Carter Bryant enters the NBA Draft as one of the bigger mysteries. The Arizona product played just 19.3 minutes per game across his one-and-done season. Bryant produced outputs of 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 37.1% from beyond the three-point arc in the limited sample size. But the 19-year-old has shown flashes of being the type of three-and-D style of player that every NBA team can fall in love with, and surely has not played his best basketball yet. Could he still crack the top 10 of the upcoming NBA Draft despite the limited opportunity on the college level?
Looking at the odds on DraftKings Sportsbook, Carter Bryant currently holds +100 odds of being selected in the Top 10. He also holds a draft position over/under line of 11.5 with the under favored at -140 odds and there being +110 odds of him being selected at the 12th pick or later.
Carter Bryant Landing Spots:
While the rumors and reports continue to swirl, it seems the consensus belief is that the first six selections will be some variation of Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, V.J. Edgecombe, Tre Johnson, Ace Bailey, and Kon Knueppel going off the board. The draft opens up a bit from here with some differing opinions on each of the next names.
Looking at the odds beyond these selections on DraftKings, Bryant holds:
- +7500 odds of being drafted with the Number 6 pick
- +3500 odds of being drafted with the Number 7 pick
- +1800 odds of being drafted with the Number 8 pick
- +700 odds of being drafted with the Number 9 pick
- +350 odds of being drafted with the Number 10 pick
Handicapping the draft takes a difficult mindset than a live sporting event. You could believe Carter Bryant will be the best player in this draft, and this may be proven a decade down the line. But if he falls out of the top 10 selections, it does not cash the prop bet, which makes it a losing wager. Teams take every step to play their cards close to the vest and put themselves in the best position to add their preferred young talent, so don’t accept every rumor as truth with the draft inching closer.
While he is still plenty young, Carter Bryant has a more limited upside than most of the options in this draft range. He projects as a pretty clear fit as a three-and-D style of player, with the team that takes a chance on him likely hoping for some untapped upside that he has not fully put on display yet. There were encouraging signs in short doses, but Bryant only scored 10 or more points in five games this season and made more than three three-pointers just once.
The Rockets at the 10th pick feel the only team that could be a match for Bryant. Houston is loaded with young talent and should have the players they view as foundational pieces already on the roster. They could use some more shooting, and Bryant could prove to be a valuable floor spacer and complementary piece. But there is also no guarantee the Rockets even make this selection, with rumors continuing to swirl in connection with a Kevin Durant trade.
With there being higher upside swings that each team should be searching for at each of the picks in selections 1-through-9 and some doubt about the Rockets at 10, I am staying away from betting Carter Bryant to crack the Top 10 selections of this year’s NBA Draft. The odds are high for each specific pick, with the +350 odds for the 10th pick the only selection he is a favorite for.
It takes just one team to make the bold call and shake things up, but I would be surprised if Carter Bryant finds his way into the top 10 selections and lean toward the +110 odds of him being selected over 11.5 draft picks. He will not be the first player to have played limited minutes in college before becoming a first-round pick, but climbing into the top 10 selections feels a bit too ambitious based on what we saw from Bryant in his lone year at Arizona and the four-star recruit label he held coming into the year.
