As the Lakers open the NBA regular season at home with Ken Griffey Jr. and Sr. in attendance and the Dodgers get set to host the New York Yankees in the first game of the World Series on Friday, all eyes are on Los Angeles and two athletes in particular: Bronny James and Shohei Ohtani.
When (if?) Bronny James joins his dad on the court against the Timberwolves on Tuesday, the James' will become the second father-son pro sports combo to play together in the same regular-season game, the first being the Griffey's in Major League Baseball.
With some sportsbooks understandably gun-shy about offering props on benchwarmers like Bronny, only one major legal U.S. operator, FanDuel, appears to be offering individual over/unders on statistical categories specific to the famous rookie. It's pegging Bronny's point total at 1.5, with the over at +110 and the under at -140
FanDuel also has a market for how Bronny will score his first basket (layup +210, 3-pointer +220), as well as whether his first field goal will be assisted by his dad (+250) or if his first assist will lead to a made bucket by LeBron (+250).
Meanwhile, DraftKings is offering +265 odds on LeBron to score 25 or more points against the T’Wolves, in addition to +195 odds on LeBron and Bronny to combine for 25 or more points.
How many combined points will LeBron and Bronny score tonight? 👀 pic.twitter.com/JHCZG2eTJ7
— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) October 22, 2024
As for Ohtani, DraftKings has him priced at +220 to hit one or more home runs.
Bronny vs. Ohtani?
Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a Bronny vs. Ohtani prop wherein a bettor could wager on whether Bronny will score more points Tuesday than Ohtani will hit homers Friday?
When asked if his sportsbook would even consider offering such a market, Circa Director of Operations Jeff Benson said he’d "given absolutely, positively zero thought to that tomfoolery."
Speaking of tomfoolery, ESPN reported Tuesday that FanDuel had taken more money on Bronny (+50000) to win Rookie of the Year than favorites Zach Edey and Reed Sheppard combined. FanDuel had also accepted seven times more bets on Bronny to win Rookie of the Year than on LeBron to be named regular-season MVP at odds of 150-1.
For whimsical bettors bent on coupling Bronny and Ohtani in a rhyme-savvy parlay that stands a decent chance of cashing, Ohtani to hit at least one homer alongside Bronny and LeBron to combine for 24 or more points yields odds slightly fatter than 4-1 at DraftKings.
