Just like that, star rookie Chet Holmgren is lost for the year. The Oklahoma City Thunder made the news official this morning: Holmgren’s foot injury will cost him the entire 2022-23 NBA season. He suffered the injury while covering Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James in a pro-am game.
Thunder say Chet Holmgren will miss the entire 2022-23 NBA season due to his right foot injury.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 25, 2022
Unsurprisingly, the NBA betting markets have responded. With Holmgren now out of the race, here are the best lines to target on the NBA Rookie of the Year market.
2022-23 NBA Betting Odds: Rookie of the Year Picks
2022-23 NBA Rookie of the Year Betting Odds
The NBA Rookie of the Year betting odds started to move after the initial reports about Holmgren came out yesterday afternoon. First overall pick Paolo Banchero benefited the most. After opening the week at +280, Banchero moved down to +220 or +250 at most books. He now sits at just +200 almost everywhere, although he has already fallen to +190 at PointsBet.
Holmgren had entered the week with the second-shortest odds. That honor now belongs to Keegan Murray, the fourth overall pick by the Sacramento Kings. Murray was available at +600 earlier in the week, but Holmgren’s injury cut his odds to between +550 and +450. The +550 is gone, but +500 is still available at FanDuel.
Sportsbooks disagree about who should have the third-shortest odds. Jaden Ivey, who went fifth overall to the Detroit Pistons, has odds between +500 and +700 after opening the week at +750. The best deal is at DraftKings. Jabari Smith, who went third overall to the Houston Rockets, has odds between +550 and +700. As with Ivey, DraftKings has the best available number at +700.
Rookie of the Year: Paolo Banchero | +200 at DraftKings
The 2022-23 NBA Rookie of the Year Award is now Banchero’s to lose. The +200 available at DraftKings and FanDuel might be the longest line that this market will feature all season. To those who tailed the +250 available at PointsBet yesterday, good work.
Banchero is a pro-ready prospect who will make an immediate impact in Orlando. The Magic leaned on Cole Anthony and Franz Wagner to lead the way on offense last year, so Banchero could easily become the lead scoring option in his first year. The same can’t be said of Murray — who will work behind De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis — or of Ivey — who will slot in behind Cade Cunningham.
While third overall pick Jabari Smith could contend for this award as a lead option for the Houston Rockets, Banchero has the advantage in both age and experience. Unlike Smith, Banchero played deep into the NCAA March Madness tournament. Experts have also called Banchero less of a raw prospect than Smith. While the Rockets may have taken the better long-term piece, developmental guys rarely win NBA Rookie of the Year.
Rookie of the Year: Bennedict Mathurin | +1100 at FanDuel
If Banchero doesn’t take NBA Rookie of the Year Honors, the award could head to another Eastern Conference team: The Indiana Pacers. Sixth overall pick Bennedict Mathurin enters the NBA at 20 years old after playing two seasons for the Arizona Wildcats. The 6-foot-7 guard scored from all over the court, and he showed a willingness to play defense that could earn him some chits from voters.
Mathurin also benefits from the landing spot. The Pacers shipped off their leading offensive option, Domantas Sabonis, to the Sacramento Kings. They received Tyrese Haliburton in exchange, but the young guard is more of an elite passer than a shot creator. Haliburton averaged 17.6 points and 9.6 assists per game with the Pacers last year after averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 assists with the Kings.
If Mathurin and Haliburton build solid chemistry, Mathurin could impress voters enough to score an upset win. He looked great in Summer League and even made the All-Summer League Second Team. This line is as short as +900 in some places, so head to FanDuel for considerably better +1100 odds.
