The start of the 2024-25 NBA season is officially here. We have been waiting for this moment for quite some time, but we haven’t just been sitting on our butts. A couple of weeks ago, we dropped the 2024-25 VSiN NBA Betting Guide, complete with previews of all 30 teams, general NBA betting strategies and some of our favorite season-long futures. Make sure you check that out for some fantastic work from Jonathan Von Tobel, who writes up his best bets daily, and Kelley Bydlon, who constantly dishes out NBA picks as co-host of A Numbers Game. However, now that the real games are starting, you can expect a lot of NBA content from me. I’ll be giving out NBA best bets and player props as often as possible, and I’ll also occasionally write up features on big news that shakes up the league. With that in mind, let’s get into some NBA best bets and NBA player props for Thursday, October 24th.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on October 24th
NBA Best Bets Today – October 24th
San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks – 7:30 pm ET
In some of my VSiN spots over the course of the NBA offseason, I noted that the Spurs will be a competitive team and will continue to be a good against-the-spread option. San Antonio was 44-38 ATS last season. The team was also 22-19 ATS on the road. Well, unless the oddsmakers show the Spurs significantly more respect, I think San Antonio will easily sit above .500 ATS by the end of the season. And I like them to kick the season off with a cover, even with Devin Vassell being out for another couple of weeks.
I know the Mavericks are coming off a run to the NBA Finals, but the team made some noteworthy swaps in the offseason. Dallas let Derrick Jones Jr., the best wing defender on the team, walk in free agency. The Mavericks replaced him — along with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green — with Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes. I firmly believe that Dallas raised its ceiling with the overall series of transactions. However, I do think it’s going to take the Mavericks some time to start defending at an elite level.
This was one of the best defensive teams in the league to end last season, and Jones was a massive part of that. Without him, Dallas could really struggle to defend wings. So, not only will Victor Wembanyama be borderline unguardable here — which he is every night — but guys like Harrison Barnes and Keldon Johnson should be able to make impacts. I’m also really looking forward to seeing Chris Paul go to work, and this is a matchup in which he should thrive. The Mavericks weren’t particularly great at defending the mid-range area last year, and that’s where Paul lives as a scorer. But his mind is what I’m interested in here. If Dallas isn’t connected defensively, Paul will pick the team apart.
San Antonio also has some good defensive options for Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic. Nobody on the Spurs can shut those guys down completely, but rookie Stephon Castle is an awesome point-of-attack defender and will probably be on Irving quite a bit here. I also like Jeremy Sochan’s length and athleticism for the Doncic assignment.
The Mavericks should ultimately pull this one out. They’re a better basketball team and have more reliable guards when it comes to shot creation. However, I think this will be a close one late, so I’m grabbing the points.
Bet: Spurs +8.5 (-115)
Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets – 10:00 pm ET
The Thunder are my pick to win the Western Conference. Oklahoma City is just stacked with players that play the right way, and the additions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein should be perfect. But Hartenstein is out for a couple of weeks. And while the Thunder should be able to overcome that in most matchups, I am concerned about what that will mean here. Oklahoma City signed Hartenstein so that he can be the primary defender on guys like Nikola Jokic. That said, Jokic could have his way with the Thunder here.
Of course, Oklahoma City went 3-1 straight-up in meetings with Denver last season, so the Thunder do have the ability to beat the Nuggets without a traditional center in the rotation. But this will be a new-look Denver team, as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s minutes will now be spread out amongst Christian Braun, Julian Strawther and Russell Westbrook. So, Oklahoma City likely won’t know what to expect from this team, as the offense should look a little different.
The Nuggets should also be fresh and ready to go here. Head coach Mike Malone noted that the championship run in 2022-23 wore out his players — both physically and mentally. Well, Denver didn’t play as deep into last summer, so that shouldn’t be an excuse this year. And the Nuggets are also inserting quite a bit of youth into the rotation, and that should also help from an energy standpoint.
This also happens to be Denver’s home opener, so the crowd is going to play a role in this one. The Nuggets have one of the truer home-court advantages in the NBA. Denver is 73-19 SU in home games since the start of the 2022-23 season. That’s why I’m paying up a little and rocking with the Nuggets to win on the moneyline.
Bet: Nuggets ML (-127 – 1.5 units)
Minnesota Timberwolves at Sacramento Kings – 10:00 pm ET
My favorite play of the night calls for the Timberwolves to beat the Kings. I know things didn’t look great in Minnesota’s loss to Los Angeles on Opening Night, but I liked the overall process from the Timberwolves on offense. Minnesota launched 41 triples in that game, and an increase in willingness to take 3s should do the Timberwolves well this season. It could also pay off in a big way against this specific opponent. Last season, opponents shot 39.4% from 3 on non-heaves against Sacramento. That was the second-worst mark in basketball. The Kings also didn’t do much to address that issue in the offseason. In fact, the addition of DeMar DeRozan, who is obviously an incredible player, will only hurt Sacramento when it comes to the nightly 3-point math battle. And if Minnesota wins that battle tonight, this could actually end up being a straightforward game.
Not only do I like the Timberwolves to knock down a good number of 3s tonight, but Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle could also feast around the basket. The Kings don’t have anyone that can protect the rim, and they also don’t have the bodies required to keep those two from getting where they want offensively. In that regard, Randle is actually the more interesting one. Minnesota struggled with Sacramento last season, but the team also lacked a secondary shot creator next to Edwards. Well, Randle’s combination of size, strength and downhill ability could be a huge problem for Keegan Murray. Randle will muscle Murray out of the way when he drives to the basket. And overall, the Kings don’t have a player like Anthony Davis that can put a lid on the rim. Davis’ play was the main story of the first night of NBA action.
Minnesota should also be much better defensively than it was the other night. For whatever reason, the Timberwolves looked a little flat against the Lakers. But Chris Finch is a great coach and probably chewed out his group after that loss. And this is a team that still has all of its best defensive pieces from last year’s top-ranked defense in adjusted defensive rating.
I also like that Minnesota is 43-35 SU off a road loss under Finch. The team is also 40-17 SU as a road favorite with him on the sidelines. That said, let’s hope the beam isn’t lit tonight.
Bet: Timberwolves ML (-112 – 2 units)
NBA Player Props Today – October 24th
Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards – 7:00 pm ET
Despite being one of the worst defensive teams in the league last year, the Wizards played at the fastest pace in basketball. This Washington group welcomed high-scoring games with open arms, and it’ll be interesting to see how much that changes this year — if it does at all. But I’m firing away on Derrick White to go Over his assists prop. You can get White to reach five assists at plus-money odds, and that’s something that he did in both of the games he played against the Wizards last season. White had eight assists in a meeting with Washington on October 30th, and he then had six in a matchup on February 9th. I simply don’t see this being a game in which Boston will be hurting for offense, and White handles the ball enough to be one of the guys that distributes the wealth.
Bet: White Over 4.5 Assists (+105)
2024-25 NBA Record: 2-4 (-2.25 units)
