A New King in Town
King James. Long has LeBron held the moniker, and soon it will be official. 63 points are currently all he needs to break the all-time NBA scoring record set by Kareem Abdul-Jabar. The record has stood for 38 years. This presents an extremely unique opportunity for bettors, let’s see if we can find an advantage.
When
LeBron is averaging just over 30 points a game this season. 63 points in one game would be momentous in its own right, so it is highly unlikely he’ll break the record on Saturday against the New Orleans Pelicans. If he performs to his average in that game, he’ll be around 30 points away come Tuesday when the Lakers play the Oklahoma City Thunder in Los Angeles.
Tickets for that game are reportedly going for as high as $90k, and all walks of celebrity will no doubt be in attendance.
Back-to-back 30+ point performances are a difficult feat, and it’s what he’ll need if he is to break the record Tuesday. LeBron did have a stretch of 6 games in December where he broke 30 points in each game, and he’s dropped consecutive 30s 4 times since then. But with at least one formidable opponent in the Pelicans, it’s statistically unlikely that Lebron James will break the record on Tuesday.
The world might need to wait another few days until Thursday when Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks come to L.A.
If that is the case, the bucket will likely come early, and the game will likely be temporarily stopped to celebrate. However, if he does manage to put up big numbers in both of their next games, then the record-setting basket would be scored late against OKC. It could be at a key time of the game. Imagine if it were a game-winner…
I don’t think Lebron will get it done in two games, and Vegas seems to agree.
How
The odds for him to get the record-breaker against OKC are around +200, while the odds for the monumental occasion to occur on Thursday against the Bucks are around -150. Another avenue for bettors is the method of the bucket.
It’ll probably be a layup. At least, that’s what the statistics say. LeBron gets most of his points in the paint, hitting 227 layups to 198 jump shots. Vegas knows this and has those odds set at around +145. A risky bet would be a dunk at +650. However, were it to happen Tuesday, and the game was already out of hand, I wouldn’t put it passed Lebron James to inject a little showmanship. If he knows he needs one more bucket and the opportunity arises, a dunk would be the most exciting and fulfilling option. A 3-pointer is the middle-ground at around +350, but Bron has only made 92 3-pointers this season to 395 2-pointers.
A sports moment like this only comes around once in several decades. Whatever picks you decide on, we’ll all be witnessing history. May you win some money on it too.
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