There were plenty of surprises during the 2018 NBA Draft on Thursday, but the Phoenix Suns taking Arizona Wildcats man-child Deandre Ayton was not exactly something that earned massive gasps inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The draft actually only started to get interesting once the Suns took Ayton, who may saw will be going to Phoenix from a mile away.
Speaking of rookies, several sportsbooks have already released odds for some NBA newcomers’ chances of winning the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year award. That includes Bovada, one of the biggest online books in the world, which has Deandre Ayton pegged as the favorite to take home the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy next year, per Keith Smith of Real GM.
ROY odds per @BovadaIv:
Ayton-13/5
Doncic-3/1
Bagley-9/2
Young-7/1
Jackson Jr-9/1
Bamba-11/1
Knox-15/1
Porter Jr-15/1
Mikal Bridges-22/1
Sexton-22/1
Miles Bridges-25/1
Carter Jr.-25/1
DiVincenzo-40/1
Gilgeous-Alexander-40/1
Smith-45/1
Walker-50/1
Robert Williams-50/1— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 22, 2018
As seen above, Ayton is labeled as a 13/5 (+260 in American moneyline odds) favorite to win the award. Of course, he’s not going to have a shortage of competition with the likes of Slovenian phenom Luka Doncic, Duke Blue Devils product Marvin Bagley III, and former Oklahoma Sooners backcourt dynamo Trae Young also enjoying relatively shorter odds.
One advantage for Ayton over many other rookies is that he’s going to have plenty of opportunities to show what he’s got in Phoenix. The Suns are still in the process of rebuilding and developing their youngsters, so expect them to eventually give Ayton a ton of minutes soon after the start of the 2018-19 campaign. That Ayton remains in a familiar environment should also help him acclimatize himself in the pros. Ayton went to Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix in high school before going one-and-done for the Sean-Miller coached Wildcats.
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