There will be plenty of NBA rookies to keep an eye on in the upcoming season, but normally one will win Rookie of the Year. Two sports books have determined that the L.A. Lakers' Lonzo Ball and Philadelphia Sixers' Ben Simmons are favorites to win that award based on their odds listings. Other rookies factoring into the overall list include this past summer's No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz and the No. 5 pick De'Aaron Fox.

Ball vs. Simmons

Point guard Lonzo Ball was the No. 2 pick of the 2017 NBA Draft for the L.A. Lakers. Magic Johnson has proclaimed the former UCLA guard as the "face of the franchise." There are high expectations on Ball as a rookie and the William Hill Nevada sportsbook believes Lonzo Ball is the favorite for the NBA ROY Award.

Ball carries odds of 9-5.

ESPN reports that just a day after William Hill released their odds for favorite to win that award, that the Westgate Superbook decided Ben Simmons was their choice. They gave the Philadelphia Sixers' star, who sat out all of the last season due to injury, 5 to 2 odds to win Rookie of the Year. However, it's believed that if Simmons had been available in this latest draft class, he still would have been No. 1 pick, even over his newest teammate. That's Markelle Fultz, who was this past summer's top pick.

Fultz received odds of 13 to 2, which trails Dallas Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. (4 to 1). Smith Jr. had an impressive showing during the NBA Summer League Las Vegas, while Lonzo Ball won the MVP Award as his Lakers captured the title in Vegas.

Others among the top odds to win included Kings' PG De'Aaron Fox and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, each of whom received 8 to 1 odds to win the award.

New ROY betting installed

It was also mentioned due to all of the talent and interest in this latest draft class, it's the first time that Nevada sportsbooks will offer betting odds for the NBA Rookie of the Year and NBA MVP Award.

In the latter of these categories, the reigning MVP Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder is the favorite at 5 to 2 odds.

Next on that MVP odds list is Westbrook's former teammate. Kevin Durant, now a champion with the Golden State Warriors, is a 4 to 1 favorite. Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is third at 6 to 1 odds.

The Spurs' Kawhi Leonard (13 to 2) and Rockets' James Harden (15 to 2) round out the top five.

The 2017-18 NBA season gets underway in just a few months from now. Opening night tips off October 19th with a double header that features the Cavaliers hosting the Celtics and Warriors hosting the Rockets.
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