Ten points at a time: Inside the incredibly high-risk, low-reward LeBron James bet - ESPN

Professional sports bettor David J. spends his nights staring at updating box scores on his computer, rather than watching the actual games that determine his income. He is confident in his edge and doesn't worry much about results. Sometimes, he plays multiple games of online poker while his sports bets are being decided. The night of Dec. 2, 2024, was different.

A situation potentially as detrimental to the 30-year-old's pride as to his bankroll was unfolding in Minnesota, where the visiting Los Angeles Lakers were down 15 to the Timberwolves in the fourth quarter. More pressing for David J., LeBron James was laboring through one of his worst scoring games in years. Down in his dimly lit, unfinished basement in Iowa, David J. tuned in to the game.

Earlier in the season, he noticed that sportsbook FanDuel offered odds on James to score at least 10 points in a game and thought, «He's LeBron James. He's going to score 10.» He started betting the prop, laying pricey odds. In December, he decided to have a little fun and began publicizing that he was risking thousands of dollars for a chance at winning only a few hundred if James scored at least 10 points.

If you're gonna give me LeBron 10 PTS I'm gonna take it for the max idc pic.twitter.com/0YeJjOd8gW

— Foazn (@FoaznPoker) <a href=«https://twitter.com/FoaznPoker/status/1863409323109421158?ref_src=» https:>December 2, 2024

On Dec. 1, a screenshot of his bet — $10,125 at -1800 odds to win a net $562 on James reaching double figures against the Utah Jazz — went viral, amassed 3.3 million views on X. He bragged to his buddies in their group chat and talked trash to commenters on X who questioned his strategy of betting a lot to win a little. He rubbed it in when his wager