2023 NBA Rookie of the Year Odds and Picks: Magic’s Banchero Leads the Charge

The 2022-23 NBA Season kicks off on Tuesday, Oct. 18. While fans are excited to see their favorite players, another portion of the fanbase is looking forward to which players win the upcoming annual awards, including NBA Rookie of the Year honors.

Former Duke product Paolo Banchero was drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic back in June and while he has a lot of potential, it’s no guarantee that he’ll be named the NBA ROY.

The good news is that the latest odds from BetOnline Sportsbook help shed some light on the award race. Keeping that in mind, here’s a look at those odds, as well as a few picks to potentially be named the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year.

NBA Rookie of the Year Odds 2023

All NBA odds are via BetOnline Sportsbook as of Thursday, Oct. 14 at 7:46 a.m. ET.

• Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic (+200)
• Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons (+460)
• Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings (+460)
• Jabari Smith, Houston Rockets (+600)
• Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers (+800)
• Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder (+2400)
• Tari Eason, Houston Rockets (+3600)
• Shaedon Sharpe, Portland Trail Blazers (+3600)
• Ochai Agbaji, Utah Jazz (+3600)
• Dyson Daniels, New Orleans Pelicans (+4000)
• Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs (+6500)
• Johnny Davis, Washington Wizards (+6500)
• Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons (+6500)
• Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets (+6500)
• Nikola Jovic, Miami Heat (+6500)
• Jaden Hardy, Dallas Mavericks (+6500)
• Malaki Branham, San Antonio Spurs (+8500)

NBA Rookie of the Year 2023 Picks

Paolo Banchero to Win (+200)

Even though winning the award isn’t guaranteed for first overall picks, it’s hard to doubt Banchero at +200 odds to get the job done.

The 2022 first overall pick only needed one season to show what he was capable of at Duke. Suiting up in 39 games last season, Banchero averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting .478/.338/.729.

The Seattle native’s efforts were good enough to earn him several honors, including being named the ACC Rookie of the Year, first-team All-ACC and consensus second-team All-American. Now, people expect him to continue that success en route to being named NBA Rookie of the Year.

Paolo Banchero against Memphis: @Pp_doesit
– 17 points
– 6-9 FG
– 9 rebounds pic.twitter.com/R2ujmBB4kY

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) October 12, 2022

The truth is that playing for the Magic gives Banchero a solid chance at winning the award. With Jonathan Isaac’s health up in the air after missing the last two seasons with an ACL injury, Banchero has become Orlando’s de facto No. 1 power forward, giving him much more playing time than some of his other rookie counterparts.

The Magic do have talented returning players like Cole Anthony, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, but the No. 1 option is still up in the air. Assuming his transition into the league goes smoothly, Banchero could be that guy, which would certainly increase his ROY odds.

Banchero has already proven to be comfortable judging by his preseason performance thus far. If he can keep that up once the regular season starts, he’ll be in a great position to be named the rookie of the year.

Keegan Murray to Win (+460)

Drafted fourth overall this year, the Sacramento Kings’ Keegan Murray is another solid pick to be named the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year.

After averaging 7.2 points as a rookie with Iowa in 2020-21, Murray stepped up his game as a starter in his second season with the Hawkeyes. The Cedar Rapids, IA native finished his sophomore campaign with a 23.5 PPG clip, also averaging 8.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists.

Another thing that Murray managed to show off in his second collegiate season was the ability to stretch the floor. On top of his 5.8 assists, he also averaged 1.9 three-pointers made on 4.7 attempts, resulting in a 39.8% success rate.

Outside of Domantas Sabonis and Richaun Holmes, the Kings don’t have a ton of frontcourt depth. In other words, much like Banchero, Murray should see a ton of playing time despite only being a rookie.

Besides, Murray has already had some professional success by taking home NBA Summer League MVP honors. If that was a sign of things to come, the league better watch out.

Bennedict Mathurin to Win (+800)

Bennedict Mathurin is certainly someone to keep an eye on as far as the NBA Rookie of the Year race is concerned.

The talented Canadian guard is coming off a tremendous season with the Arizona Wildcats. In addition to averaging 17.7 PTS/5.6 REB/2.5 AST, Mathurin was named the 2021-22 Pac-12 Player of the Year and also took home consensus second-team All-American honors.

Like the above two rookies, Mathurin has the opportunity to be a key player for his team. The Pacers really blew things up last season, leaving Tyrese Haliburton and Chris Duarte as the only players left to generate offense from the backcourt.

Even then, Haliburton also needs to focus on setting up his teammates as the No. 1 point guard, leaving Mathurin with a chance to pad his own stats.

Like Murray, Mathurin proved himself in the Summer League by averaging 19.3 points while shooting 38.5% from the three-point line. He’s going to face stiffer competition in the NBA, but that performance shows that he’s more than capable of being something special.

Whether or not that means winning the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year award remains to be seen, Nevertheless, Mathurin has as good of a chance as anyone else in the field.