Raptors futures odds and best bets for the season: O.G. Anunoby is a good long shot to win Defensive Player of the Year

The NBA season is right around the corner and before you know it, the Toronto Raptors will be back in action.

The latest: Toronto is in a weird spot this season. It failed the make the playoffs last year despite buying at the deadline and now has several key players staring down 2024 free agency. Anything is possible for the Raptors, from a bounce-back campaign to a complete organizational teardown.

NBA oddsas of 12:41 p.m. on 10/13/2023.

Raptors futures odds: Best team bets

Best Bet: Over 36.5 wins (-107)

No one is mistaking this Raptors team for a championship contender, but that doesn't mean it can't remain somewhat competitive in a top-heavy Eastern Conference.

Toronto finished 41-41 last season, clearing this total before losing to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in series. It was the ninth time in the past 10 seasons the Raptors have recorded at least 40 wins.

After failing to trade for Damian Lillard, Masai Urjiri and Co. have decided to run things back with basically the same team, sans Fred VanVleet, who signed with the Houston Rockets this offseason.

VanVleet is a franchise legend, but we shouldn't act like his loss is a big one. The point guard had the third-lowest field goal percentage (39.3%) among all qualified players last season. He's been replaced by Dennis Schroder, who will play a similar role.

Basically, if the team decides to keep this core intact through the whole season, they should cruise past this number.

There's some inherent risk with this play, though. The likes of O.G. Anunoby and Pascal Siakam will surely be trade targets for contending teams, and if one of them is dealt, it'll be tough to envision a path that doesn't involve tanking for draft capital.

Raptors futures odds: Best player bets

NBA oddsas of 12:41 p.m. on 10/13/2023.

Best Bet: O.G. Anunoby to lead the league in steals (+250)

It says something about the Raptors that we have to turn to this market for value.

Betting on the steals leader is gritty but Anunoby led the league in this category (1.9) last season and is a good bet to run it back at +250. He's got a relentless motor and his 128 takeaways were two more than the next closest player (De'Anthony Melton, 126), despite playing 10 fewer games.

Anunoby has recorded at least 1.5 steals per game over the past three seasons, which is remarkably consistent.

That said, he'll need a clean bill of health to win this award, and we're confident in that. Anunoby has played in at least 80% of games in four of his six campaigns, including last year.

Raptors long shot futures bet

Best Bet: Anunoby to win Defensive Player of the Year (+4,000)

Betting on the Raptors to win the NBA Championship at +15,000 might seem enticing if you're a fan, but we can assure you, it's more charitable than anything.

If you're looking for a long-shot bet, we'd recommend double dipping on Anunoby's defensive prowess.

On top of leading the league in steals last season, Anunoby averaged 0.7 blocks per game, tying a career-high.

He'll need to raise that number to get into the DPOY conversation but we believe Toronto's small forward has another gear. Anunoby averaged a block per game through the first two months of last season and his 1.1% block percentage ranked in the 95th percentile of all NBA players, according to Cleaning the Glass.

It's worth noting that most NBA awards are given to players on playoff teams. If Toronto turns head this season and Anunoby wreaks havoc that could help his case. But if he is traded to a contender and is let loose, it would probably be even better.