With the 2023 NBA Draft set to take place on June 22nd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, it’s time to take a look at who could hear their names called at the top of the draft this Thursday.
Virtually every sportsbook has Victor Wembayama listed as a -50,000 or higher lock to go number 1 overall. The consensus top draft pick has been dubbed the “best prospect since LeBron James”, and can already begin looking for property around the San Antonio area.
From there however, things get interesting. With Charlotte, Portland, Houston and Detroit rounding out the top 5, odds are that whomever each club selects will become a day 1 starter on some teams in desperate need of talent.
Charlotte has been wildly inconsistent in their drafting essentially since they entered the league, while Portland is publicly saying they aren’t interested in trading the number 3 overall pick, but privately listening to offers. Given the uncertainty around Damian Lillard’s future with the club, it would be wise for them to hold onto the selection and grab either Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson. One of those two, plus Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe would give them a strong young nucleus to build around for years to come.
Here’s how FanDuel projects the top 5 picks beyond Wembenyama to shake down this week:
NBA 2023 Draft No. 2 Overall Pick Odds
Scoot Henderson -260
Brandon Miller +175
Victor Wembanyama +12000
Amen Thompson +12000
Ausar Thompson +12000
Cam Whitmore +12000
Anthony Black +12000
Jarrace Walker +12000
NBA 2023 Draft No. 3 Overall Pick Odds
Brandon Miller -230
Scoot Henderson +170
Amen Thompson +1400
Cam Whitmore +2900
Jarace Walker +5000
Anthony Black +9500
Ausar Thompson +9500
NBA 2023 Draft No. 4 Overall Pick Odds
Amen Thompson -170
Cam Whitmore +300
Ausar Thompson +500
Jarace Walker +1200
Brandon Miller +1900
Scoot Henderson +2600
Anthony Black +3400
Taylor Hendricks +7500
NBA 2023 Draft No. 5 Overall Pick Odds
Jarace Walker +170
Cam Whitmore +195
Ausar Thompson +380
Amen Thompson +470
Taylor Hendricks +1500
Anthony Black +2600
Brandon Miller +4800
Gradey Dick +9500
Photo: Ash Carter. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.