NBA Rookie of the Year odds have been posted at top US sportsbooks with new Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham the unsurprising favorite. Cunningham was +250 at DraftKings Sportsbook the day after the 2021 NBA Draft. Houston’s Jalen Green, the Cavs’ Evan Mobley, Orlando’s Jalen Suggs and the Raptors’ Scottie Barnes all had futures lower than +1000.
2022 NBA Rookie of the Year odds
Here are NBA Rookie of the Year odds for the 2021-22 pro basketball season.
Cade Cunningham | Bet now +250 | Bet now +275 |
Jalen Green | Bet now +450 | Bet now +500 |
Evan Mobley | Bet now +550 | Bet now +600 |
Jalen Suggs | Bet now +800 | Bet now +800 |
Scottie Barnes | Bet now +800 | Bet now +800 |
Davion Mitchell | Bet now +1500 | Bet now +1600 |
James Bouknight | Bet now +1500 | Bet now +1800 |
Jonathan Kuminga | Bet now +2000 | Bet now +2000 |
Josh Giddey | Bet now +2500 | Bet now +2500 |
Jalen Johnson | Bet now +3000 | Bet now +3000 |
Franz Wagner | Bet now +3000 | Bet now +3000 |
Ayo Dosunmu | Bet now +3000 | Bet now +3000 |
Corey Kispert | Bet now +3000 | Bet now +3000 |
Keon Johnson | Bet now +3500 | Bet now +3500 |
Chris Duarte | Bet now +3500 | Bet now +3500 |
What happened last year?
The NBA Rookie of the Year race was a roller coaster ride this past regular season, centered around Charlotte Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball. ROY odds took a sharp turn in March with the news that Ball would miss the rest of the season with a broken wrist. Then, in late April, Ball was surprisingly cleared to play again this season.
Ball had been leading the pack with -500 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win Rookie of the Year in March but Anthony Edwards became the favorite immediately following Ball’s injury. With Ball having returned, the Hornets guard was once again a big favorite with -1800 odds (DraftKings) as of May 18. Edwards was down to +900 on May 18, with Tyrese Haliburton checking in at +30000.
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.
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. Odds for futures bets are set during the preseason, but change throughout the season based on news and results.
For the purposes of ROY betting, players will be listed in order of the favorites. So, No. 3 overall pick LaMelo Ball was considered the favorite to win the award at the start of the 2020-21 season (+400 odds at DraftKings).
These odds refer to the potential payout if the bet is successful. So, a $20 bet on Ball to be named ROY at those odds would have profited $80. A $10 bet on a long shot such as Cole Anthony (+4000) would have pay out $410 if he had pulled off the upset.
Residents of Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia have access to online sportsbooks, including the platforms created by industry titans DraftKings and FanDuel. William Hill Sports and other online books also offer great opportunities to bet on NBA games and Futures.
In order to bet on MVP, users can click on the NBA tab and find the tab labeled “Futures” and move to “Player Futures.” Regular Season MVP should be one of the categories along with Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and more postseason awards.
Best NBA betting sites
Where you can bet legally
Sports betting is currently legal at a regulated sportsbook in the following states:
Arkansas
Colorado online sports betting
Delaware
Indiana online sports betting
Iowa online sports betting
Michigan online sports betting
Mississippi
New Jersey online sports betting
New Mexico
New York sports betting
Nevada
Oregon
Pennsylvania online sports betting
Rhode Island
Tennessee online sports betting
West Virginia online sports betting
Virginia online 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.