How the public is betting the 2021 NBA Draft

Update: DraftKings Sportsbook has provided updated betting splits for the NBA draft and these are more in line with the reporting surrounding team selections.

90.6 percent of the money is coming in on the Pistons taking Cade Cunningham No. 1 but due to the insane line of -8000, only 16.8 percent of wagers are coming in on Cunningham. Jalen Green has the majority here with 41.7 percent of all bets, likely due to the high reward at +1600.

Green is commanding 87.7 percent of the handle and 39.2 percent of all wagers for the No. 2 selection. Evan Mobley has similar splits for the No. 3 pick at 91 percent of the money and 54.5 percent of all bets. Jalen Suggs, widely regarded to be the fourth pick, has gotten more attention of late. He’s carrying 74.9 percent of the handle and 67.4 percent of bets for the No. 4 pick.

As previously stated, the No. 5 selection is where the intrigue comes in. Scottie Barnes is getting most of the money with 74.5 percent of the handle and has 32.7 percent of all bets, but there’s some competition. Suggs is getting 22.7 percent of all wagers and James Bouknight has 13.9 percent of wagers. Jonathan Kuminga, who was previously not getting much action, is now getting 13.3 percent of bets for being the fifth pick at +425.

The 2021 NBA draft takes place Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET in Brooklyn, New York, with the Detroit Pistons leading things off at No. 1. The Pistons have reportedly settled on Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham after seemingly not being convinced between him, Jalen Green and Evan Mobley in previous days. The Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to pick Green and Mobley with the second and third selections.

Here’s how the public is betting the NBA draft, specifically the first five picks, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Recent reporting on the team intel may cause the book to take these bets off the board, so don’t be shocked if you can’t get these odds slightly ahead of the draft.

31 percent of bettors are backing Cunningham to be the first overall selection, accounting for 40 percent of the money coming in on the category. 27 percent of wagers are taking Green despite Adrian Wojnarowski’s reporting and 10 percent are picking Mobley. However, the Green and Mobley wagers only account for 11 percent of all money coming in on the category.

Green is the big favorite to go second among bettors, with 40 percent of bets and 59 percent of the money backing him. Mobley is a similar favorite at No. 3, with 45 percent of bets and 50 percent of all money. These numbers are in line with all the reporting ahead of the draft about each team’s preferred picks. The only surprise is that there isn’t an even bigger majority.

The Toronto Raptors are expected to take Jalen Suggs at No. 4 and the public is leaning that way. 42 percent of the money and 47 percent of the bets are coming in on Suggs to go to the Raptors. Scottie Barnes is getting some interest here with 15 percent of wagers coming in on him, but he’s more favored to go No. 5 overall to the Orlando Magic.

Barnes is receiving 21 percent of all bets to be drafted fifth, accounting for 35 percent of the handle. However, this is where the draft is reportedly set to get interesting and the betting splits reflect this. Suggs is receiving 11 percent of bets here in the event the Raptors pass on him. James Bouknight, a big riser in the pre-draft process, is also getting love here. The UConn product is getting 12 percent of wagers in the category. However, Suggs and Bouknight are combining for just seven percent of the handle in this category.

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