2021-22 NBA Rookie of the Year Odds – Cade Cunningham is the favorite

According to BetOnline, Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham has the best odds (+250) of winning Rookie of the Year for the 2021-22 NBA season. Next, Houston Rockets‘ Jalen Green has the second-best odds (+275), followed by Jalen Suggs (+650), Evan Mobley (+800), Scottie Barnes +1200), Alperen Sengun (+1200) and others. Point guard Cunningham was selected first overall by the Pistons in the 2021 NBA Draft. After the 2020-21 Oklahoma State Cowboys’ season, the 19-year-old was selected consensus first-team All-American, USBWA National Freshman of the Year, NABC Freshman of the Year, Big 12 Player of the Year and first-team All-Big 12 in 2021.

On February 27, 2021, in a 94-90 overtime win over the Oklahoma Sooners, Cunningham had a college career-high 40 points and 11 rebounds. As for Green, he was selected second overall by the Houston Rockets. On March 8, 2021, in a 127-102 loss against the Raptors 905 in the NBA G League, he had a season-high 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds. While playing for the Ignite, he averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Green also won the MVP of the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup.

2021-2022 NBA Rookie of the Year Odds

Cade Cunningham +250
Jalen Green +275
Jalen Suggs +650
Evan Mobley +800
Scottie Barnes +1200
Alperen Sengun +1200
James Bouknight +1400
Davion Mitchell +2000
Josh Giddey +2500
Jalen Johnson +2800
Chris Duarte +2800
Jonathan Kuminga +3300

— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) August 16, 2021

Furthermore, the fourth overall pick, Evan Mobley, has the third-best odds of winning Rookie of the Year. The USC Trojan won consensus second-team All-American, Pac-12 Player of the Year, first-team All-Pac 12, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. On March 11, 2021, the 20-year-old center had a career-high 26 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, in a 91-95 double-overtime win over the Utah Utes. In the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Argentina, Mobley averaged 9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in seven games played.

While the top three candidates were each drafted by below-.500 teams, it makes sense why Cunningham is the number one favorite; he succeeded playing college basketball in the NCAA. Mobley is another one, though, lacking the media coverage and flying under the radar. Green lacks experience of playing against top-ranked teams in the NCAA tournament, but the six-foot-six shooting guard spent time playing in the G League. Bettors should keep an eye on these three players throughout the 2021-22 NBA season. Moving forward, the COVID-19 pandemic might affect these odds.