For the first time in men’s college basketball since 2022, we’ll have a new Naismith Player of the Year in men’s basketball, as former Purdue forward Zach Edey is officially off to the NBA after winning the honor in each of the last two seasons.
This year, UNC veteran guard R.J. Davis and Duke’s Tyrese Proctor are among the hometown favorites to take home the honor, according to the hypothetical odds that BetCarolina.com came up with for the yearly honor.
While none of the major online sportsbooks in North Carolina offer Naismith odds, DraftKings Sportsbook North Carolina does have Davis as their preseason favorite to win the Wooden Award on the men’s side in 2024, with the fifth-year backcourt star out of New York-listed at +800 to win the honor.
BetCarolina.com, always thinking with a North Carolina sports betting state of mind, stacked up the odds on where Davis and the rest of the nation’s best MBB players stand when it comes to winning the Naismith Award in the year ahead.
Naismith Player of the Year 2025 Odds
Player | Percentage Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|
R.J. Davis, UNC | 11.1% | +800 |
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas | 11.1% | +800 |
Mark Sears, Alabama | 6.7% | +1400 |
AJ Storr, Kansas | 5.3% | +1800 |
LJ Cryer, Houston | 4.8% | +2000 |
Johnell Davis, Arkansas | 3.2% | +3000 |
Khalif Battle, Gonzaga | 2.8% | +3500 |
VJ Edgecombe, Baylor | 2.8% | +3500 |
Tyrese Proctor, Duke | 2.4% | +4000 |
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga | 2.4% | +4000 |
Dylan Harper, Rutgers | 2.4% | +4000 |
Liam McNeeley, UConn | 2.4% | +4000 |
Zeke Mayo, Kansas | 2.4% | +4000 |
These odds come from BetCarolina.com and may not be available on North Carolina betting apps.
Who Are The Preseason Favorites to Win the Naismith Award?
Davis and Kansas veteran big man Hunter Dickinson are our preseason favorites to win this year’s Naismith Award on the MBB side, at +800, with those two beating out Mark Sears of Alabama (+1400) and fellow Jayhawk AJ Storr (+1800).
The 6-foot guard out of White Plains has amassed 17.2 win shares and a player efficiency rating of 18.1 in 138 games with the UNC Tar Heels, hitting 41.9% of his shots and 37.2% of his three-point tries, while scoring 15.1 points per game as a member of the UNC starting five under head coach Hubert Davis.
Dickinson’s first season in Lawrence after transferring to KU from Michigan saw him average 17.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 33 contests with the Jayhawks, while building his career win share total to 20.6 and his PER figure to 27.4 through 127 NCAA games in Ann Arbor and Lawrence.
The next closest player from North Carolina to make the cut in our inaugural Naismith Award list is Proctor out of Duke, who averaged 10.5 points, 3.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 32 games as a sophomore last season.
Proctor was an ACC All-Freshman Team member a year ago, setting the stage for a 2024 campaign in Durham that’s as hyped as any, with five-star freshman forward Cooper Flagg joining the team and giving Jon Scheyer’s bunch the best odds in the nation (alongside KU, UConn and Alabama) at +1000 on DraftKings Sportsbook, just ahead of UNC’s figure of +1600.
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Author
Christopher Boan is a lead writer at BetCarolina.com specializing in covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
