's turn to have his every move scrutinized after the Lakers drafted him last month.
It’s safe to say so far it hasn’t gone very well.
Whether its pundits mocking his NBA Summer League performance or NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown disparaging him on the sideline, Bronny’s young career hasn’t exactly gotten off to the best start. He averaged a paltry 4.3 points while shooting 22.6% from the field over his first four games. He also missed all 15 3-point attempts, including several airballs.
The public, though, doesn’t seem to care.
Despite his struggles, Bronny’s the most popular pick to win Rookie of the Year with 23.8% of all tickets backing him, according to BetMGM. For comparison’s sake, current favorite to win the award Zach Edey has the second-highest ticket percentage (19.1%) while Reed Sheppard is third (10.7%). Meanwhile, Bronny has the third-most money backing him at 13.7%, while Edey is at the top (40.3%) and Sheppard is in second (21.0%)
Add it all up and Bronny’s the biggest liability for the books.
While he’s been a laughingstock on social media, backers would have quite the last laugh if he somehow takes home the award. He currently has the 26th-best odds to win it (+30000).
While Bronny had a brutal start to summer league, he’s fresh off a strong performance Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks. He scored 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting and went 2-for-5 from behind the arc. Still, that’s hardly the stat line of a player who typically garners the highest ticket percentage to win the Rookie of the Year Award. Oddsmakers clearly agree as his odds to win the award have doubled — going from +15000 to +30000 — since being drafted.
