March 09, 2017
There's still a belief among some that Joel Embiid's 31 games this season will be enough to earn him NBA Rookie of the Year honors. Others believe it will be Malcolm Brogdan of the Milwaukee Bucks.
But in the last month, and especially now that Embiid has been ruled out for the season, a new front-runner has emerged: Sixers forward Dario Saric. He's also the favorite of Vegas oddsmakers – and his injured teammate has dropped to third.
Here's the latest Rookie of the Year odds, per Bovada:
| PLAYER | ODDS |
| Dario Saric (PHI) | 1/2 |
| Malcolm Brogdan (MIL) | 3/1 |
| Joel Embiid (PHI) | 15/4 |
| Marquese Chriss (PHX) | 10/1 |
| Buddy Hield (SAC) | 10/1 |
Saric, now the starting power forward, a role he took over following the Ersan Ilyasova trade seven games ago, has averaged 18.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists in just over 30 minutes per game since February 8 (12 games).
On the season, he's averaging 11.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in just over 25 minutes per game.
Saric's numbers are certainly trending in the right direction. He'll try to keep that momentum going on Thursday night when the Sixers go for the season sweep of the Trail Blazers in Portland.
[h/t @PompeyOnSixers]
Follow Matt on Twitter: @matt_mullin
