NBA Rookie Of The Year 2019: Deandre Ayton, Luka Doncic, Marvin Bagley Have Best Odds After Draft

Following Thursday’s NBA Draft, we know where the top prospects will play in the 2018-2019 season. Now it’s time to figure out which one will have the best first year in the pros.

It should come as no surprise that Deandre Ayton is considered to be the favorite to win the 2019 Rookie of the Year award. The first overall pick has the best odds with a slight edge over Luka Doncic, who was taken No.3 overall by the Atlanta Hawks.

Ayton was a monster in his one year of college basketball, averaging 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game for Arizona. He made 61.2 percent of his field goals and is expected to contribute at the next level right away.

The same goes for Doncic, who dominated in a league that’s considered to be even more competitive than NCAA Division 1 hoops. He was the EuroLeague MVP at just 19 years old, averaging 14.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in 25.0 minutes per game. The Dallas Mavericks were so high on Doncic that they traded the No.5 overall pick and their 2019 first-rounder in order to move up two spots and take the Slovenian star.

Doncic has better Rookie of the Year odds than Marvin Bagley, who went ahead of him in the draft. The Sacramento Kings took the Duke product with the second overall selection. Bagley was the 2018 ACC Player of the Year, putting up nearly identical offensive numbers to Ayton.

Trae Young, whom the Hawks took with the No.5 pick they received from the Mavericks, is fourth on the list. He led all of college basketball in scoring and assists last year.

Michael Porter Jr. has the best Rookie of the Year odds of any player picked outside of the top 10. He dropped to the Denver Nuggets at No.14 overall because of concerns over the back injury that forced him to miss nearly his entire freshman season. There were rumors that Sacramento was considering taking Porter with the No.2 selection.

Here’s a look at the complete 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year odds, courtesy of Bovada.lv:

Deandre Ayton 13/5

Luka Doncic 3/1

Marvin Bagley 9/2

Trae Young 7/1

Jaren Jackson Jr. 9/1

Mohamed Bamba 11/1

Kevin Knox 15/1

Michael Porter Jr. 15/1

Mikal Bridges 22/1

Collin Sexton 22/1

Miles Bridges 28/1

Wendell Carter Jr. 28/1

Donte DiVincenzo 40/1

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 40/1

Zhaire Smith 45/1

Lonnie Walker 50/1

Robert Williams 50/1