Following the NBA draft, second overall pick Alexandre Sarr of the Washington Wizards was favoured to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award at +425, ranking just ahead of first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks. Despite being the ninth overall selection, it was Zach Edey of Memphis Grizzles who opened the regular season as a +325 favourite over Reed Sheppard, the third overall pick of the Houston Rockets at +650.
Edey has had a solid start to his rookie season averaging 11.1 points and 6.7 rebounds. He has scored double digit points in six of his first ten games, including back-to-back double-doubles on November 2nd and 4th. His rookie of the year odds skyrocketed after his best game of the season against the Philadelphia 76ers, posting career highs in three categories with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks, going 11-12 from the field.
Edey made headlines heading into this year’s NBA draft, leading Purdue to the March Madness championship game as a senior in his final season. Despite leading all players with 37-points and 10 rebounds, his team came up short, losing 75-60 to Stephan Castle of the Uconn Huskies who ranks fifth in Rookie of the Year voting odds at +1600. Edey’s performance helped make him the consensus National Player of the Year for a second consecutive season, making it easy to see why he was the preseason favourite for rookie of the year. Edey is also listed at 7 feet 4 inches, making him the tallest player in the NBA, just ahead of last year’s Rookie of the Year winner Victor Wembanyama.
Despite Edey’s impressive 25-point performance, Risacher was able to even the playing field two days later when he posted a career high 33 points and 7 rebounds with three steals and two blocks. Risacher is averaging 12 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 1.0 blocks on the season.
Risacher and Edey are now co-favourites for the rookie of the year at +330 on FanDuel. If you are looking to bet on the rookie of the year race or place any other NBA wagers this season, we recommend checking out the best new betting sites in Canada. Alex Sarr ranks fourth at +650 just behind his teammate Carlton Carrington (+600) who was taken as the 14th overall player this past draft. Carrington is averaging 10.3 points, 4.3 rounds, and 4.8 assists while Sarr is averaging 9.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks.
Bronny James is an extreme longshot when it comes to the Rookie of the Year race, but BetMGM reports that the most bets have been placed on the Lakers rookie (16.2%). Each of those bets were placed in the offseason, but they are not looking good considering James was just demoted to the G-League. Edey remains the handle leader with 26% of the money placed on the young Canadian.
