After a whirlwind of late steam, conflicting reports and fake trades the first round of the NBA draft is in the books.
Wednesday night was extremely fun, mostly due to the mystery surrounding the top selection in the lead up to the draft. In fact, in the minutes leading up to the first pick it seemed that Reed Sheppard was going to pull a fast one and have his name called.
Instead, the first four picks went the way of chalk. All four players selected with the first four picks – Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Sheppard and Stephon Castle – closed as odds-on favorites to be selected in their respective spots.
Then, all hell broke loose.
Let’s try to recap most of what we saw on Wednesday night and sort through some of the biggest winners and losers of the evening.
The Winners
The first upset of the night occurred at the fifth overall selection. Detroit – widely reported to be shopping their draft pick – stood pat and drafted G League Ignite forward Ron Holland.
DraftKings had Holland +2000 to go fifth overall when they took their odds down. His draft position was 11.5 and he was a +120 underdog in a matchup with Nikola Topić who ended up going 12th overall to Oklahoma City.
Holland averaged 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.5 steals in his time with the Ignite last season. He is a lengthy wing player with a 6-foot-11 wingspan. The former Texas commit has a strong upside, but it was a shock to see the Pistons take him where they did.
Zach Edey was another big winner on Wednesday evening.
There were reports in the 24 hours leading up to the first round that Edey could find himself drafted as high as seventh overall. Instead, the former Purdue center was selected ninth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Edey was +600 to be the selection at the ninth pick and he was a +120 underdog in a matchup with Indiana center Kel’el Ware out of Indiana at one point at DraftKings. He also went well under his draft position of 15.5 which was bet down from the open (16.5).
Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham could also be considered a winner from draft night.
An ankle injury had caused some confusion as to where Dillingham would end up. San Antonio ended up selecting him eighth overall before flipping his rights to Minnesota for draft compensation.
Dillingham was +750 at DraftKings to be selected where he was, and he went under his draft position prop (11.5). Let’s be honest, he also wins because he is now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that needs him.
Carrington “Bub” Carter was a decent winner on Wednesday.
Carter was widely reported to be a rising name in the pre-draft process, but his draft position of 18.5 was about where he was expected to go. Instead, he was picked 14th by Portland where he was +1400 to be selected. Carrington (-125) also cashed in a matchup over JaKobe Walter.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the third French prospect selected on Wednesday: Tidjane Salaun.
Salaun had reportedly been coveted by Oklahoma City, but it was Charlotte who ended up picking him. Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports reported the Hornets’ interest about three hours prior to the draft, and it turns out she nailed it.
The French power forward closed +220 to be selected where he did, but was well over +1000 to go there in the days leading up to the draft. He also cashed as a +180 underdog in a matchup with Cody Williams.
Some of the other big tickets to cash late in the first round: Jaylon Tyson was +1500 to be picked 15th, DaRon Holmes was +2000 to be selected 22nd overall and Pacome Dadiet was +1600 to be picked 25th.
The Losers
Dalton Knecht was the biggest “loser” but if you had the foresight to see his fall you cashed in big. He was +3000 to be selected 17th overall, his draft position was 8.5 and he closed as a -140 favorite in his matchup against Devin Carter.
Most of the reports around Knecht had him landing in the range of seventh to ninth in the first round. However, the rise of Salaun to sixth overall caused Knecht to slide.
Matas Buzelis belongs in this category as well.
Buzelis had been connected to Detroit for a long time in the pre-draft process. In the days leading up to the draft most reporting distanced the Pistons from the G-League Ignite forward.
Detroit going with Holland instead caused Buzelis to slide to the 11th overall pick. DraftKings closed with Buzelis +2000 to be selected at that spot. He went well over his draft position of 5.5 and was the loser in the matchup with Stephon Castle.
One unique “loser” was Colorado guard Cody Williams.
Williams was a popular wager when his draft position was hung. He opened 10.5 at DraftKings and closed 8.5 on Wednesday. He was also a -220 favorite over Salaun in a matchup. However, Williams was not selected until the 10th overall selection which cashed the over on his draft position and made him a loser against Salaun.
Other players who went well over their draft positions: Donovan Clingan (3.5) was picked seventh, and Ja’Kobe Walter went over his draft position by 5.5 spots.
