Every year, a group of sportswriters in North America (including Canada) and other members of the media vote for the Rookie of the Year. Their decision, and the honor that their decision bestows, makes it interesting every year to think about who should receive this award.
The history of this award contributes significantly to the sense that it bestows an honor upon its recipient. So, it is worthwhile to think about the Rookie of the Year history.
I’ll consider the top five Rookie of the Year selections in order to show how great players have won this award over the years.
Then, I’ll look at more recent winners in order to draw betting lessons that are relevant to current sports betting endeavors. The NBA betting sites are already allowing us to bet on who we think will be this year’s Rookie of the Year.
5. Larry Bird (1979-1980)
Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird is one of many Hall-of-Famers to be named Rookie of the Year.
In his rookie season, he averaged a double-double, amassing 21.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
An All-NBA first-teamer, Bird made an instant impact on his team, helping the Celtics go from being a losing team to a winning one. They won 32 more games in his rookie year than they did in the previous season.
4. Michael Jordan (1984-1985)
The GOAT himself was once named Rookie of the Year, further emphasizing how history shows the meaningfulness of this award.
As a rookie, MJ averaged 28.2 points, 5.9 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game. These were all team-leading statistics. He also scored more total points than any other NBA player that year.
Beyond thriving on offense, he immediately proved to be an excellent defender, as evident in his high steal total.
3. Oscar Robertson (1960-1961)
Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson overcame a lot in his life before his rookie season.
He was so poor that he had to learn how to play basketball by using tennis balls and a peach basket. Besides dealing with poverty, he was also subject to racism.
His physical talent enabled him to overcome these obstacles.
He was 6-5, 210 pounds, making him revolutionary in a physical sense, as big point guards were not normal until he arrived on the scene.
As a rookie, he displayed his hallmark versatility by averaging almost a triple double per game: 30.5 points, 9.7 assists and 10.5 rebounds.
2. Walt Bellamy (1961-1962)
It is a bit mystifying that Walt Bellamy is talked about so rarely.
However, he is a Hall-of-Famer, and his rookie season is certainly one of the best of all time.
As a rookie, he amassed 31.6 and 19 rebounds per game. He immediately established himself as an impressively efficient scorer, in addition to being a monster on the glass.
1. Wilt Chamberlain (1959-1960)
Wilt’s stat line, as a rookie no less, is simply mind-boggling.
He averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game.
No other rookie ever achieved those numbers. His numbers were so good as to make him worthy of an MVP selection, making him one of two Rookie of the Year winners to also be named MVP in his rookie year.
Recent Winners
One thing that this historical overview of the Rookie of the Year award shows is that great players have won it. We can expect more great things to come from players who are named Rookie of the Year.
We can see how this has panned out in recent years.
Recent Rookie of the Year award winners include, from five years ago to today, Luka Doncic, Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball, Scottie Barnes and Paolo Banchero.
History suggests that these players have a stronger likelihood than other players of eventually winning MVP honors and earning a Hall of Fame selection.
In betting on who will be named Rookie of the Year, you are essentially betting on someone who you think will be a great player throughout his career.
Betting on the Big Men
People will say that the NBA nowadays is a guard’s league and that we should look to bet on a guard.
While a lot of guards have been named Rookie of the Year in recent selections, the last two years show that forwards deserve consideration.
Power forwards and centers are, nowadays, more commonly mobile and more skilled than big men of previous generations.
This mobility, as well as skills like ball-handling, gives bigs more potential to succeed. In addition to being rebounding machines because of their size, guys like Banchero can also shoot the three and score on their own sort of in the way a guard normally would.
Look At Early Draft Selections
These recent Rookie of the Year selections are also players who were selected early in the NBA Draft.
Banchero was selected first overall, Barnes fourth, Ball third, Morant second and Doncic third.
