Kentucky holds 4th highest odds to land Bronny James

Bronny James, the son of NBA great LeBron James, has kept his recruitment about as quiet as possible in today’s day and age. Could Kentucky be a dark horse option in the race?

If we ask the folks in Las Vegas, they would say yes.

Earlier this week, Bookies.com oddsmaker Adam Thompson updated his college basketball future odds on the younger James’ next landing spot. Some of the usual suspects associated with Bronny are at the top of the list — Oregon, Southern California, and Ohio State — but the school with the next highest odds might surprise you.

Kentucky has +1000 odds to lock up a commitment from James, giving the ‘Cats a 9.1 percent “implied probability” of securing his talents. Duke comes in behind UK with the fifth-highest odds at +1200 while the G League/overseas route checks in with +2000 odds. The field is tied with Kentucky’s odds at +1000.

A Los Angeles Times report from January indicated that James was considering the trio of Oregon, USC, and Ohio State, however, he later told On3’s Joe Tipton that he’s “still open, but those are options.” James has only taken one visit known to the public, an unofficial trip to Ohio State back in the fall, which is the same school his father has said in the past he would have attended had he gone to college.

James’ recruitment has been a tough one to read for obvious reasons. He’s the son of the most dominant basketball player of the last two decades and keeps a low profile on the recruiting trail because of it. James is the lone class of 2023 prospect ranked among On3’s Top 75 recruits that has yet to make a commitment.

It was nearly seven years ago now, when Bronny was just 11 years old, that reports surfaced of him holding “standing scholarship offers” from both Kentucky and Duke. But since then, there has been little known traction with either program, especially after the retirement of Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski. UK head coach John Calipari has brought LeBron to Rupp Arena before and the two are considered friends, but there is no true sense of what the relationship is like right now between Kentucky and the James family.

Kentucky currently has the best 2023 recruiting class in the country, per On3, with four five-star signees and one four-star. Bronny, who was named to the McDonald’s All-American roster, is considered a top-end four-star talent ranked 33rd overall in the On3 Consensus. He was previously high school teammates at Sierra Canyon with former Wildcat Brandon Boston Jr., who is now a rookie in the NBA.