A fresh crop of rookies are here in the NBA, and this was considered to be one of the deepest classes that we have seen in quite some time. The depth is great for the league, but it makes it tough here for us to handicap the odds to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. However, here at Bankroll Sports, we are going to be picking out the top rookies this year, and making our 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year picks!

There clearly is nowhere else to start than with the man who was the top pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Hornets’ Anthony Davis (Current Rookie of the Year Odds: 1.55 to 1 at BetOnline Sportsbook). The problem that Davis has this year is that he is going to be a defensive stopper, not necessarily an offensive star. Davis prides himself on his defense, and that is what the media is going to take into consideration quite a bit. The good news is that New Orleans is badly going to need to get itself some more offensive firepower, and the truth of the matter is that Davis isn’t exactly inept. In the event that Davis can pull down a dozen boards per game and can block four shots or so per game, the possibility is there that he can get into double digits in scoring as well. If he does that, Davis is probably going to win the Rookie of the Year Award.

The key this year is going to be which rookies are going to get enough playing time to put up some big time stats. After a great summer, the man that is going to be running the point this year the Portland Trail Blazers is Damian Lillard (NBA Rookie of the Year Lines: 5.50 to 1 at BetOnline Sportsbook). The Weber State standout was a Top 10 pick in the NBA Draft for a reason this year, and there really isn’t a heck of a lot standing in the way of him and a ton of minutes this year, knowing that Raymond Felton is gone and there isn’t much to keep him from being the starting point guard for a team that wants to run up and down the court. Over the course of four games in the Summer League, Lillard averaged 26.5 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. It would be unrealistic to think that he can do that against the big boys this year, but in the end, he really could average over a dozen points and five or six assists per game, and if he ultimately does that, he is going to be a star for sure.

We’re also willing to take a bit of a shot with the Golden State Warriors’ Harrison Barnes (Current NBA Rookie of the Year Odds: 10 to 1 at BetOnline Sportsbook). Barnes is going to find scoring to be tough in Golden State if he doesn’t end up getting past the likes of Klay Thompson and Richard Jefferson on the depth chart, but he has made himself a great case for some big time playing time with a team that is going to score a ton of points this year. Barnes is an athetic freak, and he is going to be able to do a whole heck of a lot when push comes to shove in his NBA career. Built a bit like LeBron James, Barnes is able to shoot from the outside, rebound the basketball, and be a real pain defensively. Whether he starts the year as a sixth man or as a starter, it is only a matter of time until the North Carolina Tar Heel gets a ton of playing time as Jefferson gets phased out. Barnes averaged over 10 points per game and really looked sharp as he got more accustomed to the speed of the game in the preseason. If he can keep this up in the regular season, Barnes definitely has at least a 1 in 10 chance to claim Rookie of the Year honors.

NBA Rookie of the Year Odds @ BetOnline Sportsbook (as of 10/28/12):
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Andre Drummond 18 to 1
Andrew Nicholson 25 to 1
Anthony Davis 1.55 to 1
Arnett Moultrie 80 to 1
Austin Rivers 25 to 1
Bernard James 125 to 1
Bradley Beal 6.50 to 1
Damian Lillard 5.50 to 1
Darius Millers 50 to 1
Dion Waiters 13 to 1
Doron Lamb 65 to 1
Draymond Green 100 to 1
Even Fournier 100 to 1
Fab Melo 75 to 1
Festus Ezeli 125 to 1
Harrison Barnes 10 to 1
Izzet Turkyilmaz 100 to 1
Jae Crowder 100 to 1
Jared Cunningham 100 to 1
Jared Sullinger 20 to 1
Jeffrey Taylor 100 to 1
Jeremy Lamb 12 to 1
Joel Freeland 125 to 1
John Henson 15 to 1
John Jenkins 20 to 1
Justin Hamilton 150 to 1
Kendall Marshall 15 to 1
Kevin Murphy 125 to 1
Khris Middleton 150 to 1
Kim English 100 to 1
Kostas Papanikolaou 100 to 1
Kyle O’Quinn 100 to 1
Marquis Teague 15 to 1
Maurice Harkless 25 to 1
Meyers Leonard 28 to 1
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 6 to 1
Mike Scott 65 to 1
Miles Plumlee 125 to 1
Orlando Johnson 100 to 1
Perry Jones III 30 to 1
Quincy Acy 80 to 1
Quincy Miller 100 to 1
Royce White 15 to 1
Terrence Jones 25 to 1
Terrence Ross 20 to 1
Thomas Robinson 7.50 to 1
Tomas Satoransky 150 to 1
Tony Wroten 65 to 1
Tyler Zeller 30 to 1
Tyshawn Taylor 100 to 1
Victor Claver 125 to 1
Will Barton 80 to 1