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 December 18. 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.
MORE: Check out the VSiN Pro Picks page for more bets from our talented hosts and analysts!
Thursday Player Prop Best Bets
Below you’ll find my official plays on the player prop market for Thursday. These are the ones that make the VSiN Pro Picks page and count towards my season-long record.
Onyeka Okongwu Over 16.5 Points (-115) vs. Hornets
Hawks at Hornets – 7:00 pm ET
Okongwu has scored at least 18 points in 10 of the last 15 games he has played without Trae Young. That said, if the Hawks star ends up missing this game, Okongwu should be just fine. However, if Young ends up playing tonight, there’s a chance Okongwu ends up feasting as a scorer. Young is one of the best playmakers in basketball, so he should be capable of taking advantage of the weapon Okongwu has turned into. Once strictly a play-finisher and rim-runner, Okongwu now shoots 36.0% on 5.2 attempts per game from 3.
Okongwu also has a good matchup tonight, as the Hornets are just 26th in the NBA at guarding around the rim and defending above-the-break 3s. Well, Okongwu scores 63% of his points from those two areas on the floor.
Atlanta will also be without Kristaps Porzingis tonight, meaning more minutes for Okongwu. And Okongwu already had a 20-point performance against Charlotte on November 23.
Immanuel Quickley Over 16.5 Points (-112) vs. Bucks
Raptors at Bucks – 8:00 pm ET
Quickley is averaging 17.8 points per game in the nine games he has played without RJ Barrett this season. That’s pretty significant with the lefty wing set to miss this one. Quickley, along with several other Raptors players, will be counted on to make some more plays than usual. Well, there’s really no reason Quickley won’t be able to do so tonight.
Quickley is averaging 17.0 points per game in two meetings with Milwaukee this season, and it feels like he could be in for a 20-point performance this evening. The Bucks are just 23rd in the NBA at guarding above-the-break 3s, which account for 50% of Quickley’s scoring. Milwaukee is also pretty lousy when it comes to defending in isolation, as this rotation is littered with weak one-on-one defenders. That means Quickley’s off-the-bounce wiggle could be a factor here.
2025-26 NBA Record: 184-172 (+8.83 units)
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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.
Luka Doncic Over 36.5 Points (-112) vs. Jazz
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him going for 40.32 points.
Karl-Anthony Towns Under 11.5 Rebounds (-123) vs. Pacers
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 9.26 rebounds.
Ryan Rollins Under 5.5 Assists (-104) vs. Raptors
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him projected for 4.33 assists.
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