This year’s NBA Draft is not expected to be the best in the recent history of the event. Despite the player pool not being anywhere near as glamorous as it has been in years past, there is still the potential to make some money betting on this year’s draft. Here, we make our NBA betting picks for the NBA Draft and examine the legal status of betting on this annual event in the United States.
Is NBA Draft Betting Legal?
NBA Draft betting is legal in many states in the US, but not all of them. The fact that this event is not an actual athletic competition and is instead an event where picks can be leaked ahead of time has led to some states blocking draft betting due to integrity concerns. Bettors should be sure to check their favorite sportsbooks to see if draft odds are available, as they will not be in states such as New York where betting on the event is not an option.
#4 Overall Pick: Stephon Castle (+140)
Our first NBA Draft prop bet for 2024 is for Stephon Castle to be taken with the fourth overall pick in the draft. Going into draft night, the San Antonio Spurs hold the fourth overall pick, which could be great news for Castle thanks to the current composition of the Spurs roster. San Antonio already has a foundational big man in Victor Wembanyama, which takes them out of the running to consider Donovan Clingan, who Castle played with in college at UConn.
On top of the presence of Wembanyama, the Spurs are in dire need of outside shooting going into the 2024-25 NBA season. San Antonio was in the bottom-four in the league in three-point shooting percentage last season. Three-point shooting happens to be something that Castle does very well, while he can provide in other areas of the game as well.
Gregg Popovich and the Spurs have proven that they are willing to take their time and stack the right pieces to build a long-term winner through the draft. They should take another positive step toward building a contender by taking Castle to fill an immediate need for their organization.
Bronny James Drafted By Los Angeles Lakers (-135)
The biggest question in the eyes of most NBA fans going into this year’s draft is whether or not Bronny James will be selected and where. Going into the draft, the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites to select LeBron James’ son. And we believe that Bronny will be selected by the Lakers at some point during the draft so that he and his father can achieve their dreams of being on the same NBA team together.
It should be made perfectly clear going into this year’s draft that Bronny James would not be selected in the NBA Draft if he was not the son of arguably the greatest basketball player of all-time. But LeBron has made it clear that he wants to share the floor (or bench) with his son at some point. He has also made it clear that he would be willing to any team that does draft Bronny, which kind of forces the hand of the Lakers to take Bronny to avoid risking LeBron leaving them.
The Lakers have already made it clear that they are willing to make maneuvers with the intention of pleasing LeBron James specifically. They hired JJ Redick to be their head coach despite Redick having zero head coaching experience, with James and Redick doing a podcast together over the last year. Los Angeles should make another move to placate their aging star during the NBA Draft this week, whether it helps them win games or not.
