This past regular season’s NBA Rookie of the Year race was one of the tightest in league history as Raptors forward Scottie Barnes barely squeaked by Cavs forward Evan Mobley. Barnes garnered 48 first place votes while Mobley had 43 first place votes. NBA Rookie of the Year odds for 2022 – 2023 will be posted soon by US sportsbooks. Expect the likes of Jaden Ivey, Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith to be at the top of boards.
NBA Rookie of the Year odds
Below we will post NBA Rookie of the Year odds from top US sportsbooks when they are made available.
What happened in past years?
The 2020-21 NBA season wrapped with LaMelo Ball earning Rookie of the Year honors and NBA Rookie of the Year odds are up at key sportsbooks such as DraftKings and FanDuel.
The NBA ROY award is voted upon by a panel of 100 media members who are not affiliated with any NBA franchises. That panel will vote for a ROY based on their regular season performance.
Each member of the panel casts a vote for first to third-place selections. Each vote counts incrementally towards a player’s total and the player with the highest total wins the award.
There is plenty of precedent where a player misses too many games and members of the panel decide they shouldn’t be eligible.
Last year, Ball played in 51 of 72 games, missing 21 with a broken wrist. In 2019, Zion Williamson played 24 games and finished third in ROY voting with only one first-place vote. In 2017, Joel Embiid finished third behind Malcolm Brogdon and Dario Saric after playing in 31 of 82 possible games, but he got 23 first-place votes.
How to bet on NBA Rookie of the Year
Betting on the ROY winner is one of the more popular options for outright bets known as “Futures,” which are usually wagers on a season-long outcome such as the NBA champion, NBA division winner, or individual award winners. It’s also possible to bet over or under on team win totals, i.e. the number of games a team is expected to win during the regular season.
Odds for futures bets are set during the preseason, but can change throughout the season based on news and results. For example, while Mobley has become the clear favorite for this award, he opened with a price outside the top two, co-favorites Jalen Green and Cade Cunningham.
For the purposes of ROY betting, players will be listed in order of the favorites.
These odds refer to the potential payout if the bet is successful. So, a $100 bet on Cunningham to be named ROY would profit $500 if you get the best price as of March 17.
Best NBA betting sites
Where you can bet legally
Sports betting is currently legal at a regulated sportsbook in the following states:
Arkansas
Colorado sports betting
Delaware
Indiana sports betting
Iowa sports betting
Michigan sports betting
Mississippi
New Jersey sports betting
New Mexico
New York sports betting
Nevada
Oregon
Pennsylvania sports betting
Rhode Island
Tennessee sports betting
West Virginia online sports betting
Virginia sports betting
Legislation is on the table in a number of states with more states sure to legalize sports betting in the upcoming years.
NBA ROY trends and history
Twenty-one winners were drafted first overall. Sixteen winners have also won the MVP award in their careers; Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld earning both honors the same season. Nineteen of the 42 winners have been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Three seasons had joint winners — Dave Cowens and Geoff Petrie in 1970-71; Grant Hill and Jason Kidd in 1994-95, and Elton Brand and Steve Francis in 1999-2000.
As mentioned above, stats matter most. So when choosing a player to wager on, minutes played if often a good place to start … the thought being that the more minutes a player plays, the more he can stuff that stat sheet.