JJ Redick in Top 12 for Coach of the Year Odds

JJ Redick is one of the most intriguing head coaches in the NBA. Redick is a former player, analyst, and host of a podcast. He gets an opportunity to coach one of the greatest players of all time with one of the most successful franchises in NBA history. Winning the Coach of the Year award in his first season would be an amazing accomplishment considering the circumstances.

JJ Redick a serious Coach of the Year candidate on the sportsbooks

The Los Angeles Lakers made JJ Redick their new head coach this summer, agreeing on a four-year deal with the former NBA guard this offseason. For months, there were a ton of questions in regards to Redick’s potential as a head coach and whether or not a team would give him an opportunity. The Lakers did. Now, Redick is tied for the 12th best odds to win the NBA Coach of the Year award on Tonybet. Redick has +1802 odds. He is tied with San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone.

The Lakers have a similar roster as last season. The Lakers finished last season with a 47-35 record, almost good enough to avoid the Play-In Tournament. The positive, Redick will receive a lot of credit if the Lakers are better this upcoming season. Redick should have a good shot at winning the award if the Lakers finish in the top four in the Western Conference. The negative, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are aging stars. The last two seasons this team finished seventh in the west. If James and Davis can’t perform at the level that they have since becoming a duo, the Lakers will have a tough time winning enough games to get Redick’s name in the conversation.

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic near the back of the pack

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic doesn’t have great odds to win the award. Rajakovic currently has the 24th best odds to win COTY. Rajakovic’s first season as head coach with the Raptors was tumultuous. Rajakovic and the Raptors had to deal with losing some of their best players in trades and trying to develop young players. The Raptors probably won’t make as many big changes to the roster once this season starts.

Since 2010, only two coaches have won the award while coaching a team with less than 50 wins. Tom Thibodeau won the award in 2021 with a 41-31 record. And Mike Brown won the award in 2023 with a 48-34 record. The Raptors finished last season with a 25-57 record. So  based on the numbers, the Raptors will need to win at least 16 to 25 more games this season for Rajakovic to be a serious contender. With a ton of young talent and a couple of proven players in Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, the Raptors should have a shot at 40 wins. But if Rajakovic needs 50 or more wins to win the award, Rajakovic most likely won’t have a great shot and isn’t a great pick right now.

The Raptors need to win games

Those betting on Rajakovic to win COTY should be interested in betting on the Raptors also because of the number of wins the team will need to have to put him in contention. Right now, the Raptors’ over/under betting market for regular season wins is over/under 30.5 wins. The odds are -125 for under and +102 for over. The Raptors will have more than 30.5 wins if Rajakovic wins the award this year.

The Raptors also have the fourth best odds to make the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament with +125 odds. This is another betting market worth considering if you are betting on Rajakovic to win COTY. The Raptors could avoid the Play-In Tournament by securing the number six seed in the east, but Rajakovic will have no shot at COTY if the team doesn’t at least make the Play-In Tournament. The Raptors are huge underdogs to make the playoffs heading into the season. They have -910 odds to miss the playoffs and +562 odds to make the playoffs.