Player props have become one of the NBA’s most entertaining ways to bet, offering value beyond the standard spread or total. Each night, this column highlights the best opportunities on the board — from points and rebounds to assists and combo lines — using matchup data, recent performance, and betting trends to find edges. Keep reading for the top NBA player prop picks for April 3. Also, make sure you check out our live VSiN programming for more. Our hosts and analysts will be all over the NBA, which is why it pays to be a VSiN Pro subscriber.
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Friday Player Prop Best Bets
Below you’ll find my official plays on the player prop market for Friday. These are the ones that make the VSiN Pro Picks page and count towards my season-long record.
Kon Knueppel Over 17.5 Points (-110) vs. Pacers
Pacers at Hornets – 7:00 pm ET
Knueppel really feasts on poor defenses, averaging 20.1 points per game when facing teams that rank 25th or worse in defensive rating. That includes three meetings with this Pacers team, with Knueppel scoring at least 18 points in all of them and averaging 24.7 points per game. Well, in tonight’s game, I see Knueppel performing at a high level again. We’ll just have to hope that he plays a good chunk of minutes, which isn’t a guarantee with this game having the potential to turn into a blowout. However, Indiana has actually played alright over the last couple of games, so perhaps we’ll get Knueppel in the 30-minute range. That’s really all we should need for him to make his mark as a scorer here.
Julius Randle Over 20.5 Points (-111 – 1.5 units) & Randle Alt 25+ Points (+203 – 0.5 units) vs. 76ers
Timberwolves at 76ers – 7:00 pm ET
Anthony Edwards is questionable for Minnesota tonight, but I like Randle to have a big game no matter what. This season, Randle is averaging 27.0 points per game when playing with Edwards and without Jaden McDaniels, who is out another couple of games. Also, when Edwards doesn’t play, Randle averages 23.9 points per game — and that number ticks up a bit on the road. I just think there’s a good chance we see Randle in a high-minute, high-usage role tonight, and Joel Embiid is going to be out for Philadelphia. That means one of the league’s best rim-protecting bigs won’t be there to deter Randle’s drives. The Sixers are already 25th in the NBA defending at the basket, so I like Randle to do some serious damage at the cup. Philly is also a weak team when it comes to defending spot-up attempts, and the team can occasionally foul a little too often. That said, Randle might knock down some threes and get himself to the charity stripe.
Josh Giddey Over 9.5 Assists (+223 – 0.5 units) vs. Knicks
Bulls at Knicks – 7:30 pm ET
I don’t necessarily love Giddey to have 10+ assists tonight, but you can get +223 at one of the prominent prediction markets. That’s so far off from where the number sits at most traditional sportsbooks that it’s worth a small play. After all, Giddey has had 10+ assists in six straight games — and 11 of the last 12. He also has one 12-assist game against New York this year. I’m not going to go crazy posting prediction market plays, but they do offer some strong value. They’re also available to most of the public at this point.
CJ McCollum Over 4.5 First Quarter Points (+105) vs. Nets
Hawks at Nets – 7:30 pm ET
McCollum has had at least six points in the first quarter of three of the last five games, making an opening-quarter Over on 4.5 enticing at plus-money odds. McCollum went scoreless in the opening 12 minutes against the Nets in the last meeting between these two, going 0 for 4 from the floor and 0 for 3 from three in seven minutes on March 12. However, if we’re going to get that kind of volume again, I’ll take my chances here. McCollum has been really good since arriving in Atlanta, fitting in perfectly with this team. That said, he’s always a player you can count on to beat a bad defensive team. Well, in a game that could turn into a blowout, you might as well take a first-quarter play over a full-game play.
Maxime Raynaud Over 13.5 Points (-112) vs. Pelicans
Pelicans at Kings – 10:00 pm ET
Raynaud has gone Under a total of 13.5 points in three of the last four games, but it’s hard to pass on his Over at this number. It wasn’t long ago that he was consistently seeing totals of 16.5 or 17.5, and there was a stretch in mid-March in which he had 22 or more in four of five games. I just like Raynaud’s ability to finish around the rim, and he should do some damage against the Pelicans with his skills as a roller tonight. New Orleans is just 23rd in the NBA defending inside 10 feet, where Raynaud scores 79% of his points. The Pelicans are also weak on the defensive glass, meaning Raynaud could do some good work with putbacks. Also, I mentioned this on today’s episode of Hardwood Handicappers, but we have seen guys like Brook Lopez, Jakob Poeltl, and Isaiah Jackson go Over their point totals against this New Orleans team. Well, if they can do it, Raynaud certainly can. He actually had a 21-point outing against the Pelicans on February 9.
Noteworthy OptaAI Player Prop Edges
Check out the OptaAI Player Props pages for more of these! VSiN Pro subscribers can find 50+ player prop ideas on a daily basis! We’ll list the top edges in some of the biggest markets below, but there will always be a lot more to uncover on the pages themselves.
Taylor Hendricks Over 9.5 Points (-112) vs. Raptors
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him going for 12.68 points.
GG Jackson Over 4.5 Rebounds (+108) vs. Raptors
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 6.13 rebounds.
Onyeka Okongwu Over 2.5 Assists (-130) vs. Nets
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him projected for 3.44 assists.
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