It looks as though it's going to take a herculean effort to close out the season in order to prevent NBA Rookie of the Year honors, as the 20-year-old UConn alumnus possesses -750 betting odds as of March 25 with no other player currently having better than a 10-to-1 chance.
Here's a look at where all Castle and all other contenders currently sit in the race for the Wilt Chamberlain trophy.
2025 NBA Rookie Of The Year Odds
| Player | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Stephon Castle | San Antonio Spurs | -750 |
| Alexandre Sarr | Washington Wizards | +1000 |
| Zaccharie Risacher | Atlanta Hawks | +1600 |
| Jaylen Wells | Memphis Grizzlies | +2000 |
| Zach Edey | Memphis Grizzlies | +4000 |
| Kel'el Ware | Miami Heat | +8000 |
| Isaiah Collier | Utah Jazz | +8000 |
| Matas Buzelis | Chicago Bulls | +15000 |
| Donovan Clingan | Portland Trail Blazers | +15000 |
| Kyle Filipowski | Utah Jazz | +15000 |
Odds as of March 25, 2025 at BetMGM
NBA Rookie of the Year Betting Favorite: Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs (-750)
Injuries can never be ed for, and surely the Spurs never envisioned a scenario in which both Victor Wembanyama and the newly-acquired De'Aaron Fox would be sidelined for the final months of the 2024-25 campaign. Nonetheless, that's the fate that befell them, but it's those unfortunate circumstances which ultimately propelled Castle to being a heavy favorite for a Rookie of the Year award that's been fairly open most of the season.
In his last 14 games alone from Feb. 26 through March 23, Castle has averaged 20.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists while shooting over 47 percent from the field. He leads all first-year players in scoring at 14 points per game, which would be the ninth-fewest by a ROTY winner in league history, but still well ahead of Malcolm Brogdon's 10.2 points in 2017.
NBA Rookie of the Year Darkhorse: Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks (+1600)
It's been quite some time since we've had a No. 1 overall pick receive as little attention or fanfare as Zaccharie Risacher, but that was to be expected for the 19-year-old French prospect as he was projected to have a high ceiling but with limited returns coming out of the gate. As we've seen from this class overall, the Atlanta Hawks were able to take that risk because there wasn't a surefire no-brainer pick to be made.
Since the All-Star break, Risacher ranks fourth amongst rookies in scoring (14 points), second in 3-pointers made per game (2.4), and 12th in rebounding (4.8). Those aren't flashy numbers by any stretch, but the fact that he's making subtle improvements to his game and efficiencies while playing a larger role for the Hawks are strong signs that the franchise ultimately won't be let down after rolling the dice with him.
Past 10 NBA Rookie Of The Year Winners
| Year | Player | Team | Draft Pick | Opening Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Victor Wembanyama | San Antonio Spurs | No. 1 | -145 |
| 2023 | Paolo Banchero | Orlando Magic | No. 1 | +200 |
| 2022 | Scottie Barnes | Toronto Raptors | No. 4 | +1100 |
| 2021 | LaMelo Ball | Charlotte Hornets | No. 3 | +400 |
| 2020 | Ja Morant | Memphis Grizzlies | No. 2 | +250 |
| 2019 | Luka Doncic | Dallas Mavericks | No. 3 | +250 |
| 2018 | Ben Simmons | Philadelphia 76ers | No. 1 | +225 |
| 2017 | Malcolm Brogdon | Milwaukee Bucks | No. 36 | N/A |
| 2016 | Karl-Anthony Towns | Minnesota Timberwolves | No. 1 | +450 |
| 2015 | Andrew Wiggins | Minnesota Timberwolves | No. 1 | +400 |
Victor Wembanyama was hyped as a once-in-a-lifetime talent who could single-handedly lift a franchise out of obscurity. He's the only player in the last ten years to open at minus money and go on to win Rookie of the Year. The Frenchman was also the first center since Karl-Anthony Towns in 2016 to win, as well.
NBA Teams With the Most Rookie Of The Year Winners
| Team | Rookie of the Year Wins | Most Recent |
|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | 6 | Chris Webber, 1994 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 5 | Blake Griffin, 2011 |
| Sacramento Kings | 5 | Tyreke Evans, 2010 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 4 | Damian Lillard, 2013 |
| Washington Wizards | 4 | Wes Unseld, 1969 |
The five teams with the most Rookie of the Years haven't actually had a player capture the hardware in the last decade. In the case of the Golden State Warriors, a majority of their wins came when the franchise was located in both Philadelphia and San Francisco. The same applies to the Los Angeles Clippers, who had three players win when the team was the Buffalo Braves.
NBA Teams With Zero Rookie Of The Year Winners
The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat are the only two organizations in league history to have never had a Rookie of the Year.
How To Read NBA Rookie Of The Year Odds
When you visit your NBA betting site of choice, you’ll notice 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year odds laid out like this:
- Alexandre Sarr, +600
- Zach Edey, +650
- Zaccharie Risacher, +750
- Dalton Knecht, +850
Unlike a moneyline bet where favorites are shown by the minus sign (-) and underdogs have a plus sign (+), the player with the lowest odds with the plus sign (+) is the fave. In this scenario, Alexandre Sarr is favored. If you were to bet $100 on Sarr in the NBA Rookie of the Year betting odds and it hits, you would win $700 – your $100 is returned and you would get $600 in profit.
If you were to bet on which player will be named Rookie of the Year, you would make a futures bet.
What Is A Futures Bet?
This is a bet made on events that will happen in time. In this case, it’s Rookie of the Year. To make a Odds Calculator can give you an idea of how much you’d win based on the Rookie of the Year odds and the amount of money you bet.
