Cooper Flagg Approaches Historic -100,000 Odds for NBA Draft

Las Vegas, NV — Cooper Flagg‘s odds of being selected first overall in the 2025 NBA Draft have reached an astonishing -100,000 at several sportsbooks, just hours before the highly anticipated event. Flagg, the national college player of the year, has been a standout throughout his collegiate season and is expected to be the top pick for the Dallas Mavericks.

The odds for Flagg varied across different platforms, with FanDuel, Hard Rock Bet, and Caesars Sportsbook all reporting the same historical low of -100,000. Meanwhile, ESPN BET displayed -50,000 and BetMGM -10,000. Such extreme odds are typically seen only for the most certain bets in sports, indicating a high level of confidence in his selection.

<p"The pricing of Flagg to go Number 1 overall is a function of our expectations that he will almost assuredly be the pick," a trader from FanDuel said in an email to ESPN. "While we all expect him to go No. 1, we want to make sure customers who are betting on the draft have the opportunity to bet on the most talked about player."

As of the latest reports, 95% of the money wagered on FanDuel’s odds for the first pick has been placed on Flagg, though he garnered only 10% of the total number of bets. Interestingly, another prospect, Rutgers’ player, attracted around four times more bets compared to Flagg.

Neil Walsh, senior vice president of sportsbook for Hard Rock Bet, shared his view on the unusual odds: “It’s as close to a certainty as our system can handle,” he noted. However, he also reminded that even bets with such high odds can sometimes lose, referencing past seasons in the NHL where teams at -100,000 odds failed to meet expectations.

The draft, which airs live on ESPN and ABC Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET, is set to feature additional prominent prospects like Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecombe, who are projected to follow Flagg in the selection order.