Banchero, Holmgren top 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year odds

After watching him at the Las Vegas Summer League, it’s easy to walk away thinking that No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero will win the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year award. He showed off the skills, and the Magic will put the ball in his hands and ask him to create.

But the last No. 1 overall pick to win Rookie of the Year was Ben Simmons, and only three of the previous 10 ROYs were the top pick (Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins were the other two). There’s a genuine chance that someone else is going to jump up and grab that trophy.

Who? From our partners at Point Bet, here are the odds for the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year (the top 10 players):

Paolo Banchero (Magic) +350Chet Holmgren (Thunder) +375Jaden Ivey (Pistons) +550Jabari Smith (Rockets) +650Keegan Murray (Kings) +700Bennedict Mathurin (Pacers) +1000 Shaeden Sharpe (Trail Blazers) +1800Dyson Daniels (Pelicans) +1800Johnny Davis (Wizards) +2500Ousmane Dieng (Thunder) +3000

Some thoughts on that list:

• As noted above, Banchero deserves to have the lowest odds. Watching him in Las Vegas, he has the build and skills of a quality NBA player walking in the door to Magic training camp, and things should only improve from there. He is absolutely going to be the guy to beat for this award.

• Chet Holmgren impressed in Las Vegas and could win this award — he had Josh Giddey showed some pick-and-roll chemistry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes everyone look better, and he’s going to have a real defensive impact and some highlight blocks. Not sure if it’s enough to win it all, but he has a chance.

• My bet would be on Keegan Murray — he is just a guy who knows how to play the game. He showed an impressive shot in Las Vegas, was calm under pressure, and it’s easy to imagine him