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The Warriors lead a competitive pack that includes Celtics, Clippers, Nets and Bucks
Then things changed. Late Wednesday into early Thursday morning, the odds shifted to Duke's Paolo Banchero as the favorite to be the first overall pick.
Smith was as high as -500 at one point to be selected first, with Banchero thought to be taken at No. 3 by the Houston Rockets. Nearly a third of the bets at some sportsbooks are on Smith.
But the morning of the draft, the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Banchero was sitting at -200 to be selected No. 1 at DraftKings. Smith was +145 and Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren was +800.
Then, after a story from ESPN's NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, things that seemed out of whack went back into order.
Wojnarowski reported Thursday morning that the top three picks were "increasingly firm," with Smith, Holmgren and Banchero going in that order to Orlando, Oklahoma City and Houston, respectively.Â
As team boards finalize today, the 1-2-3 of the NBA Draft is increasingly firm, per sources: Jabari Smith to Orlando, Chet Holmgren to Oklahoma City and Paolo Banchero to Houston.
Hours later, odds settled and as of Thursday afternoon, Smith was back atop the DraftKings board at -400 to be selected No. 1 overall. Banchero's odds to be the top pick moved down to +250 and Holmgren dropped to +1600.
Holmgren is still the favorite to go second to the Thunder at -500, while Banchero, even though he's +250 to go No. 1, is +750 to go second and -500 to go third to Houston.
As they have all day, things, obviously, could change leading up to the first pick, including trades.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 2:10 p.m. (Eastern) to reflect the latest odds for the 2022 NBA Draft.
