Congratulations to the Milwaukee Bucks for winning the 2021 NBA championship, but we are now just a few days from the NBA draft!
This year's NBA draft is extremely heavy upfront and has the potential to be the best draft of the one-and-done era of college basketball. With the likes of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, and Jalen Suggs, an argument can be made that they are all good enough to have been the number one pick in last year's draft.
NBA Draft and Free Agency 2021: Schedule and Dates
NBA Draft Round 1&2: Thursday, July 29, 2021
NBA Free Agency: Monday, August 2, 2021
NBA Draft 2021: Odds:
First Pick: Cade Cunningham -6000
Second Pick: Jalen Green -330
Third Pick: Evan Mobley -195
Fourth Pick: Jalen Suggs -160 Fifth Pick: Scottie Barnes -150 There are many ways you can wager on the NBA Draft. You can wager multiple player prop bets such as over/under on a player's draft position. I.e., will Davion Mitchell's draft position be over or under 10.5?
Additionally, you can bet on which player will be the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth draft pick, or bet the exact order of picks.
Prior to finalizing your NBA Draft wagers, read below for a breakdown of this year's top prospects listed with their odds of where they could be drafted in the top five.
Cade Cunningham
Odds: 1st Pick: -6000, 2nd Pick: +2900, 3rd Pick: +6000, 4th Pick: N/A, 5th Pick: N/A
From day one, Cade Cunningham was the favorite to be the number one pick in this year's NBA draft, and the sportsbook practically has him as a guaranteed lock at -6000 odds.
Cunningham is being compared to Luka Doncic and Ben Simmons, but with a jump shot. Despite those comparisons, scouts do not believe he has the highest upside in this year's draft. However, with his high basketball IQ and a 6'8" frame, giving him the ability to be a productive defender out on the perimeter, front offices believe he has no chance of being a bust.
In his Freshman year at Oklahoma State, Cunningham finished the year averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on 43.8% shooting. He led the Cowboys to a second-place finish in the Big 12 tournament as a fifth seed and a trip to the second round in the March Madness tournament.
However, it should be stated that although the current odds practically already have him deemed as the first pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Detroit is yet to commit to the 19-year-old and has explicitly stated they are completing their due diligence by working out all the top talents.
Jalen Green
1st Pick: +1400, 2nd Pick: -330, 3rd Pick: +230, 4th Pick: +600, 5th Pick: +1500
Jalen Green is taking an unconventional route to the NBA. The high school sensation, who averaged 31.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his senior year, decided to bypass college and head to the NBA G League to play for Team Ignite.
This decision has given Green a better feel of what professional basketball will be like and has allowed him to face tougher competition each game. However, due to the popularity of the G-league, many media members and fans are yet to see Green play a basketball game.
That said, that will not stop Jalen Green, who is being compared to Zach Lavine, from being a top-three pick in this year's draft. Many analysts consider the 6'6" shooting guard to have the highest ceiling. He has elite athleticism and is the best pure scorer in the 2021 class.
If you are to criticize Green, it would be due to his smaller stature and his poor defensive ability. However, both are things he will be able to improve throughout his time in the league.
The Houston Rockets are yet to make it clear who they will select with the second overall pick. Still, after Green's workout and the rumors of how the Rockets are looking to take a guard rather than a big, it seems pretty clear that Green will be playing in the state of Texas this upcoming NBA season.
Evan Mobley
1st Pick: +2300, 2nd Pick: +260, 3rd Pick: -180, 4th Pick: +210, 5th Pick: +1100
Evan Mobley did not focus on his basketball craft until the eighth grade. However, that did not hinder his development one bit. Mobley went on to be the No. 3 player in the 2020 recruiting class, behind Jalen Green and Cade Cunningham, who were one and two, respectively (via ESPN.com).
While at USC, Mobley won the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year awards. He was the first player to sweep all three awards in a major conference since Anthony Davis did with Kentucky in 2012.
Mobley is an incredibly skilled big man whose game will fit well in the modern NBA. He has strong ball-handling ability and an incredible fluidity to his game that can be rare amongst seven-footers. Many analysts believe he could be the next Chris Bosh.
The 20-year-old averaged only 1.8 fouls per game. This means that he will be able to stay on the floor in late-game situations and offset the opposing team's small-ball lineups. Similar to what we saw Giannis Antetokounmpo do to the Phoenix Suns in the NBA finals.
With the Cleveland Cavalier trading away Andre Drummond last season, Evan Mobley would make a great asset alongside Jarret Allen next season if he comes to a new contract agreement.
Jalen Suggs
1st Pick: +5000, 2nd Pick: +600, 3rd Pick: +340, 4th Pick: -160, 5th Pick: +410
Jalen Suggs currently has the highest odds of being selected with the fourth overall pick in this year's NBA draft at -160 odds. He was the primary ball-handler on one of the best college basketball teams in the nation, the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Suggs' most promising attribute is his vision and ability to pass in the open court. He can easily pick out the best teammate and create fast-break points early in the shot clock. This talent can be credited to when he played football in high school. As a quarterback, he led his team to a state championship and was named Minnesota's Mr. Football in 2019.
Suggs biggest room for improvement is in his shooting ability. However, he did surprise many scouts this last season at Gonzaga, averaging 14.4 points per game on 50.3% shooting.
If the Toronto Raptors are to take Jalen Suggs with the fourth overall pick, he would be able to make an immediate impact on the court, regardless of whether Kyle Lowry stays or leaves later this offseason. Suggs is not a point guard who needs the ball every play. According to Ryen Russillo on Chad Ford's NBA Big Board podcast, he only ran isolation plays 4% of the time while at Gonzaga.
Scottie Barnes
1st Pick: +9000, 2nd Pick: +6000, 3rd Pick: +1200, 4th Pick: +270, 5th Pick: -150
Once you get down to this year's fifth pick is likely when we may start to see our first trades of the draft. At the moment, Scottie Barnes leads the books to be selected at number five with -150 odds, but Jonathan Kuminga is not far behind at +135.
Scottie Barnes is an elite defender who many teams believe will be able to legitimately guard all five positions once he adjusts to the speed of the NBA. He also has an incredible basketball IQ and can facilitate out on the court.
However, what keeps Barnes out of the top three and someone who could fall even further than five is his lack of shooting ability. The 6'7" guard averaged just four made field goal attempts at Florida State, and most of those came from inside the paint.
Barnes is the biggest wildcard of the top ten. The Orlando Magic could take him to play as a Draymond Green type talent, or we could see Oklahoma City make a trade to select him to be a backcourt duo with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, it would not be too shocking if Barnes was to be selected fourth with Toronto Raptors.
Final NBA Draft Prediction & Pick
When it comes to the NBA draft, you can always expect surprises, whether it is because a team makes a trade or perhaps a confident general manager makes a selection that was not on anybody's draft boards.
However, this year, it would be best to stay chalk in regards to the top four picks, as all decisions seem to be decided up to that point. Now, you can wager on each individual selection, but it is possible to get plus odds if you place a bet in the "First-four exact order" market.
NBA DRAFT PREDICTION & PICK: First-Four Exact Order: Pick 1. C.Cunningham / Pick 2. J.Green / Pick 3. E.Mobley / Pick 4. J.Suggs (+138)
*Odds were updated Mon, July 26, 2021, at 10:00 PM ET – Subject to Change – Odds from FanDuel SportsBook*
Which players do you think will be drafted in the top five? Let us know in the comments.
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