Cloudbet Make Paolo Banchero Favorite To Win NBA Rookie Of The Year

The conclusion of the NBA Summer League has left fans with a good early taste of what they can expect from some of the exciting rookie prospects from the 2022 draft class.

Of course, Summer League performances — both good and bad — can only be taken with a pinch of salt. The level of opposition is well below what the top prospects will face on a nightly basis in the NBA, but the same can also be said of the teammates that they will rely upon to put themselves in a position to succeed at the highest level.

Summer League is often used as a measuring stick to see which players have taken a leap ahead of their peers, with the more successful early performers often shut down by their teams once they have seen enough. This can be said of this year’s first overall pick Paolo Banchero, who the Orlando Magic decided to shut down after just two games in Las Vegas.

Just as many had forecasted heading into the draft, Banchero is the most NBA-ready prospect of his class and has an elite offensive skillset. Standing at 6’10, he also looks the most physically ready to make an instant impression on the league. The 19-year-old averaged 20 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1 block per game in his two Summer League outings.

Those performances were enough to reinforce the belief from most NBA betting sites that he is the favorite to win Rookie of the Year next season. One is Cloudbet, who have Banchero priced at 4.31 to be Rookie of the Year. Cloudbet are a top Bitcoin betting site and you can check out our Cloudbet review here to learn more.

If the early signs are anything to go by, that looks to be the right call. Banchero has a polished game with maturity beyond his years and will be the focal point of the Orlando Magic’s offense. There is still no pressure for Orlando to win now given their young squad, although Banchero’s arrival will raise expectations given they finally have a franchise talent that they can build around instead of solid players with a ceiling.

After Banchero in the betting ranks is the second overall pick Chet Holmgren, who also showed promising flashes during his first showing in Vegas. Many believe Holmgren has the higher ceiling of the two prospects, but his skinny frame has also lowered the depths of his potential floor too.

Banchero looks a safe bet as a prospect at the professional level and a much safer bet to win Rookie of the Year too, when compared to Holmgren, who will likely feel the strain of the increased physicality more severely in his first season.

They are followed in the rankings by the fifth overall pick, Jaden Ivey. The Detroit Pistons were delighted to see the dynamic Purdue guard fall into their laps after he made no secret of his desire to not head to the Sacramento Kings. He forms an exciting backcourt alongside last year’s first overall pick Cade Cunningham and Cloudbet have him priced at 7.13 to win Rookie of the Year.

Then comes the man who many initially thought would be taken first by Orlando, Jabari Smith. Smith is a player that relies on others for shot creation and is joining a Houston Rockets team that has score-first guards on their roster, which could see his counting stats suffer in comparison with the other aforementioned prospects. Still, he is an excellent defender and a lethal shooter, which contributes to his price of 7.31.

Rounding off the top five is Summer League MVP, Keegan Murray. Murray is a modern, Swiss army knife forward that looks ready to contribute immediately in the NBA. He impressed at Summer League with averages of 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game in his four games.

Indiana Pacers draft pick Benedict Mathurin is next at 11.0, before a significant increase in odds for the rest of the prospects. Find the full list of Cloudbet odds for the Rookie of the Year below.

Full 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year Odds

• Paolo Banchero – 4.31
• Chet Holmgren – 4.71
• Jaden Ivey – 7.13
• Jabari Smith – 7.31
• Keegan Murray – 7.49
• Benedict Mathurin – 11.0
• Shaedon Sharpe – 19.6
• Dyson Daniels – 20.5
• Johnny Davis – 26.7
• E J Liddell – 31.0
• Ochai Agbaji – 31.6
• Jalen Duren – 31.6
• Ousmane Dieng – 31.6
• Jalen Williams – 31.6
• Jaden Hardy – 32.6
• Jeremy Sochan – 36.0
• AJ Griffin – 36.1
• Mark Williams – 39.8
• Wendell Moore Jr. – 51.2
• Blake Wesley – 51.2
• Nikola Jovic – 52.2
• Malaki Branham – 59.1
• Kennedy Chandler – 61.0
• Marjon Beauchamp – 61.6
• Walker Kessler – 71.4
• Tari Eason – 75.0
• Jake Laravia – 75.0
• Trevor Keels – 81.0
• Kendall Brown – 91.0
• Dalen Terry – 95.1
• Bryce McGowens – 100
• Jean Montero – 100
• Patrick Baldwin Jr – 101
• TyTy Washington – 113
• Kenneth Lofton Jr. – 150