The 2024-25 NBA season is just around the corner, and before the season tips off on Tuesday night, be sure to get all your action down in the futures market.
On the BUCKETS Podcast, NBA experts Brandon Anderson and Jim Turvey each gave out their favorite bets for every single team in the NBA. That's 60+ bets and at least two for each team, from the defending champion Boston Celtics down to the lowly Washington Wizards.
Below, you'll find each of their bets and condensed versions of their analyses. Be sure to listen to the episode for all the information you need to know for every single bet.
The BUCKETS podcast from Action Network has you covered from the Summer League through the championship parade and everything in between. Whether you gamble on NBA futures, individual games or player props, our betting experts hit the mics every week to serve your needs every week of the year. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you get your podcasts.
| ATLANTIC DIVISION | NORTHWEST DIVISION |
|---|---|
| CENTRAL DIVISION | PACIFIC DIVISION |
| SOUTHEAST DIVISION | SOUTHWEST DIVISION |
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics
JT: Celtics to Win Division (-140)
BA: Celtics to Win Division (-140)
This is really boring and not going to surprise anyone. We're both low on the Knicks and low on the Sixers. Guess what that means? It's Boston's division.
This team has one of the highest floors in recent history. This number is crazy.
New York Knicks
JT: Mavericks to Finish With More Wins Than the Knicks (+175)
The Knicks under is one of my favorite bets. I also would love a Cavaliers or Magic number to go heads-up with the Knicks.
I wanted to get a little bit creative here. Any of these head-to-head bets where you're going against the Knicks, I'm probably going to love it.
BA: Under 54.5 Wins
I'll just play the win total. I do like this a little less after the Karl-Anthony Towns trade as I think the Knicks are a little more stable.
I think Towns raises their offensive floor, but I'm pretty worried about the defense here. Tom Thibodeau's defenses haven't done great when they don't have a great defensive center, and Towns isn't going to get the job done there.
Philadelphia 76ers
JT: Andre Drummond to Lead the League in Rebounds (75-1)
This is my favorite bet of this podcast. He averaged nine rebounds per game in 17 minutes per game last year. Now he gets to be the backup center to a center who's already saying he's not going to play back to backs.
So for 20+ games a season, Drummond is going to be out there a decent amount. If he gets even close to 25 minutes a game, he's going to be very, very much in the running for this.
BA: To Miss the Playoffs (20-1)
I don't think I need to make the case very much that Joel Embiid to me doesn't look right yet. He did not look right at the Olympics. We already know he's saying he's not going to play back to backs.
Paul George is already hurt. The season hasn't even started and two of the three stars are already hurt.
Brooklyn Nets
JT: Cam Thomas to Average 28+ PPG (+650)
I don't want to lay -110 on a really fluky player to average over 24.5 points per game. Let's get a little funky with it.
Sadly, he hasn't been chucking it very much in the preseason, so let's hope that goes away and he gets back to his chucking ways.
BA: Cam Thomas Next Player in the League to Score 60 Points in a Game (40-1)
My bet is very similar and also looking at Cam Thomas chucking the ball. Why not?
Couldn't you just see this in the first week or two, some random game where they're playing fast, they're down big, and he's just chucking it. Last year he started with 36, 30, 33 in the first three games. He had a 45 seven games into the season. He hit 40+ points eight times the last two years.
It's a fun bet to root for. We can't have slam dunks on everyone.
Toronto Raptors
JT: Under 26.5 Wins (+210)
The Raptors are already being a little more public about the direction they want to go.
I like pairing this with the Bulls alt under and at least one of them is likely to hit. At +210 or +215, that'll do.
BA: Over 29.5 Wins (and Wins Escalator)
I think Washington, Brooklyn, Detroit, and Charlotte are clearly worse than the Raptors. That means you're the 11th seed or better. You're in the play-in mix. You might actually try to win some games.
So I like the over and I'm going to play an escalator on the Raptors of 35+ wins at +325 and 40+ wins at +900.
Central Division
Milwaukee Bucks
JT: Thunder Over Bucks Finals Exacta (60-1)
This is a team that it feels like is getting slept on, in part because of really bad timing on injuries the last two seasons.
I think if this team is healthy, they are very much in contention in the East. They are a little bit older. Khris Middleton did have that double ankle surgery. But they brought in some interesting depth on the wing.
And I do think Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to be on a revenge tour this season.
BA: Giannis Antetokounmpo to Win Finals MVP (20-1)
I think the Bucks are the second-most likely champion because of the East. The West is a bloodbath. The Bucks really only have to beat the Celtics, which isn't nothing, but I like what the Bucks did with their roster.
If you're betting the Bucks, we already know what Giannis is, and if they're winning the Finals, Giannis is the MVP.
Cleveland Cavaliers
JT: Darius Garland to Average 20+ Points Per Game & To Win Division (+800)
I want a bounce-back season from Darius Garland. I think they're going to be taking a lot more threes and that's going to impact Garland and Donovan Mitchell and maybe a little bit of Evan Mobley as well.
I think Garland had basically a year from hell last year but I still believe in the talent and if he gets back to that level, that's really great news for them in general.
BA: Over 48.5 Wins
I like the regular season version of this team. The defense has been top-seven three years in a row. That's a regular season formula.
Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley were 4th, 5th, and 8th in minutes on this team last year. I think if we get like 40 more games from those guys, I will take the over.
Indiana Pacers
JT: Bennedict Mathurin 6th Man of the Year (20-1)
I'm pretty high on Mathurin having a nice season, and I think because of the wing depth that the Pacers have and the way the bench and the starters play, they are going to want him to stay in that bench role.
I think there are guys to slot in when injuries pop up and that allow him to stay in that role, too.
BA: Tyrese Haliburton to Have 25+ Assists in Any Game (+1000)
This is just a fun ticket to have. He had 23 last year against the Knicks. We know they're going to play fast and we know they're going to have a lot of offense.
We probably need overtime to get one of these, but what's more fun than watching and it's the fourth quarter and Haliburton has 19 assists and you have this bet sitting out there?
Chicago Bulls
BA: Over 27.5 Wins
This is actually not a bet on the Bulls. This is a bet against the Bulls. The Bulls should tank. They should be losing.
I hope Zach LaVine is healthy, and if so I think you get a better version of LaVine with DeMar DeRozan out. Also, I know this is controversial, but I think Josh Giddey is going to be a pretty good floor-raiser for the team.
The Bulls are around 20th in net rating the last four years. They're pretty consistent year after year. They're not awful, just bad.
JT: Under 24.5 Wins (+215)
Mine is an alt under. I think there's a decent chance the Bulls do the stupid thing and play to win 30 games, chase that 10-seed in the play-in tournament.
But I also think there are a lot of versions of this season where they finally pull the rip cord.
The Bulls are in my tier of targeting the alt unders as maybe they'll finally get their incentives right and pull the plug and start tanking.
Detroit Pistons
BA: Ron Holland Rookie of the Year (25-1)
This was my No. 1 upside prospect in a pretty bad draft. You want a top-five pick for Rookie of the Year as they've won 80% of the awards in NBA history.
So that's not Zach Edey, who is the leader right now. If Holland comes off the bench that means he's going to be playing with guys like Marcus Sasser, Ausar Thompson, Paul Reed, guys who aren't going to score a lot of points.
Holland's going to get some shots up. It's not a position I love, but it's a wide-open race.
JT: Tobias Harris 18+ Points Per Game & Cade Cunningham 8+ Assists Per Game & Pistons to Make Playoffs (30-1)
Detroit to make the playoffs is +1200, which I'm vaguely intrigued by because the bottom of the East is garbage.
So if the Pistons are making the playoffs, Harris is averaging 18 points per game and Cunningham is averaging eight assists per game.
Southeast Division
Orlando Magic
JT: Franz Wagner to Average 22+ Points Per Game (+200)
Franz Wagner is due for a bit of shooting regression if you're just going by his career norms.
He is 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the preseason as of this recording, but I'm not going to stress about that. I think we see a little bit of improvement from a young player and I'm all about him making the jump this season.
BA: Under 48.5 Wins
I just see a lot of fraught things about the profile here. The defense leapt from 16th to second last year and they were top-3 in turnovers. Does that keep up?
It's depending a lot on Jonathan Isaac. Can he play? Can he stay on the court enough? I don't know.
The offense was last in threes. They turn the ball over a lot. And they still finished 22nd, even though they led the league in turnovers created, which should give you a lot of easy points.
If I'm right about some of those things regressing, that's even worse for the offense. It's easier to see the defense falling off than the offense suddenly getting really good here for a young team.
Miami Heat
BA: Jimmy Butler to Have 10+ Assists in Any Game (+100)
This is really boring, but I think it's actually one of my most bets that is most likely to hit.
Butler has had 10 assists in a game 28 times in his five seasons in Miami and at least twice in every season.
That's it. That's the case.
JT: Bam Adebayo Over 0.5 3-pointers on Oct. 26 vs. Charlotte
This isn't a future. It's very specific. But it is in the future, technically.
Basically, this is just a play on the fact that Bam has said he's going to take more threes.
In the preseason, he's been taking more threes, and I think the books are going to be a little bit behind on this.
Atlanta Hawks
JT: Over 44.5 Wins (+800)
We're looking at alt overs in the Eastern Conference and alt unders in the Western Conference. It's a balance-of-power thing right now.
I've been giving out the baseline of this Hawks win total over and over again. Zaccharie Risacher has looked strong. Last year they missed a lot of Trae Young, they missed a lot of Jalen Johnson, they missed a lot of De'Andre Hunter, and they still won 36 games.
They can get back into the mid-40s and it's worth playing an escalator on a team I really like.
BA: To Win Division (+1200)
I'm not quite as high on the Hawks as you, but I'm happy to fade Orlando and Miami.
If your bet hits and we get to 45 wins, I feel very confident that's going to win the division as well.
Charlotte Hornets
JT: LaMelo Ball 3.5 3-Pointers Per Game & 35+ Wins
We've got Charles Lee in town and he's theoretically coming in with a quicker pace. It's been kind of hit or miss in the preseason, but I think when LaMelo is on the court it's going to be a quicker pace.
LaMelo averaged 3.2 per game last year and the year before he was at 4. We're talking small samples because he keeps getting hurt. He has to play 41+ games for this bet.
If he is playing in more than half of the games, I think the Hornets are a 35+ win team, so these bets are hyper-correlated.
BA: To Win Division (55-1)
This is just a little nibble. LaMelo Ball was 15th on minutes on this team last year. Mark Williams was 17th in minutes.
If we just get more of those guys and sophomore Brandon Miller, and with Charles Lee as the coach, I think they have a lot of potential.
Washington Wizards
JT: Alex Sarr Rookie of the Year (+900)
Forget the Summer League, let's over-hype the preseason. Sarr looked terrible in the Summer League but has looked really strong in the preseason.
The biggest thing to me is that they're clearing space for him already. There's already rumors of him either having separate time from Jonas Valančiūnas or maybe even starting while Valančiūnas comes off the bench.
They're finally doing things right. They're clearing out space for a young player to really get the role.
BA: Worst Record in the League (+255)
This is honestly the worst team I've evaluated in my BUCKETS career. I have them at 9-73 projected. I wouldn't bet them to do that, but that's how bad the net rating is.
They're last in offense and last in defense. They were actually No. 1 in pace last year and I love that for a tanking team. If you're going to be bad, be bad really fast and you're going to lose a lot of games.
Northwest Division
Oklahoma City Thunder
JT: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Lead the League in Points Per Game & Thunder to Win the West (20-1)
Luka Doncic had a career high in minutes last year. I think his minutes might come down just a tiny bit and so his points per game might come down a little bit. On the flip side, you get the insanely high floor of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
He averaged 35.1 points per 100 possessions with Josh Giddey off the floor last year, so he's going to have the ability to put up insane numbers.
BA: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP (+500) & Jalen Williams Most Improved Player (+1500)
For MVP you want a 25 PPG guy on a top-three seed between the ages of 24-28. He checks every one of those boxes.
Williams I have top-25 in my Elite 100. I think we're going to see an increase in usage here.
Denver Nuggets
JT: Under 48.5 Wins (+215)
I think the vibes are horrendous in Denver. I don't know what's going on with Jamal Murray. He's flashed so much potential but I don't know if it's injury stuff or what, but he looks bad right now.
Mike Malone and Nikola Jokic keep going over their win total year after year, so maybe I'm the idiot for going back to the well after they burned us last year.
BA: Russell Westbrook to Average 13 Points Per Game, 6 Assists Per Game, 6 Rebounds Per Game (50-1)
I think this is an outlandish number for a dude who is Mr. Counting Stats.
The only thing we know bout Russell Westbrook is that he just does stuff when he's out there. Last year, he only played 22 minutes per game and he was still at 11/5/5. One more minute and he gets us over the line.
Minnesota Timberwolves
JT: Timberwolves to Finish as No. 4 Seed in Western Conference Playoffs (+700)
This is the goofiest bet of all time. Honestly, I looked at a bunch of different ways to play this. They're a team where I don't really love their ceiling, I think they're going to regress a little bit, and I think there's some teams in the West that are much better than them.
The Thunder in particular are better than them, and I've been intrigued by the Mavericks and Suns as well. So I have them fourth in my power rankings of the West right now.
I know that's not how it works, but at +700, don't put a whole bucket of money on this, but if it hits it's going to be the funniest bet to win all year.
BA: To Miss Playoffs (+700)
My bet is basically that they fall into the play-in and don't advance. I think this team wanted to get more offense, but I think they sacrificed a hyper-elite defense.
They got rid of guys that were really good on that end. And they went out and got Joe Ingles and invested a lot in Rob Dillingham, who they're going to have to play in their second unit.
I think that's going to make the offense worse in the immediate future and I think this teams floor is a lot lower after the Karl-Anthony Towns trade.
Utah Jazz
JT: Walker Kessler Blocks Per Game Leader (30-1)
Ths is a minutes thing. On a per-minute bases, he was nearly even to Victor Wembanyama last year. Wemby was at 4,3 and Kessler was at 3.7. Nobody else was over 3.
If Kessler can get a bump in minutes and if Wemby puts the fear of God in people and they stop driving on him, or he just hurt even just for a little bit, Kessler is very live.
BA: Collin Sexton to Average 18 Points Per Game and 6 Assists Per Game (+850)
Collin Sexton averaged this from January 1 through the end of last regular season. He was at almost 21 points per game and 5.9 assists per game.
I think he's a pretty good player. He's got a proven 3-pointer, took a playmaking leap last year. This is one of my favorite player bets.
Portland Trail Blazers
JT: Under 18.5 Wins (+215)
I like the regular under here but I'm also targeting the alt under.
The Trail Blazers are already in full sabotage mode. Scoot Henderson could secretly be the best draft pick they've ever had because he's going to help them tank and get Cooper Flagg. He is that bad.
They're wrapping up everyone who has any semblance of contributing toward winning this year, so we'll mostly just be seeing Henderson and Deandre Ayton all year.
BA: Matisse Thybulle Steals Per Game Leader (30-1)
I think Matisse Thybulle is just going to be my steals per game bet every year until he does it. He's been at 1.6 steals or better in three of the last four seasons despite averaging 21 minutes per game during that stretch.
We don't need to get better defense. We don't need anything other than just him staying on the court. I don't know if he can, so that's really the bet. I think he needs to be at like 28 minutes per game to get there.
Pacific Division
Los Angeles Clippers
JT: Ivica Zubac 10+ Rebounds Per Game (+200)
He was basically here two years ago when his minutes were a tough higher. Now we've got a couple of guys out. There's no Paul George. No Kawhi Leonard to start the season.
When Leonard is out, it really helps Zubac's rebounding. So if Leonard is going to be out, that only helps.
BA: To Finish Last in Division (+140)
The market thinks the Clippers are terrible. Well, I do too.
Kawhi Leonard played his most games since 2017 last year. James Harden played his most games since he was in Houston. So if you take away some Leonard, some Harden, and all of Paul George, I don't think it goes well.
Phoenix Suns
BA: Over 46.5 Wins
My Suns position is really a bet on Mike Budenholzer. His teams have been top-six in threes in eight of 10 seasons.
We're seeing it in the preseason. The Suns are shooting threes. Can you believe it? The miracle of miracles.
JT: Muke Budenholzer Coach of the Year (25-1)
I'm so high on this Suns team and I absolutely love playing Budenholzer for Coach of the Year.
I think they did on the fringes about as well as they could do with guys like Tyus Jones and Monte Morris.
Los Angeles Lakers
JT: Anthony Davis to Win Defensive Player of the Year (30-1)
JJ Reddick actually has the Lakers playing at a slower pace in the preseason. And we know that defensive rating is more important than strict points allowed per game, but I do think if we're seeing these lower point totals it could kind of seep into the voters' heads.
Also just narratively we're talking about a generational defender who doesn't have one of these yet. I think it's very easy to talk yourself into this.
BA: Under 44.5 Wins
This is my favorite under on the board. I don't like the roster pieces around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
LeBron played 71 games last year, that was his most since Cleveland. Davis played 76, that was his most ever. Then they went and played in the Olympics.
We're surely going to get less of these guys, maybe a lot less, and last year despite having all of those games, they still finished one win above the 10-seed in the West.
Sacramento Kings
JT: De'Aaron Fox to Average Under 5.8 Assists Per Game
This is kind of a boring bet for kind of a boring team. Wherever DeMar DeRozan goes, teammate assists tend to go down a bit. He's a very iso-heavy player.
Fox wasn't even at this number last year and that was before bringing in a very high-usage player who's going to be a creator. And when he scores, it's often in isolation instead of off an assist.
It's a boring bet, but I do like it. It's just laying the -110 in a player assist prop for six months.
BA: To Miss Playoffs (+160)
You're not going to sell me on a team with DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis. That's just not going to be my team.
There is a floor there, but not a lot of ceiling and not a lot of defense. It's really a bet on the West, more than anything. This is a 10-seed for me. I think they're a play-in team at best and I think they could miss the play-in.
They also have a top-12 protected pick so if they're close that's another out where they might just decide to keep the pick.
Golden State Warriors
JT: De'Anthony Melton to Lead the League in Steals Per Game (60-1)
De'Anthony Melton is kind of like the hipster NBA favorite, and I fell in the trap.
Melton is always hovering around 1.5 steals per game in very limited minutes. It's really just a matter of him staying on the court both health-wise and in terms of minutes per game.
BA: Over 42.5 Wins
I like the Warriors' defense a lot this year. It was really good once Draymond Green got back last year.
I like them adding De'Anthony Melton into the mix and more Kyle Anderson to the mix. Hopefully more Gary Payton II this year, too.
If you still have Steph Curry and Draymond Green, you're still an elite team until proven otherwise.
Southwest Division
Dallas Mavericks
BA: To Make Play-In (+275)
Luka Doncic has not really had a great regular season team yet. That's why I'm a little lower on him for MVP as well. In four of five seasons he's been at a 47-52 win pace with this team. That's about where I have them here.
In the West, that puts you on the fringe of the play-in. This is still a two-man team and this is not a team that I'm buying based on last year's playoff run.
JT: Luka Doncic to Average 10+ Assists Per Game (+160)
Luka Doncic did this over the second half of last season and now he has Klay Thompson.
It's pretty simple. That's the cap.
New Orleans Pelicans
JT: Under 42.5 Wins (+210)
The Pelicans were fun last year. They had a decent team and if they were healthy in the postseason and didn't face the Thunder I was going to look to be on them.
But they got rid of some of their depth. There's a lot of questions about Brandon Ingram now and they brought in Dejounte Murray, who I feel bad because I've been talking about going against him over and over again.
But this team went away from what made them good, which was defensive depth. They are starting the year without a center and in the West you might actually want someone playing defense at center. So I don't know how long that experiment lasts.
BA: To Finish Last in Division (+800)
I played Houston here too and so this is a bet on San Antonio and the strength of this division with Dallas and Memphis being the other two.
I just have those three clearly ahead, so I'm happy to bet Houston and especially the Pelicans to finish at the bottom.
Houston Rockets
JT: Jabari Smith Jr. to Average 15+ Points Per Game & Rockets to Win 50+ Games (+900)
This is not my favorite bet, even though it's one of my favorite teams to watch this year.
I wish the number were a little bit longer, but if Houston wins 50 games, I do think part of it is going to be a leap from some of their younger players like Jabari Smith Jr., who went from 12.8 points as a rookie to 13.7 last year, so steady growth in that role.
BA: To Finish Last in Division (+390)
It's just the wrong conference and the wrong division for this team. I like the Rockets. I have them around a .500 team.
I think the offense limits the ceiling a bit. I have them a bottom-10 offense.
Memphis Grizzlies
JT: Ja Morant to Average Under 26.6 Points Per Game
Ja Morant scored notably worse when he didn't have Steven Adams on the court when they were together in Memphis. Now he's going to be sharing the court with Marcus Smart, which he hadn't done in bulk before.
You also have Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. who got used to a little bit more usage last year, as well as all the other players who got used to more usage last year when they were the zombie Grizzlies.
I think they're going to limit him a bit as well. If he rolls an ankle or something, they're going to be aggressive taking him out of games anytime he's not feeling well.
BA: Over 46.5 Wins
I'm not sure I still believe in the ultimate ceiling here, but this is a case of where we liked them last year, we've got to like them again now that they've got all their guys back.
They should get a lot more minutes from Ja Morant and Desmond Bane, and Brandon Clark is back this year. They got Zach Edey, who is hopefully like a poor man's Steven Adams. They should get more from Marcus Smart, and last year allowed them to develop the bench and guys like Vince Williams Jr. and Scotty Pippen Jr.
San Antonio Spurs
JT: Victor Wembanyama Over 11.5 Rebounds Per Game
There is so much to like about the Spurs and Wembanyama and so many bets I have on him, but the one I'll give out here is this simple one at -115.
This is one where you just make the bet, sit back, and come back and collect your 87% ROI in six months.
He averaged 12 in the second half of last season when they started to give him more minutes. So he cleared this pretty easily. Then he went out and added 20 lbs of muscle and they're going to be playing him less with Zach Collins.
BA: Over 35.5 Wins | To Make Playoffs (+450) | To Win Division (+3300) | Wembanyama to Average 25+ Points Per Game & To Win Division (+4500)
This is a guy with a top-five MVP profile. This is a guy that I think right now is a No. 1 caliber defender all by himself. That's why I'm betting so much on this team.
They added guys like Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes as veteran floor-raisers, and for Wemby it's not a projection, this is how good he already is.
