There has been plenty of chatter about what the Orlando Magic will do when it is time to take the first overall pick in the NBA Draft later this month.
When the Magic won the draft lottery, Duke’s Paolo Banchero, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, and Jabari Smith Jr. of Auburn were expected to be on the short list of candidates to be the first player off the board in the eyes of those who bet on basketball.
Now, it is looking like it is down to Smith and Holmgren with Banchero a distant third.
The NBA Draft will be held on June 23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Oklahoma City, Houston, Sacramento, and Detroit are the other teams picking in the top five.
Here is a look at the latest NBA Draft odds from the sportsbook with the draft quickly approaching.
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Jabari Smith Jr. Auburn Freshman (-250 odds to be the top pick)
The 6-foot-10 Smith had nearly the same shooting percentage from 3-point range as he did inside the 3-point line during his lone season at Auburn.
Smith did a little bit of everything during his freshman season. The fact that Auburn lost its first game in the SEC tournament and second contest in the NCAA tournament doesn’t seem to be scaring off the Magic as the NBA picks continue to lean in Smith’s direction.
If he does end up going first, an interesting tidbit is that his cousin Kwame Brown was also a former No. 1 overall pick. The expectation is that Smith will make a bigger impact at the pro level than Brown did.
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Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga Freshman (+170 odds to be the top pick)
Holmgren was considered to be the best player in his recruiting class and he did not disappoint during his only season at Gonzaga. Despite Drew Timme being the No. 1 offensive option, Holmgren nearly averaged a double-double with 14.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
The 7-foot Holmgren shot 61% from the field and nearly 40% from 3-point range.
Holmgren didn’t have a high usage rate at Gonzaga with just 8.8 field-goal attempts per game. Some of those came due to his strong offensive rebounding prowess. He was a factor defensively as Holmgren averaged 3.7 blocked shots per game.
He’ll need to get stronger but he will bring plenty of versatility on offense and could be a rim protector as well. Those who bet online are favoring Holmgren being picked second overall as he has -300 odds to go in that spot.
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Paolo Banchero, Duke Freshman (+1400 odds to be the top pick)
Banchero has dropped back a bit since he made his intentions known that he was declaring for the draft.
Banchero was not as consistent from the 3-point range as either Smith or Holmgren. However, he still finished with 44 3-pointers and in the NCAA tournament he was 10-of-19 from behind the 3-point line.
Banchero flirted with triple-doubles on multiple occasions. Many of the freshmen who led Duke in scoring have thrived at the NBA level.
Paolo Banchero gets compared to Carmelo Anthony a lot due to the similarities in how they operate in the mid-post, but the area of his game that reminds me of him the most is his quick second jump on offensive put backs pic.twitter.com/3MR4tse2cK
— NBA Draft Dude 🤙 (@CoreyTulaba) June 11, 2022
While the other two top prospects seem to be locked to go in the top three, there is a chance that Banchero could fall outside of the top three selections. The NBA betting lines do list him at -550 to be the No. 3 selection.
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Jaden Ivey, Purdue Sophomore (+5000 odds to be the top pick)
In a draft expected to be dominated by college freshmen, Ivey could be a wild card.
The 6-foot-4 Ivey made tremendous strides after averaging 11.1 points per game as a freshman. He shot better from the field, on 3-pointers, and from the foul line. Ivey averaged 17.3 points per game as a sophomore. His assist/turnover ratio in the recently completed season was pretty mediocre. He displayed the ability to get to the foul line for the Boilermakers and that aggressive mentality should serve him well in the NBA.
Ivey is showing up in some mock drafts being picked ahead of Banchero. He comes in at +800 to be picked third overall.
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Shaedon Sharpe, Kentucky Freshman (+5000 odds to be the top pick)
It is hard to know what to expect from Sharpe. He was at Kentucky but never played for the Wildcats.
An incredible athlete, he has some untapped potential. The native of London, Ontario was considered to be the top recruit in the Class of 2022 before he re-classified to become a part of the Class of 2021.
The 6-foot-5 Sharpe opened the eyes of college and professional scouts in the summer on the Nike EYBL circuit. He’s also had strong showings with Canada’s junior national teams. Sharpe averaged 13 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals in 21.6 minutes per game for Canada at the 2019 FIBA U16 Americas Championship.
Best of the rest
After the top five candidates, there is a gap between the other potential draftees.
Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, Duke’s A.J. Griffin, and Iowa’s Keegan Murray all come in at +20000 in the odds to be the top pick. Indiana’s Johnny Davis and Jalen Duren of Memphis are close behind at +30000.
Murray has the best odds among this group to go second overall as he comes in at +10000. He is a stronger option to be taken with the third pick at +1400.
Australian guard/forward Dyson Daniels is listed at +20000 to be picked either second or third overall. Jeremy Sochan, who played at Baylor, is listed by the Las Vegas odds at +20000 for the No. 3 selection in the draft.
