2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year odds: Scoot Henderson, Chet Holmgren taking heaviest early action over Victor Wembanyama, Keyonte George making move
There are some interesting trends in the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year action.
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Victor Wembanyama is considered the best prospect to enter the NBA since LeBron James. Wembanyama is the betting favorite at PointsBet to win Rookie of the Year, but is taking less action than both Scoot Henderson and Chet Holmgren. All three might be done playing in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Wembanyama is officially done for the summer after two games in Vegas. The 19-year-old phenom was a little hit-or-miss in his NBA debut last Friday with just nine points and admitted he felt a little lost on the court. Wembanyama looked like the mega-prospect he is on Sunday with 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting with 12 rebounds and three blocks in San Antonio's loss to the Henderson-less Portland Trail Blazers.
The Spurs wanted the young forward to get a brief taste of the NBA after a full season playing in France before shutting him down. He was initially slated to head to Indonesia in late August for the FIBA World Cup, but has opted not to play for France to rest and prepare for the NBA.
At PointsBet, Wembanyama opened as the -250 Rookie of the Year favorite – the biggest opening ROY favorite in years – but is down to -160 and is taking only the third-most action at 14.8%. Henderson, chosen third by Portland, is taking 43.4% of action to lead all players and is now +375.
Henderson is dealing with a minor shoulder issue, which is why he missed games Sunday and Tuesday. The Blazers may be conservative with their new franchise lead guard – especially considering Damian Lillard is likely to be traded – and shut him down as well.
Oklahoma City's Holmgren was the No. 2 overall pick last year but got hurt before NBA training camp began and missed the season. Per NBA rules, he retains rookie status and is taking the second-most action at the book (36.4%) for ROY. He's down to a +350 second favorite.
Holmgren has been playing this summer and is healthy but took a seat Tuesday Houston to rest. The former Gonzaga star is averaging 12.5 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game through three Summer League outings in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. The Thunder are 3.5-point favorites Wednesday night against Indiana, and that spread tells me the books think Holmgren will play because the Pacers are 2-0 and OKC is 1-1.
Wembanyama was an early favorite for Las Vegas Summer League MVP, as were Henderson and No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller of the Hornets (he looked great Tuesday), but the current favorite is Keyonte George at +200. The 2022-23 Big12 Freshman of the Year at Baylor was the No. 16 overall pick in this year's draft by Utah and is No. 2 in the Las Vegas Summer League in scoring at 29.5 points per game. He's also dished out 8.5 assists per game. George's ROY odds have shrunk to +3000.
The new favorite to win the Las Vegas Summer League is Cleveland at +250. The Cavs are 3-0 and outscoring opponents by 16.7 points. Second-round rookie Emoni Bates out of Eastern Michigan, once the top high school prospect in the country, has looked good in Sin City, averaging 16.3 points and 6.0 rebounds.
The Vegas Summer League semifinals are Sunday, and the title game is on Monday.
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