The 2023 NBA Draft is happening Thursday evening.

We’re in the dog days of summer for sports betting, so we might as well spice up our life with a few NBA Draft prop bets. 

Here are two of my favorites, all available at Bet365 and DraftKings. 

1st to be drafted – Jarace Walker (-135) vs. Ausar Thompson

I’m not sold on the Thompson brothers.

It’s a make-or-miss league, and both are poor spot-up shooters. 

Amen Thompson is the more athletic, higher-ceiling prospect, so he’s naturally ahead of Ausar Thompson on most big boards and mock drafts. 

Amen is widely projected to be the No. 4 pick. 

However, Cam Whitmore’s stock is rising quickly.

Most NBA mock drafts have him going fifth to the Pistons, but rumors are swirling that Houston could take him at No. 4.

If that happens, it becomes very difficult to project the Thompson brothers.

Both could drop, and I’d expect Ausar to drop more than Amen. 

In this scenario, I’d say it becomes more likely the Pistons pivot and take Jarace Walker with the fifth pick, and that’s where the value for this pick is mainly created. 

But even if Walker isn’t taken fifth, there’s a shot that Ausar falls out of the top 10, and I don’t see that happening to Walker. 

But even if this scenario doesn’t happen, many still regard Walker as the better prospect. 

The Action Network’s Vegas Refund tracks mock drafts from around the media world but has four he trusts the most, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie and The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.

Three of those four analysts have Walker being drafted ahead of Ausar. 

The Athletic’s top-100 big board has Walker as the sixth-best prospect in the league and Ausar as the ninth-best prospect. 

Walker is a switchable wrecking ball on defense and a surprisingly competent playmaker with some upside as a spot-up shooter.

Ausar is an off-ball wing who can’t space the floor because he shoots 29% from deep. 

Many draft analysts, including me, consider Walker the better player and prospect.

And there are too many predictable scenarios where Ausar slides. 

And I’m willing to bet on that. 

Cason Wallace Draft position – Over 13.5 (-120)

The handicap for Cason Wallace is simple.

The Action Network’s Vegas Refund has tracked 20 NBA mock drafts from around the media world, and 16 of them have Wallace sliding past pick 13, or 80%.

All of his four most trusted analysts have him being taken at pick No. 15 or No. 16. 

The Athletic’s NBA big board has Wallace as the 14th-best prospect, while The Ringer’s NBA draft guide has him as the 16th-best prospect. 

Betting on the NBA Draft is an information game, and the information tells us that Wallace isn’t being taken among the top-13 picks.

Now, perhaps NBA teams value Wallace more than the mock draft market.

But as a pure NBA player, I have my doubts. 

Wallace is an elite point-of-attack, on-ball defender. He racked up two steals per game at Kentucky, and his 3.7% steal rate was top 50 nationally.

His ability to hound opposing ball handlers with length and fundamentals was almost unmatched at the college level. 

He’s also got a high motor, wherein he works relentlessly as an off-ball defender in the passing lanes and in transition. 

Watch some of these chase-down blocks:

Wallace is also a lights-out spot-up shooter, so he profiles well as a 3-and-D shooting guard. 

However, that’s all he is – a 3-and-D shooting guard. At the moment, his ceiling is Jrue Holiday. 

Wallace lacks handle and off-the-dribble burst, so he’ll be limited as a scoring or playmaking guard.

Ultimately, you need to pair him with a primary guard, or else his offensive strengths become increasingly limited. 

Unfortunately, that’s not the profile of a guy selected with a lottery pick.

So, I’ll bet on him sliding on Thursday night.