NBA Draft 2025 Preview & Betting Odds Breakdown
There isn’t much suspense over which player will be taken with the No. 1 overall pick when the NBA holds its annual two-day draft starting with the first round on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Day 1 will consist of 30 picks and take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn starting at 8 p.m. ET and will air on ABC and ESPN. Duke star Cooper Flagg has been preparing for this moment for years and the top rated high school prospect met the hype during his one-and-done year at Duke. There is no reason for the Dallas Mavericks to over think this and they will see their NBA championship odds shrink at Prime once the pick is official at around 8:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Flagg has all the tools to be an immediate impact player in the Association and the Mavs become a threat with him joined by Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis next season. Flagg averaged nearly 20 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 48.1 percent from the field. He helped Duke to a 35-4 record and a trip to the Final Four. Flagg scored 27 points in a national semifinal loss to Houston. The pick is so obvious that NBA draft odds don’t even have a market for the first overall draft pick.
2025 NBA Draft – Who Goes Where?
Just because we know who is going first overall doesn’t mean there won’t be any suspense or drama in the 2025 NBA Draft. Things get more interesting once Flagg is off the board, though Rutgers PG Dylan Harper is a big favorite to be selected No. 2 overall. He has the pedigree as the son of former NBA star Ron Harper. A 6-foot-5 frame and a nearly seven foot wingspan separate Harper from other point guards. He also had tremendous numbers for a Maryland squad that went 27-9 averaging 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Harper is in the -8000 range to be picked second so there’s little value backing him.
The next few players are all close in terms of talent and price. A lot depends on what a team is looking for to determine who gets their name called next, but the list consists of players VJ Edgecombe, Tre Johnson, Kon Knueppel and Ace Bailey.
Edgecombe climbed the board in recent days after a successful workout with the Philadelphia 76ers, who own the third pick in the draft. The move was due to Bailey reportedly canceling a workout with the club in an apparent move to dissuade Philly from picking him. It’s not a crippling blow to the Sixers since Edgecombe is considered a top 5 prospect, but as an off-ball guard he does play a different position than Bailey. And some experts have him going fourth overall to Charlotte.
That’s where the intrigue sets in. Teams drafting this high have a number of needs to fill out their roster and will oftentimes draft the most talented player. With the fifth pick the Utah Jazz need a backcourt threat and Duke’s Kon Knueppel fits the bill. However, Philly at No. 3 and Charlotte at No. 4 will have a trickle down effect based on what they do. It’s reported that the Jazz are also looking at Tre Johnson at No. 5 should he be available.
2025 NBA Draft Betting Options
It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long but the NBA draft has consisted of two rounds since 1989. This year there will be only 59 picks since the New York Knicks forfeited their second round selection as punishment by the NBA office. Despite that there are plenty of betting options available for the two-day extravaganza.
With Flagg the obvious first pick the betting markets are open after that. Picks from No. 2 to No. 10 can be made and bettors can also pick a specific player to be drafted among the top 5 or top 10.
Prop betting at the NBA Draft is another money grab. And futures betting got a lift just before the draft when a mega trade unfurled with the Phoenix Suns trading Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets. KD joins a young roster that won 50 games and finished second in the Western Conference only to lose in the first playoff round. Early championship odds for the 2025-26 season had Houston around 13/1, but after the trade sportsbooks adjusted the Rockets to around +750, the second shortest early NBA futures odds to the OKC Thunder.
