Most Popular NBA Futures Bets for the 2024-25 Season

Since there are so many betting options for the NBA season, we asked PressBox’s Stan “The Fan” Charles, Glenn Clark and Spencer Schultz to share with us some of their favorite futures bets for this season.

All numbers are from FanDuel Sportsbook as of mid-October.

Stan “The Fan” Charles

Detroit Pistons under 25.5 wins (-115)

The Pistons won just 17 games in the 2022-23 season, which led to them giving former Suns coach Monty Williams a six-year, $78.5 million contract. But the team won just 14 games in the 2023-24 season and released Williams in June with $65 million remaining on his contract.

I’m not saying new coach JB Bickerstaff is better or worse than Williams, but a rise to 12 wins seems monumental with such a young squad.

The most valuable player selections

I’ll give you five players to cheer for. They all have odds that make it worth your while if you manage to get one of them to finish as the league’s MVP.

Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (+1900)
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs (+2100)
Yes Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (+3400)
Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves (+50000)
Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks (+50000)

Glenn Clark

Victor Wembanyama records a quadruple-double in every regular season game (+1200)

How can you not try this? Wemby is a unicorn. We’ve never seen a player like him. In a game against the Nuggets last year, he had 23 points, 15 rebounds, 9 blocks and 8 assists. Spurs’ squad is slightly better this year with new additions Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, but it’s still Wembanyama’s show and I’ve got to keep this ticket.

Phoenix Suns over 47.5 wins (-108)

Look, I’m a big Suns fan, so maybe this gives me some hope. But I really believe that bringing in two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer is a serious improvement. And while I’m concerned about the age and health of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, those were issues last year and they still managed to win 49 games.

Bronny James scores more than 20 points in every regular season game (+1000)

This is just another ticket I have to keep. LeBron James seems desperate to justify that Bronny was worth drafting. Since the Lakers probably won’t be very good, there should be a number of ways to force this issue.

Spencer Schultz

Oklahoma City Thunder over 56.5 wins (-115)

Oklahoma City has the talent, the experience, the depth and now the big men to dominate. This could be a 65-win team considering how absurdly strong this roster is in every way.

Houston Rockets over 43.5 wins (-108)

The Rockets are being overlooked as another rising team in the Western Conference. They’re deep like the Thunder, but not as green, and now they’re hungry to get to the playoffs. You can shoot, defend and attack in the open field.

Reed Sheppard wins Rookie of the Year (+650)

The sharpshooter comes from a Kentucky program that produces successful players early on.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins MVP (+500)

SGA finished second in MVP voting last year, taking home the vast majority of runners-up. If Oklahoma City continues to rise, SGA will be at the forefront of the MVP conversation. Voter fatigue could affect Nikola Jokić.

Photo credit: Courtesy of UK Athletics

Issue 289: October/November 2024