We are just over five weeks away from tipping off the 2020-21 NBA season, and there has never been a better time to take a look at the betting odds for Rookie of the Year.

Now that the draft has come and gone, and we know where rookies will suit up next season, Vegas has released the updated odds.

To the surprise of nobody, the top three picks in Wednesday night’s NBA Draft are favoured to win the award.

After going third to the Charlotte Hornets, LaMelo Ball sits atop the list at +400 to take home the title.

First overall pick Anthony Edwards (Minnesota) and No. 2 pick James Wiseman (Golden State) trail behind at +450.

Ball joins a Hornets team in dire need of star power, and he can provide just that. He will have the opportunity to become the face of that franchise overnight.

Edwards, who was viewed by many as the safer option at the top of the draft board, lands with D'Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota, and could be the piece that team needs to get back to the playoffs for just the second time since 2004.

Wiseman lands with a well-run Golden State franchise with aspirations to get back to the NBA Finals. With the recent unfortunate news about Warriors star Klay Thompson, it’s possible the seven-foot centre could play a bigger role on this team than initially thought.

The roadmap for all three of these guys is there: enter the league and translate their game from one level to the next and they will be in the Rookie of the Year discussion come April.

Sure, anything can happen, and it’s hard to predict who will land on their feet faster in the NBA, but the top picks have the best chance. They only need to stay healthy.

Since 1950, only three players (Terry Dischinger, Brandon Roy, and Patrick Ewing) have played in less than 60 games in a non-shortened season and won Rookie of the Year.

Last season, New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson entered the season as the consensus favourite the win the award, but an injury held him back and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (who entered the season second at +400) took home the title thanks to a stellar campaign.

Outside of the three favourites, you have Obi Toppin (+750), who will look to become the first New York Knicks player since Mark Jackson in 1988 to win the award, and Killian Hayes of the Detroit Pistons as the only other player with odds better than 10/1 at +800.

The Toronto Raptors had a first-round pick this season for the first time since 2017 and used it on point guard Malachi Flynn of San Diego State.

Flynn averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game as a junior in the NCAA and was named Mountain West Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Despite the success in college, Flynn is a longshot to win the award at +6500.

If Flynn can shock the NBA world and win the award, he would become the first Raptors player since Vince Carter did it in 1999 and just the third in franchise history (Damon Stoudamire, 1996).