Vegas Gives Jayson Tatum Better Odds Of Winning NBA Rookie Of The Year Than Markelle Fultz
BOSTON (CBS) -- Danny Ainge is banking on Jayson Tatum having a better career than Markelle Fultz.
For at least one season, it looks like the bookies in Vegas agree with him.
Tatum, who the Celtics drafted third overall in June after trading the first overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, saw his odds of winning the NBA's Rookie of the Year take a nice jump on Tuesday, going from 9/1 back on June 23 to 5/1.
The 19-year-old is fresh off of an impressive run with the Celtics in the NBA Summer League, where he averaged 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game to earn All-NBA Summer League Second Team honors.
Those are better odds than Fultz, who played in just three Summer League games before being sidelined by an ankle injury. His odds took the opposite turn on Tuesday, going from 5/1 to 9/1.
Tatum brings a polished offensive game to the NBA and should be able to help the Celtics from Day 1, but his career will always be compared to Fultz's after Ainge's blockbuster swap ahead of the draft, fair or not.
Lonzo Ball, the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers and MVP of the Summer League, has the best odds to win Rookie of the Year at 5/2. Ball is followed by Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr., the ninth overall selection last month, whose odds went from 16/1 to 3/1 on Tuesday, and Ben Simmons, the 2016 first overall pick who missed his first season in the NBA with a broken foot.
