2009 NBA Draft Prop Bets Go 5-2

Our 2009 NBA Draft Prop Bets were fairly successful, finishing with a record of 5-2. That record is terribly misleading though, since we're including the prop that Blake Griffin will play for the Clippers this year, which nets us $1.18 off a $100 bet.

Still, not a bad showing at the draft.

Our other props that won included betting Tyler Hansbrough to be selected before Chase Budinger, and another to go before Wayne Ellington, though both of those were won with significant chalk. We also correctly picked Hasheem Thabeet to be selected before James Harden, though again, there was plenty of juice on that one.

Our most profitable win was correctly predicting that Darren Collison would be selected in the first round (+105), and we didn't even have to sweat it out. The Hornets nabbed Collison with the 21st pick in the draft.

So, until next year, thanks for joining us for our 2009 NBA Draft coverage.

2009 NBA Draft Lottery Proposition Bets

We've looked at several 2009 NBA Draft proposition bets over the last few days, and are mostly going of off those posted at BetED. We've narrowed our search for probably winners down to six different props, two of which involve four players that are nearly locked in as lottery picks. With that in mind, we'll reveal those first.

This close to the actual draft, many of the betting options that are favored to win are favored for very good reasons, so you're going to be getting pennies on the dollar with many of these. Still, if you find enough that you like--and get enough right--you can make some nice change on the NBA Draft.

Both of the lottery props that stood out to us are "Which player will get drafted first" type of deals.

UConn center Hasheem Thabeet (-325) vs. Arizona State guard James Harden (+225)

At -325, it's tough to bet Thabeet, but it would be an enormous upset for Harden to go before him (even bigger than Harden's appealing money line suggests). Big men are at such a premium in this draft, and we still think Thabeet will be the second player off the board. It's much easier to find a guy who can do similar things to Harden then it is to find someone to bring the size and defense of a guy like Thabeet. If you're willing to put a decent amount on this one it could be worth your while.

Davidson sharpshooter Stephen Curry (-200) vs. Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn (+150)

This one is a little tougher, as indicated by the lower juice for Curry, but we have to go with the favorite in this one as well. Curry could go as high as the top five, though he probably won't. Flynn is rising fast, which makes us a little reluctant to pull the trigger on Curry, but in the end we think Curry has done nothing but help himself over the last few months and should be off the board before Flynn. All it takes is one team, though...

We'll have some more prop bets for you later in the day in preparation for the 2009 NBA Draft tonight, so stay tuned.

2009 NBA Mock Draft: Picks 1-2

Our pick-by-by 2009 NBA Lottery Mock Draft begins today with the first two picks in the draft. The Clippers have an obvious choice, while the Grizzlies isn't so easy.

We'll roll the picks out in pairs for the next week leading up the real NBA Draft on June 25.

1. Clippers: Blake Griffin, PF/C, Oklahoma

The Clippers won the Griffin sweepstakes thanks to a little bit of luck from the ping pong balls in May, and they'll be reaping the benefits in May (yeah, that's right, playoffs) for the next decade at least. Griffin is a can't miss prospect and is the real deal down low, so much so that not even the Clippers can screw this up. We can see him as a dominant big man in the league for a long time.

2. Grizzlies: Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn

With Griffin off the board, the real draft begins. Big men are so hard to come by early in this guard heavey draft, and we think they'll be even harder to come by for the teams picking after Memphis. Thabeet is a talented kid and is NBA ready thanks to his college experience and incredible 7'3'' size. He's limited offensively but should be a wall defensively. The Grizzlies will be glad they passed on the many available point guards.

Two down, 12 to go as we mock the NBA Draft Lottery Picks. Check back tomorrow for picks three and four.