2019 NBA Draft Prop: Will De’Andre Hunter Go in the Top 5?

De'Andre Hunter's draft stock has continued to rise throughout his college career, especially after his Virginia Cavaliers became the first ever 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed without him and then won the title with him the next year.

He was a second-team All-American, first-team All-ACC and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He'll likely add top-10 pick to his resume come Thursday night.

But when exactly will he go? Will it be in the top five?

Update at 6 p.m. ET: The Hawks have traded up to No. 4 and are reportedly leaning toward drafting De'Andre Hunter. I would bet his under 5.5 prop at a reasonable number if you can still find it.

Under on his 5.5 draft position prop is currently +111, whereas the over — pick No. 6 or later — is set at -130 currently.

First, my usual disclaimer: We don’t know anything about these props other than intel from writers sourced into front offices.

This isn’t predicting on-field performance like most bets; this is trying to predict decisions, and we have very little concrete information. Have fun with these props if you want to bet them, but be aware that these are incredibly volatile bets.

That said, perhaps the most sourced writer on the draft, ESPN's Jonathan Givony, currently has him mocked No. 7 to the Chicago Bulls. It does seem in recent days that there's more buzz around both Darius Garland, whose most likely draft spot seems to be fourth currently (and teams are discussing trading up for him), and Jarrett Culver, who is mocked at fifth and is another guy teams are rumored to be interested in moving up for.

Hunter could absolutely go fourth or fifth; the resume is there, and we don't yet know who will be picking there because of rumored trades.

The Cavs are likely to be interested in him at No. 5. But Garland seems to be the hot commodity right now, and it is possible teams are more intrigued by Culver due to his novelty and younger age — he's more than a year younger than Hunter, who will turn 22 in December.

Again, this is volatile: NBA.com's consensus mock draft, which aggregates 10 drafts around the web, has him slotted in at No. 5, although his most common draft spot was sixth, which is where he was in four of the 10 drafts.

Given the lack of information around the draft currently and how volatile it is, I'm in favor of largely taking plus odds, especially on players later in the draft who have a wide range of outcomes. But given the buzz currently around Garland and Culver, I think there's perhaps a bit of value at over 5.5 here for Hunter.

For reference, at one book, Garland is a -265 favorite to go before Hunter, and Culver is a -170 favorite to go first. If that's true, there's value at -130 since Hunter certainly won't go 1-3. I do think if it's in the top five it's to the Cavs at No. 5, so you could hedge the under with a bet on him at 5 at +175.