10 NBA futures bets to make right now

We’re closing in on the halfway point of the NBA season. The NBA All-Star break is less than a month away. Generally, by the All-Star break, we bettors get a decent picture of what to expect for the end-of-season sprint. Certain teams will surprise us and others will fall short of expectations. Nonetheless, now is a great time to lock in futures bets because there are still competitive odds. Rarely any markets have a runaway winner this far out.

Right now, Jokic and Joel Embiid are the top two candidates for MVP on the top NBA betting sites. Some sportsbooks have them with equal odds while others are flip-flopping who’s number one based on the money coming in.

BetRivers Sportsbook has the best odds for Jokic MVP. Payout is between +200 and +250 for the center right now.

The top of the pack for MVP odds are Jokic, Embiid, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Fun fact, all four of those players are not American-born.

Jokic makes his case for his third MVP by averaging a triple-double. Jokic has already changed our views of what a center can do. He’s averaging 25.5 points per game, 11.8 rebounds and 9.2 assists. He opened this season with a triple-double as the team hung their NBA Finals banner. The Joker has already moved to fourth all-time, ahead of LeBron James, in triple-doubles with 116 in his career.

A few highlights of the season so far include a 26 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists triple-double off a perfect 11-for-11 shooting in late December. Then, on January 4, a 34 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists game with a buzzer-beater three over the Warriors. He just had a four-game stretch where he missed only five shots total, while still averaging 23 points per game.

The Celtics have been atop the pack for NBA futures odds all season. Boston is the only team with fewer than 10 losses all season. BetMGM Sportsbookgives the best odds for a Celtics championship.

The Celtics sit at 28-8 with a perfect 17-0 record at home in nearly three months of play. The additions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzinigis make this team more dynamic than before. Remember, in 2022, the Celtics made the NBA Finals and lost in six games to the Warriors. Last year, Boston came back from a 3-0 series deficit to push Game 7 against the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Signs point to this being the year the Celtics get over the hump. The team has an NBA-best +10.5 point differential. They paid Jaylen Brown to keep their core together. The backcourt of Derrick White and Holiday are two of the toughest defenders in the NBA. Porzingis without the pressure to be the number one guy has thrived. He’s averaging almost 20 per game. The Celtics can also go big with the veteran Al Horford who impacts the game in his 17th year.

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Sticking with the Celtics and Nuggets talk, parlay these two to meet in June. They are two of the best teams in the NBA and many expected them to meet last year.

So, on this prop, we are parlaying the Celtics to win the Eastern Conference and the Nuggets to win the Western Conference. Individually, the payout on those two wagers is less favorable. The Celtics (+140) are the East favorite and the same thing for the Nuggets (+200) out West.

Parlaying these two to meet in the Finals creates a payout twice as high as picking between one to win the championship. There’s been a little more competition out West, but no one has been able to slow down either of these two teams. As of today, it looks like the only team that could have a chance at beating Boston or Denver in a seven-game series is Boston or Denver.

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If the seven-footer can keep playing at this pace, he should take home at least one piece of hardware at the end of the season. Holmgren was picked No. 2 overall by the Thunder in 2022. The forward sustained an injury to his foot defending LeBron James at a ProAm event in the summer after he was drafted. Holmgren did not play a single second on NBA basketball last year.

Now, Holmgren is back healthy and on the court for the first time as an NBA player. He’s averaging 17.8 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.6 blocks, while shooting 40.9% from beyond the arc. The other man in the race for Rookie of the Year is Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs’ young seven-footer has more points, rebounds and blocks per game than Holmgren. However, what helps the OKC rookie is what the team has accomplished so far.

OKC is a top-five team in the NBA right now and is rising in all different futures markets. Holmgren has been a nice number-two punch to the Thunder’s number-one attack of MVP-hopeful SGA. The year of development with NBA professionals and trainers has certainly helped Holmgren and he’s already nearly a 50/40/90 player.

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Another betting favorite, Tyrese Maxey has blossomed into a star with the Sixers. Like the Rookie of the Year race, it looks like the Most Improved Player award will come down to two individuals: Maxey and Alperen Sengun.

Maxey needs to continue to be a threat in the Sixers’ offense. With the departure of James Harden, Maxey has taken over the No. 2 role in Philadelphia. He now is in charge of all ball-handling duties and is expected to help Embiid in their offensive attack. Maxey has nearly doubled his assists numbers and is scoring five more points per game. He is putting up a career-high 25.9 points per game with 6.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds.

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FanDuel is the only top Michigan sportsbookwith a futures market on Bronny James. The 19-year-old guard is in his first year with the USC Trojans and his dad, LeBron James, has publically mentioned he wants to play with his son.

With the NBA Draft many months away, there hasn’t been too much talk to, from or about Bronny James and his future. If he decides to be one-and-done at USC, these are the teams with the leading odds to draft him:

This market is result on which team selects Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft, not inclusive of any post-draft trades. Odds and bets voided if Bronny James does not declare for the 2024 Draft or goes undrafted.

Above we mention the Celtics to win the NBA Finals, however, if you don’t like that bet, you can get +225 banking on either Denver, Oklahoma City or Minnesota to take home the title.

This prop hits if one of the Northwest Division teams wins the title. This will likely be either the Nuggets, Thunder or Timberwolves. Those three teams are all top-five in NBA standings while being in the same division. Whoever wins the Northwest Division will likely get the No. 1 seed out West. We’ve already touched on the Nuggets dominance. As for Minnesota, they have one of the best defenses in the league and OKC features one of the top offensive units. The youth may be a factor in those squads’ postseason runs.

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The Clippers with James Harden seems to be working out. More so, every other team in the Pacific is struggling right now.

As of today, the Clippers are first in the Pacific Division and hold a 2.5-game lead on the Kings. Sacramento looks like they will make the playoffs, but they don’t seem to be the caliber of other top Western Conference teams like the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Thunder and Mavericks.

The Suns and Lakers both have big-name talent, but their teams are at or around .500. Those two squads need to find consistency for their chance at any postseason success. Along with Phoneix and the Lakers, the Warriors are also loaded with NBA veterans, but can’t seem to put together a .500 record. After starting the season 3-7, the Clips have won 20 of 26 including a nine-game win streak in December.

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Mark Daigneault came in second in Coach of the Year voting last year and he has improved his team yet again this season. The Thuder’s success through almost 40 games has forced people to consider this team as a title contender.

If the Thunder come out atop the West, Daigneault should get the award. Last year he helped the team to a 16-win improvement. Still, the Thunder finished just below .500 at 40-42. This year, the team is already 24-11 and on pace for a 56-win season. Back-to-back seasons with 16-game jumps would be incredibly impressive. We would consider shopping around to find +400 odds on SGA to win MVP too.

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The Pistons are the favorite in something. That something is being the worst team in the league.

This prop hits if the Pistons keep playing Pistons basketball. Detroit finally snapped their historic losing streak, but now they have lost Cade Cunnigham for an extended period. Any and all positivity for the Pistons has been short-lived. The only threat to this prop is the Spurs and Wizards. The Pistons are 3-33 while the Spurs are 5-30 with the Wizards at 6-30. For reference, Washington’s odds are +650. Yes, only three games separate these teams, but three more wins would double Detroit’s win total. At this rate, the Pistons are projected for 6.8 wins on the year.

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