While the Detroit Pistons will have plenty of options at Wednesday’s NBA Draft, Michigan sports bettors will only have one place statewide to place wagers.
That’s in Battle Creek, but more on that in a second.
At No. 7 in the first round, there’s a world where one of the draft’s top players slips to the Pistons.
New Detroit general manager Troy Weaver also could push in some chips to move up even higher, perhaps targeting LaMelo Ball, as has been rumored.
The Pistons, firmly in a rebuild and possibly in asset-accumulation mode, also could look to acquire more picks by trading down. Boston seems like a reasonable partner there, holding three first-round picks they might not even want.
Coming over from Oklahoma City, Weaver is running his own draft room for the first time in Detroit.
He’s a wildcard for a team in need of some smart strategic decisions. Wednesday will be Weaver’s first chance to help pull this franchise out of a decade-plus long tailspin.
Where can you bet on the NBA Draft in Michigan?
There is only one sportsbook statewide planning to take NBA Draft bets.
FireKeepers Casino will offer markets starting later Friday at its Dacey’s Sportsbook and Taphouse.
Jim Wise of FireKeepers said Dacey’s will have a first overall pick bet available, along with draft position props for top prospects, and over/under bets on the number of players drafted from select college conferences.
The maximum win on the draft bets is $1,000, Wise said.
MGCB does not allow NBA Draft bets in Detroit
Betting on events such as the NBA Draft is not permitted by the Michigan Gaming Control Board in its Sports Wagering Catalog.
That means you won’t be able to place bets at the three Detroit casinos. The MGCB has updated the catalog once since the March sports betting launch, adding European club soccer leagues, tennis, and Asian baseball.
The tribal casino sportsbooks partnered with Kambi did not have NBA Draft markets available as of Friday morning.
The two Odawa Casino sportsbooks do not offer NBA Draft markets either, according to sportsbook manager Chris Uttaro, also known as “Hurricane Chris.”
Onyx Sports Book by William Hill at Turtle Creek and Leelanau Sands near Traverse City also did not have NBA Draft markets available.
The MGCB’s rules on the NBA Draft also means that Michigan online sportsbooks, if they were live next week, would not have any draft betting. Operators can request and seek approval to offer NBA Draft odds in the future, however.
LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards and the first pick
Many of the online operators who are coming to Michigan do have odds posted about the NBA Draft. This gives us some inkling of what such a market might look like in Michigan, too.
The first pick of the draft, which is held by the Minnesota Timberwolves, has always centered around three prospects.
After the NBA Draft Lottery, Georgia guard Anthony Edwards was the odds-on favorite to go first.
Since then Ball emerged as the favorite, while Memphis center James Wiseman sits in a distant third place.
However, the late movement has went back to Edwards.
(Odds listed as of 10 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 18.)
| BetMGM | DraftKings | FanDuel | PointsBet | William Hill | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Edwards | -150 | -125 | -135 | -145 | -130 |
| LaMelo Ball | +130 | -112 | +125 | +110 | +100 |
| James Wiseman | +1,000 | +700 | +600 | +600 | +650 |
UPDATE: By Wednesday morning, Edwards has passed Ball and became the favorite at all five sportsbooks we’re tracking, a reversal from late last week when Ball led in all.
Over the weekend, Ball became less of a favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook, where he was at -165 on Monday afternoon after being -210 on Friday. Edwards inched closer, moving from +155 on Friday to +110 on Monday. On Tuesday, Ball and Edwards were dead even, both at -110.
The DraftKings Sportsbook shift was dramatic, as Ball went from -215 to -115 from Monday to Tuesday. PointsBet Sportsbook moved Ball to slightly more of a favorite over the weekend, but Ball and Edwards are now dead even there too.
BetMGM Sportsbook also has moved the odds closer to even for Ball and Edwards on Tuesday, then made Edwards a clear favorite on Wednesday.
Wiseman has moved into a more distant third at most of the books.
Ball has strong Detroit ties, as his mother is from Michigan. In addition, Ball has been working on in Michigan during the shutdown with Jermaine Jackson, his trainer and manager, a former University of Detroit standout and former Pistons guard.
Ball’s famous father, LaVar Ball, has said he wants his son to play for the Pistons or New York Knicks.
The rest of the field is far behind those three players, who are all expected to be off the board when Detroit is on the clock.
Detroit Pistons NBA Draft odds for the seventh pick
None of the major online operators have set specific odds on who will go seventh overall.
However, let’s read between the lines with some of them.
At DraftKings Sportsbook, there are over/under draft positions listed for top prospects. Two players linked to the Pistons, Iowa State wing Tyrese Haliburton and French guard Killian Hayes, have a 7.5 position listed.
That places them right around a No. 7 projection.
DraftKings has a market posted for the No. 8 pick, which is owned by theKnicks. They have Haliburton as the favorite at +300 and Hayes at +350. That suggests the Pistons could be in a position to choose between them at No. 7, if they choose.
FanDuel has the same draft position over/under listed for Haliburton and Hayes and also lists USC center Onyeka Okongwu at 6.5. Could he be in the mix for Detroit?
Other local bets available include a prop for Big Ten players selected in the first round. The over/under at FanDuel is 1.5.
A pair of Michigan State players could influence that bet. Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman should both be drafted but could fall to the second round.
