After LeBron James would sign a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2018, there were a lot of rumors that James was doing this to be involved in the realm of Hollywood, as well as progress further in the entire entertainment landscape.
And that seems to be exactly what’s on LeBron’s mind with the making of ‘Space Jam 2′ currently underway, the sequel to the Michael Jordan classic back in 1996, and this despite the Los Angeles Lakers’ dismal performance last season. But of course, why care about the showing on the court when you can bet on the showing on the screen?
Over at web-based sportsbook Bovada, they’ve set up a prop bet that involves LeBron James’ new film that is set to be released on July 16, 2021, and there are sure to be more as time goes along. First up though: “What NBA Player Will Have A Credited Role In Space Jam 2?”
The latest news in the cycle has pointed towards NBA players such as Anthony Davis (LeBron James’ new teammate in Hollywood), Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard and Diana Taurasi to be involved in the film, and all are expected to have some sort of role. As far as other names to be involved, there haven’t been any others mentioned in the press, so we’re not really sure who else could have a role in the movie. (Though there’s been other speculation about Bill Murray being involved with the sequel as well.) With that being said, we do have verification for certain names who won’t be involved, and it’s came from the horses’ mouths themselves.
Kevin Durant (no shocker), Stephen Curry (again, no surprise) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (who seems focused on building his own brand, so again, nothing out of the ordinary) have all said that they will not be involved in the new Space Jam sequel. All three of those players have made an appearance on the oddsboard though, so be sure to keep your money away from them in this bet. The best betting sites are aware of this too, which is why Durant is at +2200 odds, Antetokounmpo is at +2800 and Stephen Curry has a +4000 figure. So again, just keep your money away from those three.
Nobody is really sure at the moment of what the story line is going to be for Space Jam 2, but if you’re not familiar, the original Space Jam was about a group of alien basketball players known as the “Monstars”. These aliens would go and steal the “talent” of five different NBA players, with two examples being when they would go to Madison Square Garden in New York City for a game between the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns — there, that’s when they would grab the talent of both Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley. (They’d also steal the talents of Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson, and Shawn Bradley.)
They would then use this talent to try and defeat the Looney Tunes (known as the Tune Squad and teamed up with Michael Jordan after sucking him down a golf hole while playing with Larry Bird and Bill Murray) in a basketball game that had a bet involved: If Jordan and the Tune Squad won, they’d have to return the talents back to the NBA players. If not, Jordan would then have to be a new attraction for the Monstars and their new amusement park. It’s not the most breath-taking and award-winning plot, but it’s something light-hearted and entertaining for the kids — it’s nice to be a kid sometimes for us adults, too, so I’m game for a Space Jam 2, even though I’m no fan of LeBron James personally.
If the sequel has a similar story line to the original, you would think they already have their “stolen talents” lineup in place with the likes of Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, and Damian Lillard — they’ll need one more NBA player to add to that though to complete the set of five.
If that’s the case, you have to look at players like Joel Embiid at +750 odds, especially with how funny and charismatic he is. Ben Simmons is also a good option at +450. I could also see Dwayne Wade being in the movie, but not as a player with him now being retired, but he’s LeBron’s best friend (and has more time on his hands now with said retirement), so you would think he’d be involved — the oddsmakers agree with him being a heavy -105 favorite.
But honestly at this point, nobody is sure of who is going to be in Space Jam 2, and this is mainly due to producers keeping details about the movie under wraps. Yeah, it makes this prop more difficult to bet on, but it also makes it extraordinarily entertaining as well. With that being said, let’s get into some of the favorites and the latest reports linking them to Space Jam 2.
To keep the suspense going throughout this piece, I made it seem like Dwyane Wade is a very realistic possibility to be in Space Jam 2. I mean, after all, he should have been. Like I’ve already mentioned, he’s LeBron James’ best friend and has a lot of free time now with not being restricted by an NBA schedule. However, you’d be surprised to know that Wade will not be in the new movie, and it’s came from him himself. On top of that, LeBron hasn’t even asked Wade to be in the film, which is kind of surprising considering LeBron was the one pushing the “bigger than basketball” narrative that he had this super-close friendship with Wade — even Michael Jordan asked Larry Bird to be in the original. I’m a bit surprised, but at the same time, it’s not a big shocker with the way LeBron and his ego is. So yeah, there you go, no Dwyane Wade in LeBron James’ Space Jam 2 — terrible.
Carmelo Anthony is certainly a great betting option for this prop, because similar to Dwyane Wade, Anthony and LeBron James are best friends. Wade, Anthony, and James, along with Chris Paul, actually call themselves the ‘Banana Crew’, so there’s good reason to think that Carmelo may make an appearance in Space Jam 2. It’s created conversation among multiple media outlets too, with speculation about Anthony appearing in the film. Syracuse.com writer Geoff Herbert actually made a good point. LeBron James is actually struggling to recruit NBA starts to be in the film, so his options are actually limited with who to put in the film. What makes Carmelo such a good pick to make in this bet is because not only is he best friends with LeBron, but he’s also apart of the Jordan brand — obviously Michael Jordan starred in the first Space Jam. On top of that, he’s also available due to not being with any NBA team at the moment.
Kyrie Irving is also another realistic option to be in Space Jam 2, and would also be a good bet to make with his +250 odds. As I previously mentioned, LeBron James is having a hard time finding players to cast for Space Jam 2, and a large reason for that is because of sneaker contracts getting in the way. With Kyrie, LeBron doesn’t have that problem, as Irving is with Nike. Not just that, but both have cleared the air with each other and are back on the positive end with one another after Irving’s escape from Cleveland. And here’s another reason why I love Kyrie Irving for this bet: His SpongeBob SquarePants x Nike Kyrie collection. (Which by the way are so dope, I need to get me a pair. I personally want the yellow Spongebobs.) Irving has already made it clear that he has no problem doing business with the cartoon industry. I’m all in on Kyrie Irving appearing in Space Jam 2, it’s a perfect opportunity for the 27-year-old.
Though Ben Simmons and LeBron James may not be as close as LeBron and the “Banana Crew”, they still have a pretty tight relationship with one another — Simmons even referred to James as his “big brother” and “mentor” when he was in college at LSU. And with James struggling to pull in players for a role in the movie and Simmons wanting to expand his brand, it seems very likely that Simmons will be making an appearance in Space Jam 2. And here’s my main reason of why I think Ben Simmons will be in the movie: LeBron James is an executive producer for a show called “Brotherly Love”, which was actually inspired by Ben Simmons. With those two already being connected in Hollywood, Space Jam 2 makes perfect sense for Simmons to make an appearance in — a lot of value here at +450 odds too, which is always a plus.
With LeBron James and Ben Simmons having the relationship that they do, Simmons and Joel Embiid being teammates on the Philadelphia 76ers and Embiid having the charisma and charm that he does, I’d say it’s a lock that Joel Embiid will make an appearance in Space Jam 2. Go ahead and place a bet now, because there’s a ton of profitability here with +750 odds. And if you’re LeBron James, you can’t really go wrong here with Embiid. I could picture a scene in Space Jam 2 before the aliens get involved where James, Simmons, and Embiid are having dinner with each other in Philadelphia, as apart of the build up to stars’ talents being stolen. I can also see LeBron (and the producers of the film) wanting to implement Joel Embiid’s trolling behavior as well for some extra comedy effect, and I would personally find that outstanding. The guy is hilarious. Yeah, I’m definitely taking Joel Embiid in this bet.
James Jones would be a great bet to make, even at +1600 odds — with that being said, that’s very profitable. The majority of LeBron James’ career, James Jones has been there somewhere helping him win championships. In total, they’ve won three rings together: Two with the Miami Heat, and then another with the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the significance that James Jones has had on LeBron’s career, you have to book him a role in this film if you’re Bron Bron. The only thing that I could see hurting this bet is the fact that Jones is the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Phoenix Suns nowadays, but I’m sure enough free time could be cleared up to make a brief appearance in the film. There haven’t been too many reports that link Jones and Space Jam 2 together, so it’s all speculation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if LeBron reached out to his former teammate to see if he would be interested.
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