Kentucky basketball and the National Basketball Association go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Kentucky currently boasts more former NBA players than any other institution, thanks to John Calipari’s ability to attract top players and develop them into NBA-ready prospects.
The strange thing about Kentucky’s NBA players is that the majority of them are dominant forces rather than role players. This was evident from the large number of former Wildcats in Indianapolis for NBA All-Star Weekend events.
If you look at the betting odds for all of the main NBA awards, the Kentucky Wildcats are in the top five for almost every single one.
Let’s look at all of the most coveted NBA Awards and see which former Wildcats are in the top five in betting odds.
*All odds are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has the second-best odds to win the MVP Award, at +480.
Bam Adebayo has the fourth-best odds for Defensive Player of the Year at +8500, with Anthony Davis close behind him in fifth place at +10000.
Tyrese Maxey has the best chance of winning the NBA Most Improved Player Award, with odds of -170.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has the third-best odds to win the NBA Clutch Player of the Year Award, at +3400.
Finally, for the Sixth Man of the Year Award, Malik Monk has the greatest odds at -1100.
After considering all of this, it is clear that the Kentucky Wildcats dominate the NBA. When the season ends, former Kentucky players will take home a slew of awards.
