In the past few weeks I have written columns on the NBA futures market (to win the championship) and over/unders on regular season win totals, which is always something that intrigues not only bettors, but fans, too, because it gives them a barometer for how their team may perform in the upcoming season.
The last item on the menu before the regular season starts next week is some of the more exotic proposition bets on the NBA betting menu which get some of the NBA “geeks” all giddy before they tip off the season.
To be clear, the sports books in Las Vegas really do not delve into proposition bets very much; they stick to the NBA futures market, regular season win totals and sometimes a prop here or there on the regular season MVP.
So many of the bets I am about to focus on are found offshore, and definitely make for some interesting discussion points.
Rookie Of The Year
| Victor Oladipo | 4/1 |
| Trey Burke | 5/1 |
| Kelly Olynyk | 5/1 |
| Cody Zeller | 7/1 |
| Ben McLemore | 7/1 |
| C.J. McCollum | 8/1 |
| Michael Carter-Williams | 8/1 |
| Otto Porter | 10/1 |
| Anthony Bennett | 14/1 |
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | 20/1 |
| Shabazz Muhammad | 20/1 |
| Alex Len | 25/1 |
| Tim Hardaway Jr | 28/1 |
| Nerlens Noel | 29/1 |
| Shane Larkin | 33/1 |
| Sergay Karasev | 33/1 |
| Dennis Shroeder | 33/1 |
Since 1985, when the New York Knicks drafted Patrick Ewing No. 1 overall, 13 overall No. 1 picks have won the Rookie Of The Year award.
A player drafted outside of the top 10 has not won the Rookie Of The Year award since 1987 when Mark Jackson won the award being drafted 18th overall. Granted, the first overall pick this year was a surprise to everyone involved, but having Anthony Bennett as 14/1 to win the award is a bit interesting.
I think the favorites to win the award are most likely Victor Oladipo and his Hoosier teammate Cody Zeller. The obvious sucker-bet in this group is Nerlens Noel, who might miss the entire season with an injury. The Rookie Of The Year award is really hit or miss on whether that player will become a star or prime time player in the league:
Since 2000, the winners have included Mike Miller, Pau Gasol, Amare Stoudemire, LeBron James, Emeka Okafor, Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, Blake Griffin, Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard.
Regular Season Scoring Leaders
| Kevin Durant | 1.2/1 |
| Carmelo Anthony | 3.15/1 |
| LeBron James | 3.5/1 |
| Field (Any Other Player) | 8/1 |
| Kobe Bryant | 8.25/1 |
| Stephen Curry | 14/1 |
| Derrick Rose | 15/1 |
| James Harden | 16/1 |
| Kevin Love | 25/1 |
| Damian Lillard | 35/1 |
| Monta Ellis | 40/1 |
| Dwayne Wade | 50/1 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 50/1 |
| Deron Williams | 50/1 |
| LaMarcus Aldridge | 50/1 |
| Brook Lopez | 50/1 |
| Blake Griffin | 50/1 |
| Dwight Howard | 50/1 |
| DeMar DeRozan | 60/1 |
| Paul Pierce | 60/1 |
Since 2005, only five different players have won this title, which shows the situation the player is in is just as important as that player’s ability to score.
Kobe Bryant has won it twice, LeBron James once, Dwayne Wade once, Kevin Durant three times and most recently Carmelo Anthony.
This is not a recent trend, since 1994 only nine different players have won this award, so thinking a new player will be added to this list is usually not the smart way to bet. If you ask me, a player like Dwayne Wade has no chance to win this award, so you can take him off the list. I can even go so far to say LeBron and Kobe do not have a great chance based on a few different factors. Kobe’s health is a negative and so are LeBron’s assists.
The positive for Kobe is the fact that his teammates are going to look to him very often this year if and when he enters the lineup. The positive for LeBron is Wade’s health and the fact James will be needed to score more than ever this year.
With Russell Westbrook hurt, Kevin Durant and then Carmelo Anthony have to be the favorites this year with the dark horse being James Harden if you ask me.
NBA Regular Season MVP
| LeBron James | 1.4/1 |
| Kevin Durant | 3.5/1 |
| Carmelo Anthony | 8.5/1 |
| Derrick Rose | 9/1 |
| Chris Paul | 11/1 |
| James Harden | 16/1 |
| Russell Westbrook | 25/1 |
| Kobe Bryant | 25/1 |
| Tony Parker | 30/1 |
| Dwight Howard | 30/1 |
| Kyrie Irving | 30/1 |
| Stephen Curry | 30/1 |
| Blake Griffin | 30/1 |
| Paul George | 35/1 |
| Tim Duncan | 45/1 |
| Kevin Love | 45/1 |
| John Wall | 50/1 |
| Deron Williams | 55/1 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 60/1 |
| Rajon Rondo | 65/1 |
| Dwayne Wade | 75/1 |
| Ty Lawson | 100/1 |
| Andre Iguodala | 100/1 |
| Brandon Jennings | 125/1 |
| Kemba Walker | 125/1 |
| Monta Ellis | 125/1 |
| David Lee | 125/1 |
| Pau Gasol | 125/1 |
| LaMarcus Aldridge | 125/1 |
| Roy Hibbert | 125/1 |
| Anthony Davis | 125/1 |
| Josh Smith | 125/1 |
The question here is pretty simple…can anyone win this award but LeBron James? James has won it four of the past five years, with Derrick Rose being the only player other than James to win the award since 2007 when Kobe Bryant won it.
Only four NBA players are listed below 10/1 to win this award, and it is that way for a reason, this is not baseball, a team must be very good for a player to win this award — and that is why the best players on the Knicks, Thunder, Heat and Bulls are on the top of this list. If you are looking for a dark horse to win the award, here are a few players I would possibly look at: Chris Paul, James Harden, Stephen Curry and a long-shot in Monta Ellis. (I’d drop a couple bucks on Kyrie at 30/1-CS)
Regular Season Assists Per Game
| Chris Paul | 1.5/1 |
| Deron Williams | 3/1 |
| Rajon Rondo | 3/1 |
| Ricky Rubio | 7.5/1 |
| Derrick Rose | 8.5/1 |
| John Wall | 9/1 |
| Steve Nash | 16/1 |
| Jeff Teague | 25/1 |
| Tony Parker | 25/1 |
| Jose Calderon | 30/1 |
| Brandon Jennings | 55/1 |
Like many of the other awards, since 1998, only five players have won this award: Jason Kidd, Andre Miller, Steve Nash, Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo. I truly believe there is no dark horse for this award, I would be truly surprised if someone other than Rondo, Paul or Deron Williams won the award. I do not have long term faith in Rubio to win it, Rose and Wall will need to score too much and Nash simply does not have it to contend with his roster and age.
Regular Season Rebounds Per Game
| Dwight Howard | 1/1 |
| Kevin Love | 1.5/1 |
| Field (Any Other Player) | 6/1 |
| Nikola Vucevic | 9.5/1 |
| Anderson Varejao | 16/1 |
| Tyson Chandler | 18/1 |
| Joakim Noah | 20/1 |
| Zach Randolph | 20/1 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | 20/1 |
| Anthony Davis | 25/1 |
| Omer Asik | 30/1 |
| Al Horford | 30/1 |
| Blake Griffin | 35/1 |
| Reggie Evans | 35/1 |
| Andrew Bynum | 35/1 |
| David Lee | 40/1 |
| Tim Duncan | 55/1 |
Since 2003, three players have won this award: Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard and Kevin Love. Out of all the other awards, it is the first time one player is listed at even money to win — Dwight Howard to have the most rebounds. If you want to talk about a dark horse for the award, I would go with a few different players to take a chance on: Tyson Chandler and DeMarcus Cousins. Chandler I believe has a chance because Andrea Bargnani simply does not rebound and Chandler will be able to gobble up a ton this year and Cousins, if motivated in the right areas, could legitimately be a contender here, but those character concerns are what make him 20/1.
Team vs Team NBA Regular Season Wins
Here are a few examples of team vs. team regular season totals, compared to other teams’ win totals, wins for the higher echelon teams across the league:
Clippers (-105) -4.5 over Nets (-125)
Bulls (-115) -3 over Rockets (-115)
Bulls (+100) -3.5 over Thunder (-130)
Pacers (-115) -2 over Warriors (-115)
Heat (-115) -6 over Rockets (-115)
Heat (-115) -8.5 over Thunder (-115)
Lakers (+120) -9.5 over Celtics (-150)
Rockets (-115) -2 over Nets (-115)
Nets (-115) -2.5 over Warriors (-115)
A few props that stand out to me…the fact that the Lakers are 9.5 wins ahead of anyone is very surprising, but the Celtics are supposed to be in the bottom five teams in the league in wins this year and if Danny Ainge decides to deal Rondo, they could easily fall in the bottom three. The Lakers do not look much better themselves and could end up trading Pau Gasol at some point this year, which makes that wager a complete toss-up based on who blows it up first. I think the Bulls over the Thunder is a very sneaky wager based on the fact of how deep Chicago is and how thin Oklahoma City is this year, especially with the injury to Westbrook and the loss of Kevin Martin.
Evan Abrams writes about basketball gambling for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter @Betropolitan..