NBA Rookie of the Year Odds Update: Wembanyama Building an Eiffel Tower-Sized Lead

Before the 2023-24 NBA season, even ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft, Victor Wembanyama has been tabbed as the heavy favorite to win the 2023-24 Rookie of the Year award. The French phenom has been hailed as a generational talent who should put up glamorous stats in his first season with the needy San Antonio Spurs.

Following almost one month of the 2023-24 season, Wembanyama has lived up to the hype -- and maybe even surpassed it. The Rookie-of-the-Year race could be the Spurs' big man against everyone else.

Let's check out FanDuel Sportsbook's NBA award odds, followed by a breakdown of each top contender for the hardware.

Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs (-360)

As the odds suggest, Wembanyama is the clear favorite. Following Tuesday's collision between the Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, Wembanayma remains the frontrunner for the award.

The Spurs-Thunder game featured a battle between the two Rookie-of-the-Year favorites -- Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren. OKC's rookie played poorly, with only nine points while shooting 30.0% from the field and 20.0% on three-pointers. Wembanyama didn't exactly do himself any favors in the matchup, recording eight points and a 26.7% field goal percentage (FG%).

So far, San Antonio's blooming star leads all rookies with 18.6 points per game (PPG), 2.4 blocks per game (BPG) and 7.2 defensive rebounds per game. He also ranks second with 9.3 rebounds per game (RPG).

The Spurs are already heavily relying on Wembanyama, meaning he could increase his stat totals as the season progresses. H

e leads San Antonio with a 30.7% usage rate and 16.0 field goal attempts per game (FGA). Wembanyama's usage rate is 8.4 percentage points higher than the usage rate of the Spurs' second-most used player -- Devin Vassell (22.3%). Plus, Wemby's FGA leads all rookies. The 7-foot-4 center ranks second on the Spurs with a 113.5 defensive rating.

So, the question becomes -- can anyone dethrone Wembanyama from the top of the race? FanDuel is also offering Wembanyama (-360) against the field (+250). Who are some potential contenders that could make the field a sound bet?

The Field (+250)

For the field, Holmgren (+400) remains a serious player despite Tuesday's deflating performance. The first-year center ranks third among rookies with 7.3 RPG and second with 2.2 BPG.

The Portland Trail Blazers' Scoot Henderson(+7500) entered the season with the third-shortest odds to win the award, but his stock has plummeted following early struggles (8.8 PPG; 34.6 FG%). Scoot's ankle injury will likely only increase the odds.

The Charlotte Hornets' Brandon Miller (+5000) remains an interesting option as he's averaging 12.4 PPG. However, the rookie forward out of Alabama has reached the 20-point mark only once and has started in only four games.

Ausar Thompson has been stuffing the stat sheet for the Detroit Pistons with 12.0 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.9 BPG, and 1.3 steals per game (SPG). His exceptional defense has been on full display, but Thompson may lack the necessary scoring opportunities with a 18.8% usage rate.

Jordan Hawkins (+15000) could be a sleeper to keep an eye on in the upcoming weeks. He's an extreme long shot right now, but he's averaging the fourth-most minutes among rookies (29.3). Hawkins has been exceptional over his previous six games, averaging 18.2 PPG while shooting a deadly 41.1% from three-point land.

The first-year shooting guard also ranks second among rookies with 11.8 FGA. Hawkins' 32 three-pointers are the most by a rookie in NBA history over his first 11 games; that's difficult to keep off of the court, although the rook's usage could decrease once C.J. McCollum returns.

Overall, the minutes and usage rates for almost all rookies will simply pale in comparison to Wembanyama's. He touts the largest workload by a wide margin. Holmgren (30.0 minutes per game), Thompson (32.1), and Hawkins (29.3) look like the best bets right now due to their high minutes per game. This stands up to Wembanyama's 30.0 minutes per game.

Still, even taking the field against Wembanyama could fall short. This feels like Wembanyama's award to lose.

Do you think you know which NBA players will take home hardware this season? Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook's NBA award odds market to bet any major season-long awards with America's Number One Sportsbook.

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