There will be many storylines for the 2024 National Basketball Association season, including new faces in new places, the return of LeBron James for a 22nd season and the arrival of James’ son Bronny James in the league.
NBA Opening Games: The 2024 NBA season kicks off with two matchups Tuesday, Oct. 23 featuring four playoff teams from last season.
The New York Knicks at Boston Celtics will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers will air at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.
The two opening games mark the start of the final season of TNT’s coverage of the league, with parent company Warner Bros. Discovery WBD losing out to others in a new rights package that will kick off next season.
The Celtics won last year’s NBA championship, with the team dominant from the start of the season to the end and favored to win the title many times throughout the season. In the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics lost only three games in four playoff series.
The Timberwolves were the number three seed in the Western Conference and lost in the Conference Finals to the Dallas Mavericks. The Knicks were the number two seed in the Eastern Conference and lost in the Conference Semifinals to the Indiana Pacers. The Lakers were the number seven seed in the Western Conference and lost in the first round to the Denver Nuggets.
The Celtics are favored by six points Tuesday night against the Knicks and the Timberwolves are favored by one point against the Lakers according to betting odds from sportsbook DraftKings Inc DKNG.
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LeBron And Bronny James Bets
One of the tipoff games features the debut of Bronny James in the NBA. In 2024, Bronny was drafted 55th overall by the Lakers — the same team his father had played for in the past six seasons.
Bronny James is a popular betting option to win Rookie of the Year, despite long odds. At DraftKings, Bronny James had odds of +25,000 to win the award, which would turn a $1 bet into a profit of $250.
At FanDuel, a unit of Flutter Entertainment FLUT, Bronny has odds of +50,000 to win Rookie of the Year.
In the NBA preseason, Bronny struggled in the first five games with eight total points scored on 4-20 shooting, including 0-7 for three-point attempts. In the preseason finale, Bronny James had 17 points, shooting 7-17 from the field.
As Benzinga previously reported, history isn’t on Bronny’s side. Only three second-round picks have ever won the Rookie of the Year award. Malcom Brogdon (36th overall pick) was the last to accomplish the feat in 2017. The other two winners happened in the 1960s.
LeBron averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists last season versus career averages of 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists.
LeBron has odds of +15,000 to win the NBA MVP for the season, which would be his fifth time winning.
On Tuesday, DraftKings lists the over/under on LeBron James for points at 24.5 and there is no line for Bronny James points. There is a betting market for the combined points for LeBron and Bronny with 28 points or more at +13t5 and 30 points or more combined at +195.
FanDuel has several special betting markets on Bronny, including the rookie having his first made field goal assisted by his dad paying at odds of +250 and Bronny’s first assist being on a made shot by his dad paying at odds of +200.
The betting platform also offers betting on what Bronny’s first made basket type will be, scoring 20 points or more in any NBA game, having a double-double in any NBA game and other player props.
NBA Championship Odds: The four teams that kick things off Tuesday night are all among the favorites to win the 2025 NBA Championship for the 2024 season.
The Knicks, who are owned by publicly traded Madison Square Garden Sports MSGS completed a trade to land NBA superstar Karl-Anthony Towns ahead of the season, which improved their odds of winning the championship.
Here are the current betting odds to win the NBA championship, with odds from July in parentheses:
- Boston Celtics: +310 (+295)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: +650 (+850)
- New York Knicks: +800 (+950)
- Denver Nuggets: +950 (+850)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: +1,000 (+1,000)
- Philadelphia 76ers: +1,000 (+800)
- Dallas Mavericks: +1,000 (+1,000)
- Milwaukee Bucks: +1,400 (+1,100)
- Los Angeles Lakers: +3,000 (+3,000)
- Phoenix Suns: +3,000 (+3,500)
The top 10 favorites to win the NBA title haven’t changed, only the order of the betting odds.
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