Betting odds for the 2025 College Basketball Player of the Year award peg Duke's Cooper Flagg as the early favorite at +430 to become the first Blue Devil to win since Zion Williamson in 2019.
Here's a look at where Flagg and all other collegiate players challenging for the honor currently find themselves slotted in the odds race.
Naismith College Player Of The Year/John R. Wooden Award Betting Odds
| Player | Collegiate | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Cooper Flagg | Duke | +430 |
| Mark Sears | Alabama | +600 |
| Hunter Dickinson | Kansas | +650 |
| RJ Davis | North Carolina | +650 |
| Johni Broome | Auburn | +1400 |
| Caleb Love | Arizona | +2300 |
| Kam Jones | Marquette | +2300 |
| Walter Clayton Jr. | Florida | +3000 |
| L.J. Cryer | Houston | +3000 |
Odds as of November 5, 2024 at FanDuel
College Basketball Player Of The year Favorite: Cooper Flagg, Duke Blue Devils (+430)
Flagg is currently projected to be the crown jewel of one of the more highly-touted NBA draft classes in recent memory, and his debut in a blowout win over Maine definitely lived up to the hype. The 17-year-old Freshman scored 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals across 30 minutes of action.
He possesses incredible athletic ability with terrific size and a poise on the defensive end which will serve him well in the pros. His basketball profile alone makes him a strong candidate here, but historically, freshmen don't tend to win the award, with Williamson (2019), Anthony Davis (2012), and Kevin Durant (2007) the only others to do so this century.
College Basketball Player of the Year Darkhorse: RJ Davis, North Carolina (+650)
We just witnessed a senior in Zach Edey capture the hardware, and RJ Davis could make it two in a row as he returns to North Carolina for his fifth year of eligibility granted due to the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.
Jalen Brunson was the last guard to win in 2018 with Villanova, with traditional bigs having been named every year since. Davis is a 6-foot-0 point guard leading the Tar Heels into battle at 23 years of age, and with an impressive 24 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals in a win over Elon, his campaign has gotten off to a fiery start.
Last 10 College Basketball Player Of The Year Winners
| Year | Player | School |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Zach Edey | Purdue |
| 2023 | Zach Edey | Purdue |
| 2022 | Oscar Tshiebwe | Kentucky |
| 2021 | Luka Garza | Iowa |
| 2020 | Obi Toppin | Dayton |
| 2019 | Zion Williamson | Duke |
| 2018 | Jalen Brunson | Villanova |
| 2017 | Frank Mason III | Kansas |
| 2016 | Buddy Hield | Oklahoma |
| 2015 | Frank Kaminsky | Wisconsin |
How To Read Naismith And Wooden Player Of The Year Odds
If this is your first time betting on NCAA College Basketball Player of the Year odds and you aren’t sure about the difference between the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award, don’t sweat it.
They’re essentially the same individual award but the voting structures are slightly different. The Wooden Award is voted on by over 1,000 sports writers and former winners based on academic criteria, character qualifications and play during the regular season and includse some March tournament play with the award announcement coming after the Final Four. The Naismith Award, on the other hand, is finalized by a board along with fan voting based on regular season play and is announced during the Final Four.
Understanding College Basketball Player Of The Year Odds
At your college basketball sportsbook of choice, you’ll see prop odds to win College Player of the Year listed like so:
Hunter Dickinson +550
RJ Davis +600
Mark Spears +600
When there is no clear favorite due to the lack of a minus sign (-), the player with the lowest odds is the fave. In this case, it would be Hunter Dickinson at +550.
If you’re loving Dickinson at that number and you bet $100 on him, you’d get a payout of $650 – your original money is returned coupled with your winnings of $550. To see what you’d win based on the odds and the amount you bet, check out our odds calculator.
