The NBA regular season is quickly approaching. Which bets are the best to make when it comes to the regular season NBA Awards?
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The favorite to win the rookie of the year award is San Antonio Spur Victor Wembanyama at +130. He comes into this season with extremely high expectations. Wembanyama is the most hyped prospect since LeBron James. He should be the favorite but there is another highly anticipated prospect who will make his debut this year.
Chet Holmgren came into last season with lots of expectations. He got hurt in the off-season playing pick-up ball and missed the entire season. So this will technically be his rookie year for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Holmgren has the advantage of being around the NBA game for an entire season. Being coached by NBA coaches and getting stronger working with NBA trainers.
This would not be the first time a player missed their first season and came back to win rookie of the year. Ben Simmons and Blake Griffin were injured during their first year and won rookie of the year the next season. Chet Holmgren also has the advantage of playing for a better team.
The Spurs are not expected to be a playoff team this year while the Thunder should be better. Being on a better team will put Holmgren on the voters’ radars. If Wembanyama and Holmgren have similar stats the tie-breaker among some voters may be the impact the player has on winning. Take Chet Holmgren at +310 to win rookie of the year!
Defensive Player of the Year
The winner of the defensive player of the year award last season was Jaren Jackson Jr. Jackson had a great season for the Memphis Grizzlies. He averaged three blocks a game and Memphis was second in defensive rating. Jackson is also the favorite to win it again this season at +550.
It is very hard to win this award in back to back seasons. The last person to win it back to back was Rudy Gobert in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. The difficulty of winning the award in consecutive years makes it likely someone else will win it. A great candidate to win the award this year is Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo.
Adebayo has the advantage of being a great player who hasn’t won the award yet. He also is on a team that is known for their defense. Adebayo’s versatility is a huge key to Miami’s defense. If the Heat are a top four seed in the eastern conference with the great defense they normally play, Adebayo will be one of the finalist for this award. Take Bam Adebayo at +1100 for defensive player of the year.
The odds in this article are from FanDuel. The odds may be different on other betting sites and apps. Please bet responsibly and look out for part two of this article.
