2021 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Odds Tracker
- The Naismith Player of the Year Award is college basketball’s biggest individual accolade
- Iowa’s Luka Garza is the +275 favorite to win the 2020-21 Naismith after returning to Iowa for his senior season
- Track the odds for the entirety of the 2020-21 college hoops season
Every season, online sportsbooks routinely post odds on who will win the Naismith Player of the Year as the country’s top college basketball player.
Here, we track the odds across all major sportsbooks and show the odds movement throughout the season.
2021 Naismith Top Contenders
[October 9] With upperclassmen returning and the season beginning November 25th, Iowa’s Luka Garza and Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu are favorites at odds of +225, and +450, repectively
[June 17] Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham has opened as the +300 favorite to win the 2020-21 Naismith Player of the Year award, while USC’s Evan Mobley is the other top contender at +950
2021 Naismith Player of the Year Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Luka Garza (Iowa) | +275 |
| Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois) | +450 |
| Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State) | +550 |
| Jared Butler (Baylor) | +1200 |
| Remy Martin (Arizona State) | +1200 |
| BJ Boston (Kentucky) | +1500 |
| Marcus Zegarowski (Creighton) | +1600 |
| Collin Gillespie (Villanova) | +1600 |
| Sam Hauser (Virginia) | +2500 |
| Evan Mobley (USC) | +2500 |
| Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana) | +2500 |
| Jalen Johnson (Duke) | +2800 |
| Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga) | +2500 |
| Scottie Barnes (Florida State) | +3300 |
| Terrence Clarke (Kentucky) | +3300 |
| Ziaire Williams (Stanford) | +3300 |
| Greg Brown (Texas) | +4000 |
| Keon Johnson (Tennessee) | +4000 |
| Caleb Love (UNC) | +4000 |
| Jaden Springer (Tennessee) | +4000 |
| Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Villanova) | +4000 |
| Josh Christopher (Arizona State) | +5000 |
| Moses Moody (Arkansas) | +5000 |
| Terrance Shannon (Kentucky) | +5000 |
| Wendell Moore (Duke) | +5000 |
Odds taken October 9th
Naismith Winners by Class
Williamson became just the third freshman to win the award last season, and Cole Anthony will look to become the fourth this year.
Naismith Winners by Position
Four of the first six Naismith Award recipients were centers, but that trend has changed in recent years as more schools have adopted small ball lineups. The last center to win the honor was Tim Duncan, who won by a landslide in 1997 during his senior season at Wake Forest.
Past Naismith Award Winners
| Player | Class | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Obi Toppin (F, Dayton) | Redshirt Sophomore | 2020 |
| Zion Williamson (F, Duke) | Freshman | 2019 |
| Jalen Brunson (G, Villanova) | Junior | 2018 |
| Frank Mason III (G, Kansas) | Senior | 2017 |
| Buddy Hield (G, Oklahoma) | Senior | 2016 |
| Frank Kaminsky (F, Wisconsin) | Senior | 2015 |
| Doug McDermott (F, Creighton) | Senior | 2014 |
| Trey Burke (G, Michigan) | Sophomore | 2013 |
| Anthony Davis (F, Kentucky) | Freshman | 2012 |
| Jimmer Fredette (G, BYU) | Senior | 2011 |
| Evan Turner (G, Ohio State) | Junior | 2010 |
| Blake Griffin (F, Oklahoma) | Sophomore | 2009 |
| Tyler Hansbrough (F, UNC) | Junior | 2008 |
| Kevin Durant (F, Texas) | Freshman | 2007 |
| JJ Redick (G, Duke) | Senior | 2006 |
| Andrew Bogut (F, Utah) | Sophomore | 2005 |
| Jameer Nelson (G, St. Joseph’s) | Senior | 2004 |
| TJ Ford (G, Texas) | Sophomore | 2003 |
| Jason Williams (G, Duke) | Junior | 2002 |
| Shane Battier (F, Duke) | Senior | 2001 |
| Kenyon Martin (F, Cincinnati) | Senior | 2000 |
Obi Toppin dazzled voters and fans alike with his aerial prowess and double-double average before the COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 season.
Schools with the Most Naismith Winners
Mike Krzyzewski deserves plenty of credit for recruiting – and developing – talent. He coached all seven of Duke’s Naismith winners and helped shape the careers of more than a dozen Naismith semifinalists. His recent history of turning his talented puzzle pieces into more than a sum of their parts is rather shoddy, however.
Archived Naismith POY Odds: 2020
Mitch graduated from Ryerson University's Sport Media program in June of 2018, and has been with SBD since 2019. He's worked in broadcast and digital for the Score, Sportsnet, TSN & CBC and has done play-by-play work for basketball at all levels including NCAA, Pan Am Games & U Sports.
