Use Nullable value in EF Core Expression is a good idea?

[Flithor]

I means the code like:

var nextId = (dbContext.Set<MyEntity>().Max(entity => (int?)entity.keyId) ?? 0) + 1;

When the table is empty will still return a value safely.
If not use the former code, the code will be:

var nextId = 1;
if (dbContext.Set<MyEntity>().Any())
    nextId = dbContext.Set<MyEntity>().Max(entity => entity.keyId);

BUT

Is the former code a right and a good ieda?
May it have any potential risks or problems? Or anti-pattern?