-
David Purdum
Cooper Flagg is inflicting sportsbooks to take excessive measures throughout the 2025 NBA draft.
Flagg’s odds to be the highest decide within the draft had reached -100,000 at a number of sportsbooks Thursday morning, which means a bettor would wish to danger $1,000 to win $1 on the Duke product going first. The Dallas Mavericks personal the rights to the No. 1 decide.
Victor Wembanyama‘s odds additionally climbed to -100,000 at FanDuel, earlier than the San Antonio Spurs chosen him No. 1 in 2023. Flagg’s odds diversified at sportsbooks Thursday, starting from -50,000 at ESPN BET to -10,000 at BetMGM. However at FanDuel, Laborious Rock Wager and Caesars Sportsbook, Flagg was -100,000, a worth reserved for less than the largest favorites and never typically seen within the American betting market.
“The pricing of Flagg to go Number one general is a perform of our expectations that he’ll virtually assuredly be the decide,” a dealer for FanDuel informed ESPN in an e mail. “Whereas all of us anticipate him to go No. 1, we need to ensure clients who’re betting on the draft have the chance to wager on probably the most talked about participant.”
Flagg had attracted 95% of the cash wagered on FanDuel’s No. 1 decide odds, however solely 10% of the full bets positioned in the marketplace as of Thursday. Rutgers‘ Dylan Harper (200-1) had attracted roughly 4 instances extra bets than Flagg. There have been additionally bets on Rutgers’ Ace Bailey (200-1) and Baylor‘s VJ Edgecombe (250-1) to be the No. 1 decide, the sportsbook reported.
Neil Walsh, senior vp of sportsbook for Laborious Rock Wager, known as Flagg’s -100,000 odds “extremely uncommon” and “as near a definitely as our system can deal with.” Walsh famous that some bets prior to now that had -100,000 odds had misplaced, together with this season within the NHL. Walsh recalled a wager halfway by the hockey season positioned on the Montreal Canadiens to overlook the playoffs at -100,000. The Canadiens, who received off to a gradual begin to the season, rallied down the stretch to earn a spot within the playoffs.
“Even at -100,000, our gamers are nonetheless utilizing it as an engagement alternative with the draft, and between singles and parlay legs, Cooper Flagg to be the top-pick is our most-bet marketplace for tonight’s draft,” Walsh stated in an e mail. “And hey, a profitable wager is a profitable wager – typically you simply received to see one undergo the ring.”
Favorites at every prime 10 decide [via ESPN BET; Thursday morning]
No. 1 – Cooper Flagg -50,000
No. 2 – Dylan Harper -7,500
No. 3 – VJ Edgecombe -350
No. 4 – Kon Knueppel -180
No. 5 – Jeremiah Fears +175
No. 6 – Ace Bailey +125
No. 7 – Khaman Maluach +200
No. 8 – Jeremiah Fears +450
No. 9 – Khaman Maluach +260
No. 10 – Derik Queen +400