NBA Draft Betting Guide – Odds, Picks and Betting Offers

Joe Napier profile picture
Sports Editor Fact Checked by Nick Raffoul

The NBA Draft is one of the most exciting nights of the year, and now, thanks to the number of sportsbooks offering NBA Draft Betting, you can make some money from your draft predictions. We’re going to look at the best NBA Draft betting sites currently available to American bettors and compare their Draft betting options, plus show you how to claim some free money to bet on the NBA draft.

How to Bet on the NBA Draft?

NBA Draft Betting Guide - Odds, Picks and Betting Offers

Once the curtain comes down on the NBA Finals, basketball bettors can at least delay a summer away from Doncic for an extra week by wagering on the NBA Draft, which generally takes place seven days or so after the finals. For fans, it signals the last chance to turn quick profits on NBA teams (futures markets are still open, of course, but you’ll be waiting a while for that bet to come in!).

Once you’ve joined your favored sportsbook, deposited some dollars, and taken advantage of one of the many promos/ risk-free bets on offer, head to the NBA Draft section of the site.

Below, we’ve listed some of the types of bets you can expect to see at the premiere NBA Draft Betting sites, such as BetUS, FanDuel, and DraftKings:

  • No.1 overall pick
  • No.2, No.3 (etc.) overall picks – most of the best NBA betting sites allow you to go right the way to No.30 on the day
  • Top three picks in order
  • The first player drafted by position
  • Which player will be drafted by which team?
  • Over/under player pick No. in the draft

Let’s cast an eye over each of the above options, take a look at what kind of NBA draft betting odds you can expect to find, and explain how betting on the draft really works.

Betting on the No.1 – No.30 Overall Pick at the NBA Draft

NBA Draft Betting Guide - Odds, Picks and Betting Offers

This is, without doubt, the most common type of bet concerning the NBA Draft – even NBA betting apps that don’t accentuate the draft will tend to have this market (at least picks 1-5) open for its patrons.

Because there are numerous players available to select from, the only real way for the sportsbook to display the odds is in the same way they do for futures/game-winners, namely, by using the moneyline American odds (+/- and a number: +150, for example). All the bettor needs to do here is to check the NBA Draft betting odds and select which player he/she feels will be drafted at No.1, 2, 3, etc. – it’s that easy.

Odds for the 2021 NBA Draft No.1 Overall Pick

NBA Draft Betting Guide - Odds, Picks and Betting Offers

At present, the NBA Draft odds are almost exclusively for the No.1. No.2 (etc.) overall pick. The NBA Conference Championships are underway at the time of writing, with the Finals to come in July. So, expect to see the usual, far-deeper prop markets posted by the likes of BetUS, Bovada, MyBookie, and DraftKings about a week prior to the big day on July 29.

At present, the odds for the top 10 players to go off the board at No.1 are as follows (odds courtesy of DraftKings):

Player Odds
Cade Cunningham -8000
Jalen Green +1000
Evan Mobley +1500
Jalen Suggs +2500
Jonathan Kuminga +3000
Scottie Barnes +5000
Keon Johnson +10000
Davion Mitchell +10000
Franz Wagner +10000
Josh Giddey +20000

Odds for the 2021 NBA Draft No.2 Overall Pick

Most of the best NBA draft betting apps also have odds listed for the No.2 overall pick, too. We’ve included the DraftKings odds since they were up first, but you may wish to wait until the likes of MyBookie and BetUS broadcast theirs during the Draft week for better value.

Player Odds
Evan Mobley -118
Jalen Green +125
Jalen Suggs +125
Jonathan Kuminga +800
Cade Cunningam +1000
Scottie Barnes +3000
Josh Giddey +5000
Davion Mitchell +5000
Keon Johnson +10000
Franz Wagner +10000

NBA Draft Odds: No.1 Pick Comparison Table

Sportsbook

Cade Cunningham

Jalen Suggs

Bovada

-5000

+2000

FanDuel

-6000

+5000

DraftKings

-8000

+2500

BetUS and MyBookie historically broadcast excellent NBA Draft odds, but both sites are late to market this time around, most likely due to the extension of the NBA regular season and playoffs due to the COVID 19 Pandemic. We will update the above table once we have more information from the aforementioned sportsbooks.

At present, you can see that FanDuel is offering the best odds on Jalen Suggs (+5000), but Bovada has the best odds on Cade Cunningham.

Betting on the Top 3/4 NBA Draft Picks in Exact Order

This prop bet follows the same rules as the one above. The odds (+100/-100) work the exact same way, so we’ll keep this short.

Sportsbooks will provide multiple selections of players for the bettor to choose from and in varying orders (see the DraftKings example below)

Player Order Odds
1.     Cunningham, 2. Green, 3. Mobley +400
1.     Green, 2. Cunningham, 3. Kuminga +1500

That’s effectively all there is to this market, just pick the order and apply the same math as used when Betting on the No.1 Overall Pick

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How to bet on the Player Pick No. at the NBA Draft?

NBA Draft Betting Guide - Odds, Picks and Betting Offers

For a player draft position wager, no matter which sportsbook you’ve chosen to visit, you’re likely to see something on-screen akin to what you see below:

  • Moses Moody over/under 10.5
  • Over: +100
  • Under: -100

All you need to do is decide whether or not Moses Moody will be taken off the board before (under) or after (over) the specified number (10.5). The odds broadcast on both the over and under options tend to be reasonably similar since this is effectively a 50/50 bet.

Negative odds (in this case U-100), indicate that one side is slightly favored to come in by the oddsmakers, and vice-versa for the +100 (the underdog).

If you wagered £100 on the Over market for Moses Moody to be drafted over pick 10.5 and he is indeed drafted at Pick No.12 (or Pick No. 11 and above, to be clear), you win $100. If you bet $200 on Moody to go before pick Pick No.10.5, and he is drafted at No.6 overall (or Pick No.10 or before), you win.

Betting on the NBA Draft: Will Player X Be Drafted Over/Under a Particular Number?

NBA Draft Betting Guide - Odds, Picks and Betting Offers

The very best sports betting apps will also feature an NBA Draft betting line for a player’s draft position (over/under). Effectively, this line works in the exact same fashion as a total points wager on a game of NBA/NCAA basketball.

If you look at the image above, you’ll see odds of +100 for Sharife Cooper to be drafted over pick No. 21.5. If you were to wager $100 on this line, and Cooper was to come off the board at pick No.22 upwards, you would win. If Cooper was picked before then (No.21 and below), you would lose.

Of course, the exact opposite is true for the Under market.

Odds for the 2021 NBA Draft No.1 Overall Pick

NBA Draft Betting Guide - Odds, Picks and Betting Offers

At present, the NBA Draft odds are almost exclusively for the No.1. No.2 (etc.) overall pick. The NBA Conference Championships are underway at the time of writing, with the Finals to come in July. So, expect to see the usual, far-deeper prop markets posted by the likes of BetUs, Bovada, MyBookie, and DraftKings about a week prior to the big day on July 29.

At present, the odds for the top 10 players to go off the board at No.1 are as follows (odds courtesy of DraftKings):

Player Odds
Cade Cunningham -8000
Jalen Green +1000
Evan Mobley +1500
Jalen Suggs +2500
Jonathan Kuminga +3000
Scottie Barnes +5000
Keon Johnson +10000
Davion Mitchell +10000
Franz Wagner +10000
Josh Giddey +20000

Odds for the 2021 NBA Draft No.2 Overall Pick

The best sportsbooks have odds listed for the No.2 overall pick, too. We’ve included the DraftKings odds since they were up first, but you may wish to wait until the likes of MyBookie and BetUS broadcast theirs during the Draft week for better value.

Basketball Insiders Top 30 picks at the 2021 NBA Draft

If you’re looking for a heads up on which players to wager on to go No.1, No.2, and No.3 overall, or which team is likely to select which player, we’ve taken the liberty of listing the probable top 30 picks below.

Of course, there’s always a chance that the Detroit Pistons pass on the consensus agreed No.1 overall pick Cade Cunningham and opt to strengthen a position of need instead. But we feel this will at least be close to the order seen come July 29.

  1. Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State)
  2. Evan Mobley (USC)
  3. Jalen Green (G League)
  4. Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)
  5. Jonathan Kuminga (G League)
  6. Scottie Barnes (Florida State)
  7. Jalen Johnson (Duke)
  8. James Bouknight (UConn)
  9. Moses Moody (Arkansas)
  10. Ziaire Williams (Stanford)
  11. Keon Johnson (Tennessee)
  12. Franz Wagner (Michigan)
  13. Davion Mitchell (Baylor)
  14.  Jaden Springer (Tennessee)
  15. Kai Jones (Texas)
  16. Josh Giddey (Australia)
  17. Johnny Juzang (UCLA)
  18. Isaiah Jackson (Kentucky)
  19. Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois)
  20. Corey Kispert (Gonzaga)
  21. Greg Brown (Texas)
  22. Jared Butler (Baylor)
  23. Tre Mann (Florida)
  24. Chris Duarte (Oregon)
  25. Sharif Cooper (Auburn)
  26. Day’Ron Sharpe (UNC)
  27. BJ Boston (Kentucky)
  28. Cameron Thomas (LSU)
  29. Miles McBride (West Virginia)
  30. Usman Garuba (Spain)

Betting on the NBA Draft Lottery

NBA Draft Betting Guide - Odds, Picks and Betting Offers

The NBA Draft Lottery took place in late June 2022 this year. So, it’s been and gone at the time of writing. But, as it is with NBA betting online, it is also possible to wager on those balls as they come out of the machine.

At this year’s 2022 NBA Draft Lottery, top favorites included the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings, and New Orleans Pelicans at +700.

The complete list of odds each team had heading into the draft is listed below (DraftKings):

  1. Houston Rockets +550
  2. Detroit Pistons +550
  3. Orlando Magic +550
  4. Cleveland Cavaliers +700
  5. Oklahoma City Thunder +700
  6. Minnesota Timberwolves +900
  7. Toronto Raptors +1100
  8. Chicago Bulls +2000
  9. New Orleans Pelicans +2000
  10. Sacramento Kings +2000
  11. Charlotte Hornets+5000
  12. San Antonio Spurs+5000
  13. Indiana Pacers+9000
  14. Golden State Warriors+15000

What actually transpired was eerily close to the listed odds: Houston Rockets will select at No.2, followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers at No.3; that is, once the draft gets underway on July 29. Orlando dropped down to fifth via the lottery, but did luck in as the bad luck for the Chicago Bulls continued – Bulls needed to get a top 4 pick to keep their selection for the Nikola Vucevic trade. The franchise ended up with pick No.8 and had to surrender it to their old foes in Orlando.

Full Order for the 2021 NBA Draft:

NBA Draft Betting Guide - Odds, Picks and Betting Offers

As mentioned, the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery has already taken place. It might help you make some better NBA Draft betting predictions to know the exact order that teams will pick in once we get to July 29, so we’ve listed the first 30 picks out below for your convenience.

Will the Pistons take Cunningham, or will they look to address a different position? What about Orlando: what will they do with their two top 10 picks?

Ensure you have an NBA betting strategy in mind: ensure you’ve done the research and checked the odds before placing your wager.

  1. Detroit Pistons
  2. Houston Rockets
  3. Cleveland Cavaliers
  4. Toronto Raptors
  5. Orlando Magic
  6. Oklahoma City Thunder
  7. Golden State Warriors (from Minnesota Timberwolves)
  8. Orlando Magic (from Chicago Bulls)
  9. Sacramento Kings
  10. New Orleans Pelicans
  11. Charlotte Hornets
  12. San Antonio Spurs
  13. Indiana Pacers
  14. Golden State Warriors

The remainder of the first round:

  1. Washington Wizards
  2. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Boston Celtics)
  3. Memphis Grizzlies
  4. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Miami Heat via the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Phoenix Suns)
  5. New York Knicks
  6. Atlanta Hawks
  7. New York Knicks (from Dallas Mavericks)
  8. Los Angeles Lakers
  9. Houston Rockets (from Portland Trail Blazers)
  10. Houston Rockets (from Milwaukee Bucks)
  11. Los Angeles Clippers
  12. Denver Nuggets
  13. Brooklyn Nets
  14. Philadelphia 76ers
  15. Phoenix Suns
  16. Utah Jazz

 

NBA Team Standings & Stats

 

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NBA Draft Betting FAQs

Who is the favorite to be picked first in the 2023 NBA Mock Draft?

When is the 2023 NBA Draft?

How can I bet on 2023 NBA Draft Props?

Joe began writing for Basketball Insiders at the start of 2023. A keen sports fanatic ever since his first days playing football in junior school, he has developed a flair for writing over the coming years, and graduated with a BA in English Literature. His professional background in the gambling and sports industries now extends to five years, mostly covering horse racing and US sports. He has previously written for sites such as gg.co.uk and cheltenhamfestival.net on the horse racing side, having grown passionate about the sport by visiting his local tracks on a regular basis. As well as this, he has the honor of being published in the Royal Ascot magazine in 2019.