The Latest NBA Draft Odds

The 2020-21 NBA regular season is nearing its end and soon it will be playoff time. With the NCAA season having come and gone, it’s time to take a look at the latest NBA draft odds. This year’s draft will be held on July 29 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The 2021 draft will be the first held in July since the very first NBA draft in 1947.

As has been the case over the last several drafts, underclassmen will dominate the first round. Only three of the 30 players selected in last year’s draft were college seniors. Since the NCAA season ended, there have been some changes in the odds for the first player drafted.

The Projected Draft Lottery Order
Projecting which team will win the NBA’s draft lottery is not an exact science, but at this point it appears that the Houston Rockets will have the best chance of nailing down the top pick. Detroit follows at No. 2, Minnesota at No. 3, and Oklahoma City and Orlando round out the top five.

The Top Pick
As the 2020-21 college basketball season got underway, there was plenty of speculation that Gonzaga freshman point guard Jalen Suggs would be the first pick in this year’s NBA draft. That Suggs would be the top pick gained steam as Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham and his Cowboys were dealing with recruiting violations at the school. Initially, it was thought that Oklahoma State would not be able to play in this year’s NCAA tournament.

That all changed and Cunningham enjoyed an outstanding freshman season. His stock continued to rise as his Cowboys rattled off wins in the super-competitive Big 12. In February when the first odds were released, Cunningham was an overwhelming -300 favorite to be the first player drafted in 2021. Those odds have shortened since.

Cunningham Still the One
Cunningham averaged 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game for Oklahoma State, which went 11-7 in the conference and 21-9 overall. The Cowboys earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament and won their first game over Liberty. Oklahoma State then fell victim to No. 12 seed Oregon State in the second round.

Cunningham is the prototypical big guard in today’s modern game. He is listed at 6-8 and can create on the offensive end, rebound with the bigs, and his best asset may be his ability to dish the basketball. Cunningham has great vision which he attributes to having played football as a quarterback. The Rockets, Pistons, or Timberwolves would benefit from having a big point guard like Cunningham, who is now listed at -500.

Suggs Fading
Suggs is another bigger point guard who excelled at national runner-up Gonzaga. Suggs, who is 6-4, can do it all. He averaged 14.4 points on a team that featured Corey Kispert and Drew Timme who both averaged over 18 points a game. Suggs also averaged 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

Despite his skill set, Suggs is given just the fifth-best odds to be the first pick in the draft. The Gonzaga star is listed at +1100. Suggs would be a great fit in Detroit where the Pistons have been looking for a star point guard for years. The question is would the Pistons pass up Cunningham if they had the top pick?

The Contenders
With Suggs mostly out of the picture, some new contenders have entered the race. Among them are two players from the G League developmental team Ignite. Jonathan Kuminga is a 6-8 forward with a 7-foot wingspan who averaged 15.8 points and 7.2 rebounds in the G League. Kuminga is incredibly athletic and explosive. He’ll need some work on his shot and shot selection, but he is a definite lottery pick.

Jalen Green also played for Team Ignite and is a player likened to last year’s first pick, Anthony Edwards. Green is listed at 6-6 but is probably more like 6-4½ and relies on his athleticism to make plays. Green is listed at +950 and Kuminga at +850.

7 footer Evan Mobley is expected to be one of the very first picks in the 2021 draft

The other contender is 7-footer Evan Mobley of USC. Mobley was the Pac-12 Player of the Year, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks last year in leading USC to the West Region final where they were eliminated by Gonzaga.

Mobley will be an elite defender in the NBA because he has the ability to defend all five positions on the floor. He is also an excellent passer and, depending on which team has the first pick, could go at No. 1. Mobley is listed at +950 to go first.