Jared McCain suffering a meniscus tear in his knee has shaken up the 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year betting odds, vaulting Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs into top position at +125 followed by New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi at +225.
Here's a look at where Castle, Missi, and all other contenders for the Wilt Chamberlain trophy sit on the odds leaderboard.
2025 NBA Rookie Of The Year Odds
| Player | Team | Draft Pick | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephon Castle | San Antonio Spurs | No. 4 | +125 |
| Yves Missi | New Orleans Pelicans | No. 21 | +225 |
| Dalton Knecht | Los Angeles Lakers | No. 17 | +350 |
| Zaccharie Risacher | Atlanta Hawks | No. 1 | +1100 |
| Zach Edey | Memphis Grizzlies | No. 9 | +1400 |
| Jaylen Wells | Memphis Grizzlies | No. 37 | +2000 |
| Alexandre Sarr | Washington Wizards | No. 2 | +2500 |
| Donovan Clingan | Portland Trail Blazers | No. 7 | +6000 |
| Carlton Carrington | Washington Wizards | No. 14 | +6000 |
Odds as of December 16, 2024 at BetMGM
NBA Rookie of the Year Betting Favorite: Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs (+125)
McCain had previously been running away with Rookie of the Year at minus money, but since he's expected to miss an extended period of time, it appears as though he won't meet the 65-game eligibility requirement to receive the honor.
Castle is the logical choice as the next leading scorer amongst first-year players at 11.7 points per game, which would be tied with Jason Kidd in 1995 as the third-fewest amount of points averaged by a Rookie of the Year winner should that number maintain. He's also contributing 3.9 assists and 0.9 steals, which sits second and third amongst rookies, respectively.
NBA Rookie of the Year Favorite: Yves Missi, New Orleans Pelicans (+225)
Shoutout to anyone who got in on the ground floor with Missi, who was at +6000 as of Dec. 8 before skyrocketing up the charts to now have the second-shortest odds for Rookie of the Year.
He ranks eighth in the rookie class in scoring (9.2 points), first in rebounds (8.5), third in blocks (1.2), and has twice as many double-doubles (six) as any other player in the conversation, with Zach Edey being next with three in total.
Past 10 NBA Rookie Of The Year Winners
| Year | Player | Team | Draft Pick | Opening Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Victor Wembanyama | San Antonio Spurs | No. 1 | -145 |
| 2023 | Paolo Banchero | Orlando Magic | No. 1 | +200 |
| 2022 | Scottie Barnes | Toronto Raptors | No. 4 | +1100 |
| 2021 | LaMelo Ball | Charlotte Hornets | No. 3 | +400 |
| 2020 | Ja Morant | Memphis Grizzlies | No. 2 | +250 |
| 2019 | Luka Doncic | Dallas Mavericks | No. 3 | +250 |
| 2018 | Ben Simmons | Philadelphia 76ers | No. 1 | +225 |
| 2017 | Malcolm Brogdon | Milwaukee Bucks | No. 36 | N/A |
| 2016 | Karl-Anthony Towns | Minnesota Timberwolves | No. 1 | +450 |
| 2015 | Andrew Wiggins | Minnesota Timberwolves | No. 1 | +400 |
Victor Wembanyama was hyped as a once-in-a-lifetime talent who could single-handedly lift a franchise out of obscurity. He's the only player in the last ten years to open at minus money and go on to win Rookie of the Year. The Frenchman was also the first center since Karl-Anthony Towns in 2016 to win, as well.
NBA Teams With the Most Rookie Of The Year Winners
| Team | Rookie of the Year Wins | Most Recent |
|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | 6 | Chris Webber, 1994 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 5 | Blake Griffin, 2011 |
| Sacramento Kings | 5 | Tyreke Evans, 2010 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 4 | Damian Lillard, 2013 |
| Washington Wizards | 4 | Wes Unseld, 1969 |
The five teams with the most Rookie of the Years haven't actually had a player capture the hardware in the last decade. In the case of the Golden State Warriors, a majority of their wins came when the franchise was located in both Philadelphia and San Francisco. The same applies to the Los Angeles Clippers, who had three players win when the team was the Buffalo Braves.
NBA Teams With Zero Rookie Of The Year Winners
The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat are the only two organizations in league history to have never had a Rookie of the Year.
How To Read NBA Rookie Of The Year Odds
When you visit your NBA betting site of choice, you’ll notice 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year odds laid out like this:
- Alexandre Sarr, +600
- Zach Edey, +650
- Zaccharie Risacher, +750
- Dalton Knecht, +850
Unlike a moneyline bet where favorites are shown by the minus sign (-) and underdogs have a plus sign (+), the player with the lowest odds with the plus sign (+) is the fave. In this scenario, Alexandre Sarr is favored. If you were to bet $100 on Sarr in the NBA Rookie of the Year betting odds and it hits, you would win $700 – your $100 is returned and you would get $600 in profit.
If you were to bet on which player will be named Rookie of the Year, you would make a futures bet.
What Is A Futures Bet?
This is a bet made on events that will happen in time. In this case, it’s Rookie of the Year. To make a futures bet, you would first use the handicapping info on this page to make your decision. Our Odds Calculator can give you an idea of how much you’d win based on the Rookie of the Year odds and the amount of money you bet.
