Tom Thibodeau is at the helm of a basketball resurgence in New York, and gamblers are paying attention.
On Jan. 29, Thibodeau could’ve been had at 95:1 on FanDuel Sportsbook to be the NBA Coach of the Year, but a certain podcast host and NBA Awards voter, Bill Simmons, called it out to the masses.
“Thibodeau is 95/1 for Coach of the Year. The Knicks have been the best defense in the league for five weeks; they have over and over again beaten good teams,” Simmons said. “They also might make a trade; what if the Knicks get to a three-seed or a four-seed?”
He may have even been underselling how good the Knicks are, too, as the Knicks now sit one game out of the No. 2 seed behind the Doc Rivers-led Milwaukee Bucks.
“This is the best time to bet these awards because this is January, no one is paying attention, and then all of a sudden, the odds shift,” Simmons pointed out on his podcast.
The result is Thibodeau being the most bet on the coach to win the award since the podcast was released, FanDuel tells The Post.
His odds have also plummeted to 36:1.
Simmons, a voter of NBA Awards, is clear to say that he does not bet on these markets, but his opinion obviously holds more weight than most others.
Getting an inside look at a voter’s leans and thought processes directly correlates to who will win the award, which is a massive boon for sharp information-based market bettors.
the betting world listened. WireImage
Imagine betting on a game while knowing who would score the first touchdown before the bookmakers could react? It might not be that dramatic, but as Simmons said, this is the time to be betting these awards markets.
Furthermore, BetMGM told The Post in January that was moving Defensive Rookie of the Year markets and odds because some voters were leaking which way they were voting.
The result was Jalen Carter moving from -1000 to -175 in two days.
Of course, the odds movement didn’t just happen because of a call out by Simmons, as the New York Knicks ended January 14-2.
This was their first 14-win month since January of 1994, the season they made the NBA Finals, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported.
But the interest in Thibodeau since Monday specifically is hard to ignore.
BetMGM Sportsbook also reported strong betting interest in the Knicks’ coach. as Thibodeau was 200:1 to win Coach of the Year just over a month ago on 12/29 they tell The Post.
But the trade for defensive wing OG Anunonby moves MGM off that line ever so slightly, down to 100/1. And that’s where he was prior to the podcast going live.
Within 72 hours, Thibodeau dropped from 100/1 to 50/1 and then again down to 30/1 to close out January.
The Ringer host also gave out a coach of the year option on Will Hardy, although that line moved in the wrong direction from 25/1 to 26/1. However, there was some interlapping there as the Knicks beat down the Jazz 118-103 on Tuesday.
Thibodeau will prove his candidacy in the coming weeks, as forward Julius Randle is out for at least two weeks with a dislocated shoulder.
The favorite to win Coach of the Year is Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault (+140), followed by Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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