The countdown to the 2020-21 NBA season officially begins tonight with the draft.

While it traditionally takes place in June just days after the conclusion of the NBA Finals, this year’s draft will happen in November and just over a month before the start of a new season.

On the surface, it seems like an unpredictable draft with no obvious player selection order and a handful of teams reportedly interested in trading their top picks.

At the same time, the betting odds take into account some of those uncertainties and can be used to help us narrow down a handful of potential expected outcomes.

Here are five likely outcomes based on the betting odds.

 

Anthony Edwards will be the first-overall pick

The Minnesota Timberwolves have the first pick for the second time in franchise history.

In 2015, the Timberwolves took Karl-Anthony Towns at No. 1.

Will they keep the pick and make the top selection again this time around?

If they do, the betting odds indicate they will take Georgia guard Anthony Edwards.

While LaMelo Ball was the betting favourite to be the top pick entering this week, that changed on Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday, Ball was the betting favourite to go first at -200 odds, with Edwards listed at +150. As of this morning, Edwards is now the favourite to be the top selection at -130 odds followed by Ball at +100.

If Edwards is in fact the first player off the board, it will mark the 11th straight draft that a freshman was selected with the top pick.

Edwards would also become the highest draft pick ever taken out of Georgia, surpassing Dominique Wilkins, who was the third-overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft.

 

James Wiseman will be the second-overall pick

While Edwards has moved ahead of Ball with the shortest odds to be the first-overall pick, the markets for the second-overall pick are just as interesting.

That’s because Memphis centre James Wiseman is the betting favourite to go second overall at -140 odds.

That’s in part because the Golden State Warriors are currently slotted to pick second, with Wiseman projected to be the better fit for Golden State than Ball should they hold on to that pick.

While the Warriors will likely entertain trade offers for the second selection for anybody looking to move up to grab one of Edwards or Ball, they could ultimately decide to stay put and draft Wiseman.

Right now, Wiseman is listed at -140 odds to be the second-overall pick while Ball is listed at +250.

 

LaMelo Ball will be the third-overall pick

As strange as it might have seemed even 24 hours ago, the numbers indicate there is a very good chance Ball will fall to third.

Based on the betting odds, the big three should be set with Edwards (-130), Ball (+100) and Wiseman (+650) listed at the shortest odds to be the first-overall pick.

After that, there is a major drop-off, with Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Deni Avdija listed as the fourth option to go first overall at +7500 odds, which translates to a 1.3 per cent implied probability.

With Edwards now the betting favourite to go first and Wiseman the favourite to be the second choice, Ball should slot in as the obvious pick at third overall.

Even if Ball falls to third, he will still join his brother Lonzo as the first set of brothers to each go in the top five in the NBA Draft.

 

Deni Avdija will be the fourth-overall pick

As mentioned, there is a big drop-off in the betting odds to be the first-overall pick between the top three options and the rest of the field.

Avdija is the betting favourite to be the fourth-overall pick at +130 odds.

It’s unlikely that a team would be interested enough in Avdija to consider paying a premium to move up and get him ahead of any of Edwards, Wiseman and Ball, so this seems like a safe pick.

USC forward Onyeka Okongwu is the second choice to go fourth overall at +300 odds, followed by Dayton forward Obi Toppin at +350 and Florida State forward Patrick Williams at +400.

 

Los Angeles Lakers will remain the NBA Championship favourite

The Los Angeles Lakers will remain the betting favourite to win the 2021 NBA Championship regardless of what happens on Wednesday night.

The Lakers are currently a +350 favourite to repeat as champions.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets are the second choices on the championship board right now with both teams listed at +500 odds to win it all in 2021.

Milwaukee’s championship odds received a slight boost following a pair of trades on Monday night, including the acquisition of Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s championship odds were also adjusted after James Harden reportedly demanded a trade to the Nets.

While we could see some reaction if a big name is moved, it would take something drastic to move the Lakers out of that No. 1 spot.  

You can catch the NBA Draft live on TSN1 and TSN4 tonight beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.