2022 NBA Draft Betting Odds

While most eyes of the basketball world watch the NBA Finals unfolding, the fanbases of those teams that missed the playoffs altogether eagerly await the 2022 NBA Draft. Bettors making NBA picks remain keyed in on the Finals, but NBA Draft betting odds are worth a look these days as well.

The Orlando Magic won the 2022 NBA Draft lottery last month, positioning them atop the draft board for the fourth time in franchise history. The last time Orlando held the top pick, they selected Dwight Howard (2004). The Magic also won in back-to-back years, selecting Shaquille O’Neal from LSU in 1992 and picking Michigan’s Chris Webber in 1993 before trading his rights for Penny Hardaway from Memphis.

Oklahoma City, Houston, Sacramento, and Detroit round out the top-5 for this year’s NBA Draft. The top three prospects for 2022, Auburn’s Jabari Smith, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren and Duke’s Paolo Banchero, seem to stand in a tier on their own, although Purdue’s Jaden Ivey remains an intriguing future pro. No matter the order of selection, NBA futures should look different later this month.

This year’s NBA Draft is scheduled to take place on June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Here’s a look at the 2022 NBA Draft betting odds for the first selection.

NBA Draft Odds: First Overall Selection

Player		Best Odds
Jabari Smith, SF/PF		-600 (FanDuel)
Chet Holmgren, PF		+250 (BetMGM)
Paolo Banchero, PF		+1000 (BetMGM)
Jaden Ivey, PG/SG		+3300 (BetMGM)
Shaedon Sharpe, SG		+6600 (BetMGM)

As draft night looms a few weeks from now, teams continue to navigate the pre-draft process. Prospects log in-person meetings and teams hold workouts hoping to unearth the next diamond in the rough. But for the top-end of this draft class, freshmen once again stand out.

Auburn freshman Jabari Smith checks in with the best odds to be the first player off the board come draft night. FanDuel lists his NBA Draft betting odds at -600. UniBet gives him -560 odds, and BetMGM puts him at -500. Caesars and DraftKings also have Smith atop their list. At 6-foot-10, 220-pounds, Smith fits the lengthy mold often sought by Magic general manager John Hammond. He can guard multiple positions and stretch the floor with consistent shooting. So unless he bombs at the meetings and workouts, Smith likely remains the odds-on favorite for Orlando.

Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren would likely have better betting odds to be the top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft had another team won the draft lottery. BetMGM gives Holmgren +250 odds, while DraftKings lists him at +300. Caesars (+310), FanDuel (+340), and UniBet (+350) keep him second on their lists as well. Holmgren’s slight frame might make some shy from his selection, but that length makes him an elite shot blocker. He also fits a clear position of need for Oklahoma City, the team holding the No. 2 overall pick.

NBA Draft Odds: Longshots to Consider

The most pro ready prospect in the 2022 NBA Draft is Duke freshman Paolo Banchero. BetMGM lists Banchero at +1000 odds to be the top pick, but other sportsbooks give him much longer odds. UniBet has +1400 and DraftKings has +1500 for Banchero, with Casears listing him with +1800 odds and FanDuel with +2600.

Most draft pundits see this as a three player draft, but the odds view it differently. Banchero has the length Orlando likes, but Smith seems to have the higher upside as a prospect and fits better with the Magic’s current roster make up. But there’s a real chance Banchero makes a push for that top pick considering he’s a 6-10 shot-creating dynamo. Houston likely hopes Banchero falls to them at the No. 3 overall selection.

Another longshot to consider for the first overall selection is Purdue sophomore Jaden Ivey. Likely the top guard on the board for most teams, Ivey is a polished scorer who can fit right into an offense with demanding a ton of usage off the bat. BetMGM lists Ivey with +3300 odds, the only sportsbook to give him something shorter than 100/1.

Ivey seems cut from a similar mold to Ja Morant, so he could make a run at the top pick if he impresses in workouts and meetings. He projects as one of the most electrifying open-floor players in the NBA early in his career, and has a clear comp to Russell Westbrook with similarities in speed and size.

Notes Ahead of 2022 NBA Draft

A college freshman has been the No. 1 overall selection in each of the last 12 NBA Drafts. The last non-freshman selected with the top pick was Oklahoma sophomore Blake Griffin (2009). This trend likely continues, considering the top three players with the best odds to be the first pick are freshman.

Duke and Kentucky share the distinction of most No. 1 overall selections in the common era of the NBA Draft (since 1966). Both schools have seen three of their players picked first. Kentucky saw John Wall (2010), Anthony Davis (2012) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2015) go first overall, while Duke saw Elton Brand (1999), Kyrie Irving (2011) and Zion Williamson (2019) be picked No. 1.

There’s a solid chance Duke pulls ahead should Paolo Banchero be the top pick. Kentucky’s Shaedon Sharpe’s best betting odds to be the first selection in the 2022 NBA Draft are +6600 at BetMGM. Since a two-round NBA Draft was adopted in 1989, Kentucky has had the most first-round selections with 43. Duke is next with 40 first-round picks.

Duke has had at least two players selected in the NBA Draft Lottery in four of the previous seven years. That trend could continue, considering the Blue Devils have five players who could potentially be selected in the 2022 NBA Draft: Banchero, A.J. Griffin, Trevor Keels, Wendell Moore Jr. and Mark Williams.

Jabari Smith has the chance to become Auburn’s fifth top-five selection in school history, joining Charles Barkley (1984), Chuck Person (1986), Chris Morris (1988) and Isaac Okoro (2020). Smith is the son of Jabari Smith Sr., who played 108 games over four seasons in the NBA. He is also a cousin of Kwame Brown, the first overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft.