Welcome to Layup Strains, For the Win’s basketball e-newsletter. Subscribe right here to get it delivered to your inbox each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have suggestions for the Layup Strains Crew? Depart your questions, feedback and issues by means of this temporary reader survey. Now, right here’s Prince J. Grimes.
Hello, of us. Welcome again to Layup Strains. With Summer time League formally over, I do know we’ll all be turning our full consideration to the Olympics quickly, however earlier than that I need to speak about one unusual anomaly I’ve seen with this yr’s rookie class.
I can’t bear in mind a time the place my confidence in a Rookie of the Yr front-runner has diminished a lot by means of every stage of the summer time fairly prefer it has this yr.
Earlier than the draft, I used to be fairly certain Alex Sarr was the very best participant getting into the league and the doubtless greatest Rookie of the Yr candidate. After Sarr slid to No. 2 within the draft, I nonetheless felt good about him however needed to at the least take into account there was perhaps a higher wager on the market. Now, after Summer time League, I’m not even certain he’s the very best wager on his personal crew (I see you Bub Carrington!). And I’ve completely no clue who needs to be thought-about the favourite.
I do know I’m not alone as a result of Bronny James is BetMGM’s most-bet participant and greatest legal responsibility to win the award. Bronny James!
Oddsmakers nonetheless favor Zach Edey, who solely wanted one Summer time League sport to overhaul Sarr as the favourite. However even that doesn’t really feel fairly proper both.
At +600, Edey’s odds at BetMGM are nonetheless comparatively lengthy. In actual fact, they’d be the longest odds of any Rookie of the Yr favourite since at the least 2006, the primary yr on document at SportsOddsHistory. Simply take into consideration that. Even in 2013 when Anthony Bennett was the No. 1 total decide, the ROY front-runner had shorter odds than this yr’s favourite (Victor Oladipo at +300).
The 2024-25 award is shaping as much as be essentially the most extensive open competitors in that whole span, and doubtless earlier than that point too. Simply have a look at how little it took for Edey to maneuver up from opening odds of +2500.
Reed Sheppard, who opened at +1100, is now second at +650. Sarr plummeted from +425 to +1000. No. 1 decide Zaccharie Risacher dropped too (+600 to +800). And that is all after just some Summer time League video games.
9 gamers have odds shorter than 20-1. That doesn’t embody Tidjane Salaun, who moved from +1000 to +3500, or Cody Williams, who moved from +1500 to +2000.
If nothing else, the unpredictability means there’s cash to be made on this race. But when who to wager on, please fill me in. I’d very very similar to a bit of that pot.
The Caitlin Clark impact is actual
Alex Slitz/Getty Photographs
It’s been enjoyable to observe Caitlin Clark’s development as an expert the primary two-plus months of her WNBA profession, blossoming from a participant who was making an attempt to catch as much as the pace of the sport to a playmaking All-Star in what’s mainly been the blink of a watch.
Nonetheless, one factor that was by no means missing as she entered the W was the eye that got here from her record-breaking faculty profession. Clark helped to convey new eyeballs to the league from the very begin, and we’ve already seen that translate in document attendances and document tv viewership.
Now, we have now one other method to measure simply how impactful the Caitlin Clark impact has been: betting.
“BetMGM has already taken as many bets for the primary half of the 2024 season as we did for all of 2023,” BetMGM senior sports activities dealer Michael Ranftle mentioned. “Between extra participant prop choices, the ‘Caitlin Clark Impact’ and the unimaginable rise in reputation of the WNBA, we’re experiencing historic will increase in betting on the WNBA.”
BetMGM has taken thrice as many bets within the first half of the WNBA season because it did within the first half of 2023, and two occasions as many ladies have wager on the primary half of the WNBA. Clark alone has nearly 5 occasions extra participant prop bets than some other participant within the first half of the season.
In fact, she isn’t the one one liable for the league’s development. The W was already trending in a optimistic route, and plenty of of her fellow rookies additionally introduced their very own fanfare — Angel Reese is second in participant prop betting. However Clark is actually the primary catalyst, and with the fourth-best odds to win MVP, her quickly bettering sport is just going to proceed that trajectory within the second half.
Shootaround
— Nikola Jokic’s new goatee has our Robert Zeglinski satisfied he have to be auditioning to be the subsequent James Bond villain
— Kentavious Caldwell-Pope actually mentioned the Lakers had Denver’s quantity in a collection the Nuggets gained
— Right here’s Paul George on continually reminded the Clippers had been Los Angeles’ ‘B Crew’
— TNT is matching Amazon’s contract with the NBA, and issues may get messy
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