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Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the annual NBA draft will take place, starting at 7:30 p.m. ET. The San Antonio Spurs will be on the clock first and are widely expected to draft 7'3 French sensation Victor Wembanyama.
Even though there isn't much drama surrounding the first-overall selection, online sportsbooks have posted a plethora of additional betting markets to liven up the night.
The first table below shows the odds for the top-four favorites to be selected with each of the first ten picks in Thursday's draft. The ensuing sections list over/under draft positions for notable prospects, followed by odds to be selected in the top-five and top-ten picks.
2023 NBA Draft Odds (by Pick Number)
Pick (Team) | Favorite | Second-Favorite | Third-Favorite | Fourth-Favorite |
#1 (San Antonio) | Victor Wembanyama (-20000) | Scoot Henderson (+5000) | Brandon Miller (+10000) | Amen Thompson (+10000) |
#2 (Charlotte) | Brandon Miller (-400) | Scoot Henderson (+200) | Amen Thompson (+5000) | Multiple Players (+10000) |
#3 (Portland) | Scoot Henderson (-280) | Brandon Miller (+180) | Amen Thompson (+1500) | Cam Whitmore (+2000) |
#4 (Houston) | Amen Thompson (-220) | Cam Whitmore (+290) | Ausar Thompson (+600) | Brandon Miller (+1200) |
#5 (Detroit) | Jarace Walker (+170) | Ausar Thompson (+225) | Cam Whitmore (+250) | Amen Thompson (+500) |
#6 (Orlando) | Ausar Thompson (+185) | Cam Whitmore (+275) | Jarace Walker (+425) | Anthony Black (+450) |
#7 (Indiana) | Taylor Hendricks (+180) | Jarace Walker (+190) | Ausar Thompson (+450) | Cam Whitmore (+500) |
#8 (Washington) | Anthony Black (+160) | Taylor Hendricks (+450) | Jarace Walker (+475) | Ausar Thompson (+500) |
#9 (Utah) | Taylor Hendricks (+350) | Anthony Black (+400) | Gradey Dick (+450) | Bilal Coulibaly (+500) |
#10 (Dallas) | Dereck Lively (+180) | Gradey Dick (+330) | Taylor Hendricks (+400) | Kobe Bufkin (+500) |
The odds above and below come from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
Each of the top-four picks has a heavy favorite, though two through four pale in comparison to Wembanyana at #1. The French center is -20000, which amounts to a 99.5 percent implied probability.
Arizona standout Brandon Miller is the heavy favorite to go second overall at -400 (80 percent implied probability) while Scoot Henderson of NBA G League Ignite is a -280 chalk to go third (73.7 percent).
2023 NBA Draft Over/Under Draft Position
Player | Over/Under | Previous Team |
Anthony Black | 8.5 (+260o/-350u) | Arkansas (NCAA) |
Ausar Thompson | 5.5 (-220o/+175u) | City Reapers (Overtime Elite League) |
Bilal Coulibaly | 11.5 (-130/+100u) | Metropolitans 92 (France) |
Cason Wallace | 13.5 (-145o/+115u) | Kentucky (NCAA) |
Gradey Dick | 10.5 (-300o/+220u) | Kansas (NCAA) |
Jarace Walker | 6.5 (-130o/+100u) | Houston (NCAA) |
Jordan Hawkins | 15.5 (-135o/+105u) | UConn (NCAA) |
Keyonte George | 13.5 (-310o/+230u) | Baylor (NCAA) |
Kobe Bufkin | 12.5 (+150o/-200u) | Michigan (NCAA) |
Leonard Miller | 21.5 (+125o/-155u) | Ignite (G League) |
Taylor Hendricks | 8.5 (-130o/+100u) | UCF (NCAA) |
In the table above, "over" is synonymous with later, while "under" means earlier. As an example, the over/under for Anthony Black (8.5) favors the under (-350), meaning the Arkansas product is favored to be drafted earlier than the #9 pick, while 9th or later is a +260 underdog.
Odds to Be Picked in Top 5 of 2023 NBA Draft
Player | Odds |
Brandon Miller | -10000 |
Amen Thompson | -1600 |
Cam Whitmore | -200 |
Jarace Walker | +110 |
Ausar Thompson | +175 |
Taylor Hendricks | +1000 |
Anthony Black | +1200 |
Keyonte George | +2000 |
Bilal Coulibaly | +3000 |
Gradey Dick | +5000 |
Kobe Bufkin | +5000 |
Cason Wallace | +5000 |
Nick Smith Jr. | +7500 |
Jett Howard | +7500 |
Rayan Rupert | +7500 |
Jordan Hawkins | +7500 |
Kris Murray | +10000 |
Gregory Jackson | +10000 |
The biggest prospects - Wembanyana and Henderson - are not listed in the top-five odds as it's taken for granted that they will be selected. Even Miller is listed at a prohibitively short -10000 - a 99 percent implied probability - with Amen Thompson's -1600 odds also well over 90 percent (94.12).
A name to steer clear of here is Cam Whitmore at -200, at least based on the odds by pick number. Whitmore is +2000 to go third overall, +250 to go fourth overall, and +275 to go fifth. The cumulative implied probability of those three props is only 58.97 percent, whereas the implied probability of his -200 odds to go in the top five is 66.7 percent. In other words, the odds-by-position indicate his -200 odds to go in the top five have a significantly negative expected value.
If you do think Whitmore has the potential to go in the top five, it makes more sense to target his odds to be selected third, fourth, and/or fifth, instead of laying -200 juice on going anywhere in the top five.
Odds to Be Picked in Top 10 of 2023 NBA Draft
Player | Odds |
Anthony Black | -3000 |
Taylor Hendricks | -2000 |
Dereck Lively | +150 |
Bilal Coulibaly | +190 |
Kobe Bufkin | +200 |
Gradey Dick | +220 |
Cason Wallace | +300 |
Jalen Hood-Schifino | +1200 |
Nick Smith Jr. | +2000 |
Jordan Hawkins | +2500 |
Keyonte George | +3000 |
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