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2020 NBA draft odds: Anthony Edwards now betting favorite to be No. 1 pick over LaMelo Ball

In the lead up to the 2020 NBA draft, the betting odds for the No. 1 selection have swung heavily in favor of Georgia guard Anthony Edwards.

There hasn’t been this much uncertainty about the No. 1 pick since the 2013 draft — when the Cleveland Cavaliers infamously chose Anthony Bennett — but Edwards has surged on the betting market at BetMGM over the last 24 hours.

For the past few weeks, LaMelo Ball has primarily been the betting favorite to go No. 1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but Edwards has surged past him at BetMGM. As of Wednesday afternoon in the hours leading up to the draft, Edwards is now the favorite to be the top choice at -250.

Ball, the younger brother of New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, now has the second-best odds at +190. James Wiseman, the 7-footer out of Memphis, is next in line at +700.

“LaMelo Ball has become the betting favorite over the past two weeks but we are seeing buy-back on Anthony Edwards in the past 24 hours,” Jason Scott, the VP of Trading at BetMGM, said Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, 31.7% of the tickets at BetMGM were on Edwards going No. 1, with Ball and Wiseman close behind at 29.2% and 22.5%, respectively. However, the majority of the money — 53.4% — was on Ball going No. 1.

In her final mock draft, Yahoo Sports’ Krysten Peek projected Edwards to go No. 1, calling him the safest pick. As a freshman at Georgia, the 6-foot-5 Edwards averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Peek went with Wiseman, who played just three games at Memphis, in the No. 2 spot to the Golden State Warriors with Ball at No. 3 to the Charlotte Hornets. Ball, whose brother went No. 2 in the 2017 draft, averaged 17 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game while playing professionally in Australia last year.

Odds for the No. 1 pick at BetMGM:

  • Anthony Edwards -250

  • LaMelo Ball +190

  • James Wiseman +700

  • Obi Toppin +10000

  • Deni Avdija +10000

  • Killian Hayes +15000

  • Cole Anthony +25000

  • Tyrese Haliburton +25000

  • RJ Hampton +25000

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