How To Bet On The NBA Draft

There are multiple ways to wager on the NBA Draft at various NBA betting sites. This guide will provide an overview of how to bet on the results of the biggest event of the NBA offseason.

We recommend unit betting for determining how much to wager and studying mock drafts to get a sense of which players might get drafted where.

No. 1 Overall Pick

One of the most popular NBA Draft betting markets is wagering on which player will be taken with the first overall pick in the draft. The issue is that sometimes an overwhelming favorite emerges and receives large minus odds from sportsbooks, making it difficult to profit.

For example, French superstar Victor Wembanyama was widely expected to be the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. DraftKings Sportsbook gave him -8000 odds to be the first pick, meaning you needed to wager $8,000 to profit $100.

Pick Number

It’s also possible to wager on other draft picks beyond the first one. For example, DraftKings had betting markets for the first three picks of the 2024 draft.

For each pick number, players will have odds based on their likelihood of getting drafted there.

Draft Specials

Sometimes, sportsbooks will offer special markets for certain players who are receiving considerable draft buzz.

For example, multiple online sportsbooks are offering betting markets around Bronny James, LeBron’s son, ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft. DraftKings has odds for which team will draft James as well as the Over/Under on his draft position but does not offer these markets for any other player.

The most common way to bet on the NBA Draft is wagering on who will be selected with the first pick. This is essentially an NBA futures bet — like wagering on which player will win MVP — rather than a single-game moneyline bet. You bet on a player against the field.

In most cases, the favorite to get drafted first will have minus odds, meaning bettors must risk more money than they stand to win. However, sometimes all players have plus-money odds. That means every player is an underdog against the field, even though some players have shorter odds than others.

The 2024 NBA Draft lacks an obvious betting favorite, especially compared to Wembanyama the previous year.

2024 NBA Draft Odds For No. 1 Pick

Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook and subject to change.

• Zaccharie Risacher: -125
• Alexandre Sarr: +120
• Donovan Clingan: +370
• Stephon Castle: +4500
• Reed Sheppard: +7500
• Matas Buzelis: +7500
• Ronald Holland: +10000
• Rob Dillingham: +10000
• Nikola Topic: +10000
• Dalton Knecht: +10000
• Cody Williams: +10000
• Zach Edey: +15000
• Isaiah Collier: +20000
• Kyle Filipowski: +20000
• Bronny James: +25000

The NBA Draft order is determined using a lottery system.

The order for the NBA Draft is determined during the NBA Draft Lottery prior to the draft. The 14 teams that miss the playoffs are eligible for the lottery.

Lottery balls determine the draft order for the first four picks in the draft. Teams with worse records have better odds of getting a top pick. The three worst teams all have an equal 14% chance of getting the No. 1 pick.

Once the order for the top four picks has been determined, picks No. 5-14 are based on the inverse order of regular-season standings. The team with the worst remaining record gets pick No. 5, while the team with the best remaining record gets pick No. 15.

The remaining picks of the first round (15-30) and every pick in the second round (31-60) is also based on the reverse order of regular-season standings. Each team gets one pick in the first round and one pick in the second round, although these picks can be traded.

For a comprehensive look at the NBA Draft rules and regulations, read the NBA’s explainer.

Here’s the first-round order for the 2024 NBA Draft:

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

For the first time ever, the NBA Draft will take place over two nights instead of one. The 2024 NBA Draft takes place from June 26-27, 2024, in New York City.

The first round of the draft on Wednesday, June 26, kicks off at 8 p.m. ET at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Each team gets five minutes to make a pick.

The second round takes place on Thursday, June 27, at 4 p.m. ET from ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York. Teams will get four minutes between picks.

This year’s draft will feature 58 total picks. The Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers each lost a 2024 second-round draft pick due to a league penalty.

There are several ways to follow the 2024 NBA Draft. The first round will air on ABC and ESPN, while the second round will air on ESPN.

Both rounds will be available to stream on ESPN+. ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ will have Spanish language broadcasts of both rounds.

The draft will also be available to watch on multiple streaming services, including YouTube TV, Sling TV, Fubo, Cox, Hulu+, DIRECTV and more.

The NBA Draft dates back to 1947, with many Hall of Famers going first overall.

Below is a list of the top picks in the 21st century:

• 2024: Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks
• 2023: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
• 2022: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
• 2021: Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
• 2020: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
• 2019: Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
• 2018: Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns
• 2017: Markelle Fultz, Philadelphia 76ers
• 2016: Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
• 2015: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
• 2014: Andrew Wiggins, Cleveland Cavaliers
• 2013: Anthony Bennett, Cleveland Cavaliers
• 2012: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets
• 2011: Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
• 2010: John Wall, Washington Wizards
• 2009: Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
• 2008: Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
• 2007: Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers
• 2006: Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors
• 2005: Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks
• 2004: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
• 2003: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
• 2002: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
• 2001: Kwame Brown, Washington Wizards
• 2000: Kenyon Martin, New Jersey Nets

Yes, you can bet on the NBA Draft. Online sportsbooks offer various betting markets around the event, including which player will get drafted first overall.

Most sportsbooks feature NBA Draft markets, so make sure to compare odds before submitting your wagers.

In terms of popularity, the NBA Draft and NFL Draft are the two most closely followed sports drafts in the U.S. Not only are the players pro-ready and able to make an immediate impact (unlike baseball), but many fans have also watched them throughout their collegiate careers due to the huge popularity of college basketball and football.

However, the drafts do have several key differences. The NBA employs a lottery system in an effort to discourage tanking, whereas the NFL does not. The NBA Draft is also much shorter, with only two rounds compared to seven rounds in the NFL.

Draft strategies are also different in both leagues. In the NBA, most teams simply take the best available player regardless of position. In the NFL, however, teams often target players at specific positions of need because rosters are so much larger. The Kansas City Chiefs already have an elite quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, so they’re not going to waste their first-round pick on a QB when they could use it to plug a hole somewhere else.

With so many more players, rounds and positions in the NFL Draft, sportsbooks offer more extensive betting markets for it. You can wager on markets like which position a team will draft first, how many players will be drafted at a certain position in the first round and which position will be taken with the final pick in the draft. Sportsbooks do not offer those types of markets for the NBA Draft.

Yes, six of the 30 NBA franchises have never had the first overall draft pick before:

• Indiana Pacers
• Miami Heat
• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Utah Jazz
• Denver Nuggets
• Memphis Grizzlies

The Pacers have picked second multiple times, but have never gone first in the NBA Draft. The Heat have been perennial contenders for much of their recent history, so they haven’t had many opportunities for a top draft pick.

The Thunder haven’t had the first pick at any point in their franchise history, which dates back to their time as the Seattle SuperSonics. The Jazz have had several top-3 picks but have yet to pick first.

The Nuggets have never picked first or second. The Grizzlies have picked second several times, but never first.

It’s rare, but several NBA players didn’t sign with the team that originally drafted them, including famous players such as Kobe Bryant and Dominique Wilkins. If that happens, the team that drafted him still retains his draft rights and can trade him. The player can’t immediately sign with another NBA team but could play in an international league instead.

In most cases, players sign with the teams that draft them.

Through the 2023-24 season, 11 NBA players have been drafted first overall and won an MVP award in their careers.

• Oscar Robertson
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Bill Walton
• Magic Johnson
• Hakeem Olajuwon
• David Robinson
• Shaquille O’Neal
• Allen Iverson
• Tim Duncan
• LeBron James
• Derrick Rose

Getting drafted first overall is not always a precursor to NBA success, and the majority of MVPs were not drafted first overall. In some cases, however, players live up to their lofty draft expectations and dominate the league.

Most legal sports betting states allow wagering on the NBA Draft. However, some regulated sports betting states don’t allow wagering on an event like the NBA Draft, as they do not consider it a sporting event.

Here are the states that allow online bets on the 2024 NBA Draft. *Denotes a state with some restrictions.

• Arizona*
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Florida
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa*
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts*
• Michigan*
• Nebraska
• Nevada*
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• North Carolina
• Ohio*
• Oregon
• Tennessee
• Washington, D.C.
• West Virginia*
• Wyoming

Connecticut, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia all have legal online sports betting but don’t allow wagering on the 2024 NBA Draft.

If you’re in an eligible state, most, if not all, of the best online betting sites will have some gambling offering on the NBA Draft. The options will vary depending on the sportsbook.

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