Williamson, who claimed every major college basketball player award with his freshman season at Duke, is a 1-to-2 favorite to win the award in his first year with the Pelicans, according to odds provided by BetOnline.com. Williamson was the first overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA Draft.
No. 2 overall pick Morant, a point guard who led Murray State to an NCAA Tournament first-round victory, is the second favorite at 4-to-1.
The No. 3 overall pick, chosen by the Knicks, Barrett has the third-best odds at 6-to-1; he was a teammate of Williamson’s at Duke and a Sporting News All-America choice as a freshman.
MORE NBA DRAFT: Winners & Losers | Grades for each pick
The oddsmakers believe more in No. 5 pick Darius Garland and his chances to make an impact with the Cavaliers, placing him at 10-to-1, than fourth pick De’Andre Hunter of the Hawks, who is 14-to-1.
Wing Jarrett Culver (16-to-1) of the Timberwolves and point guard Coby White of the Bulls (20-1) are far ahead of the next group of contenders: Cam Reddish of the Hawks and Jaxson Hayes of the Pelicans (28-to-1) and Cam Johnson of the Suns (30-to-1).
The highest-ranked second-round choice is former Maryland big man Bruno Fernando of the Hawks, who is 50-to-1 on the BetOnline chart but went 34th overall in the draft. He is ahead of 11 players who were first-rounders and is tied with five others, including lottery picks Romeo Langford of the Celtics and Tyler Herro of the Heat.
