NBA Draft Betting Props: Odds and Predictions for the No. 1 Pick

by Raphael Esparza - 4/23/2015

Kentucky Wildcats forward Karl-Anthony Towns

The NBA Playoffs are in full effect, but half of the teams are thinking about the upcoming NBA Draft.The NBA Draft isn't until Thursday June 25, but on May 19 the ping-pong balls will be dropped, and that is when we find out who will be picking No. 1 in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Here is a list of the 2015 NBA Draft Order (Pre-Lottery)
1. Minnesota Timberwolves (Worst Record)
2.New York Knicks
3.Philadelphia 76ers
4.Los Angeles Lakers
5.Orlando Magic
6.Sacramento Kings
7.Denver Nuggets
8.Detroit Pistons
9.Charlotte Hornets
10.Miami Heat
11.Indiana Pacers *
12.Utah Jazz *
13.Phoenix Suns
14.Oklahoma City Thunder
15.Atlanta Hawks (via Brooklyn Nets)
16.Boston Celtics
17.Milwaukee Bucks
18.Houston Rockets (via New Orleans)
19.Washington Wizards
20.Toronto Raptors
21.Chicago Bulls *
22.Dallas Mavericks *
23.Portland Trail Blazers
24.Cleveland Cavaliers
25.Memphis Grizzlies *
26.San Antonio Spurs *
27.Boston Celtics (via LA Clippers) *
28.Los Angeles Lakers (via Houston) *
29.Brooklyn Nets (via Atlanta Hawks)
30. Golden State Warriors

*subject to tiebreaker

Pretty much all NBA execs are telling the media and myself that either former Kentucky Wildcats Karl-Anthony Towns or former Duke Blue Devils Jahlil Okafor will be the No. 1 pick in this upcoming NBA Draft. Before March Madness tipped I believed that Okafor would have been the easy and safest pick in the draft. However, after the tournament that Towns had I can't see him not being the No. 1 pick. Either way, both players will not be huge team-changing prospects right away, but their big bodies in the paint could cause problems for opponents. I still miss the days of big men coming into the draft like Shaq, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing, and Hakeem Olajuwon.

Here are the odds from TopBet:

Who Will Be Selected Number One Overall in 2015 NBA Draft
Karl-Anthony Towns -300
Jahlil Okafor 2-1
D'Angelo Russell 20-1
Emmanuel Mudiay 25-1
Field (Any Other Player) 20-1

Raphael Esparza is one of the top handicappers when it comes to NBA Basketball, and this weekend he will have a huge NBA Playoff weekend. He scored a big profit in seven out of eight NBA Seasons and he is one of the best basketball handicappers around. Get his One-Week NBA Playoff picks for only $99, or new clients can take advantage of Doc's no-hassle $60 free picks offer and get Esparza's weekend picks. Click here for $60 worth of free picks.

Pick:	CHICAGO BEARS +3
Start:	November 24, 2024 @ 1:00 PM
Expert:	Doc's Sports

Analysis:

Free Play from Doc’s Sports. Take #256 Chicago Bears +3 over Minnesota Vikings (1p.m., Sunday, November 24 FOX) We used the Bears as a free play winner last Sunday and easily covered the spread and should have been an underdog outright winner. Now we will ride them for a second straight week against another NFC North rival, the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are 8-2 on the season, yet are only around a field goal favorite. I still do not trust Sam Donald to win consistently over the course of a 17 game regular season. Minnesota is not as good as their 8-2 record would indicate and playing outdoors in Chicago on Sunday will cause issues for them on both sides of the ball. Chicago has been hit or miss this season, but they will be up to play another divisional rival and we expect them to take this down to the wire as well. Do not miss out on Doc’s Sports Weekend Card featuring top plays in college and NFL football. Read More Read Less

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