LaMelo Ball Still Heavy Favorite to Win NBA ROY Over Anthony Edwards

Photo: Hannah Foslien - Getty Images

Karl-Anthony Towns got in front of the Zoom camera last night after a Minnesota Timberwolves loss vs the Miami Heat and stood up for his new friend and emerging NBA star, Anthony Edwards. He declared Ant as the 2021 NBA Rookie of the Year and essentially called everyone who doesn’t agree with him, stupid. It is one of my all-time favorite KAT moments.



The sentiment was great but Karl’s declaration has merit too, especially during the back half of this season. In his last 35 games, Anthony Edwards is averaging 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game on 44% from the field and 33% from deep.

LaMelo Ball, Edwards’ only competition for ROY, hasn’t even played during most of Ant’s incredible stretch. He was hurt in a game on March 20 and didn’t return to the floor until May 1. When he was first injured, LaMelo was handedly winning the Rookie of the Year race.

Their averages per game for the season are too close to call a winner and LaMelo’s supporters from early-on are stubborn.


Per Game (’21)GGSMPPTSFG%3PTREBASTPERWS
Anthony Edwards675031.919.0.412.3264.72.813.30.1
LaMelo Ball462628.715.9.445.3595.96.218.12.9
Basketball-Reference.com

Oddsmakers Disagree with KAT (big time)

Ant’s last 35 games have been enough to rope in two-straight Rookie of the Month awards for March and April. According to FanDuel.com, however, his resurgence isn’t going to be enough to surpass LaMelo Ball for NBA Rookie of the Year. In fact, Ant isn’t even expected to come close.

As of Saturday afternoon, May 8, Ball is an easy favorite at (-550) over Edwards (+300) and the rest of the field. For those who don’t gamble, that means to win $100 on a LaMelo ROY, you’d have to bet $550. On the other side of the coin, if you bet $100 on Anthony and he pulls off the upset, you’d win $300.



What do the voters say?

The deeper you look into it, the worse you’ll feel about Ant’s ROY chances. Brian Windhorst votes for Rookie of the Year and he makes it seem like LaMelo Ball should just be etched into the trophy right now.



Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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