As we go through another week without much live sport, people are starting to turn their attention towards the reliable markets. One event we do know will go ahead is the NBA Draft. It’s due to take place in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn although they may yet follow the NFL with a ‘virtual’ draft at a later stage.
Much like the NFL Draft we have a three horse race at the top of the betting for next month’s draft. At the time of writing Anthony Edwards (+120) leads the way followed by James Wiseman (+190) and LaMelo Ball (+200).
The odds between these three are changing quite regularly which makes this year’s NBA Draft quite an interesting market to bet on.
James Wiseman
Wiseman led the betting for quite some time. The 7-1 Center from Tennessee is our selection for the number one pick after an impressive few games with the Memphis Tigers in his freshman year. One mark in the negative column for him is the fact that he has played so few minutes at an elite level compared to his peers.
He is an agile big man with great defensive skills and the Golden State Warriors are rumoured to be very keen on him. The draft lottery hasn’t taken place yet but it’s quite likely that the Warriors will have the number one pick with their 15-50 record in the 2019/2020 NBA season. We expect Wiseman to be lining up alongside Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on next season’s Golden State Warriors team. Back him to be this year’s number one pick at +190 with CanPlay.
Anthony Edwards
Current favourite Anthony Edwards is a popular choice among the pundits. He has shot up the mock draft charts in recent weeks and his odds reflect that. The 18-year-old shooting guard played his college basketball with the Georgia Bulldogs and some see him as a perfect foil for the Curry and Thompson which is why his draft stock is so high. He has a lot of potential and will be drafted in the top three in this year’s NBA Draft.
LaMelo Ball
Finally, we can’t talk about the 2020 Draft without mentioning LaMelo Ball. The younger brother of New Orleans guard Lonzo is the most well-known player in this year’s draft class.
Videos of his incredible long-range shooting and passing abilities started going viral as he played point guard on his undefeated Chino Hills team as a 14-year-old alongside his brothers. By the time he headed to Lithuania to play with Vytautas Prienai as a 16-year-old, he was a household name.
His life has been chronicled on the Ball in the Family reality show and he has over 5m followers on Instagram which is a cause for concern for some. However, he proved last year that he is capable of mixing it at the professionals. He was the standout player for the Illawarra Hawks in the NBL recording 17points-per-game, 7 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game. Ball is a great prospect but he is unlikely to be the number one pick at this time.
Bet on the NBA Draft with CanPlay Sports.
