Discussing Value Betting Prospects in the New NBA Season

Just a few weeks ago, the NFL season kicked off for the 2025 campaign. As is always the case, there was a flurry of speculation, predictions, and no little amount of betting on the season ahead. The team that was top of the tree on many experts’ lists for Super Bowl glory was the Baltimore Ravens, topping the betting markets with most sportsbooks. And yet, the Ravens have largely failed to fly, going 1-4 over the first five games and seeing their odds plummet. It’s really been a miserable start for Lamar Jackson and co.

Now, what has that got to do with the NBA? Well, while the Ravens might – and probably will – bounce back as the season progresses, it underlines the fact that the preseason favorite can struggle from time to time in sports leagues, and it should provide a note of caution for those steaming in to back the OKC, a team that is red-hot favorite in the NBA season betting to retain the championship it won in June.

That’s not to say the OKC won’t win it all, as they are an incredible team, just that the odds – somewhere around +250 – might look really short if things don’t go to plan early in the season. Indeed, we wanted to discuss some areas of the futures markets for some value picks. Not tips as such, rather looking at what options might offer some more value compared to slapping money on the favorites.

Value may lie in the East

Let’s start with the NBA Championship itself. As mentioned, the champions are out on their own, followed by the Nuggets, Cavaliers, Knicks, and Rockets. The previous quartet has odds of around +700 to +800, depending on the sportsbook. The Lakers and Timberwolves come in the next group, priced at +1600, and everyone else in the league is +2000 and above.

The question is, where does the value come from? And some bettors might get tactical in that respect. For instance, there is clearly a bias in the odds toward the Western Conference – five of the top seven teams in the betting markets are in the West – so that gives an opportunity to find some value in the Eastern Conference.

We saw the Pacers at huge odds at the start of last season push the OKC to seven games in the NBA Finals in June, so you can appreciate why some fans might look at teams at big odds like the Orlando Magic or the Pacers to do something similar. Again, we aren’t saying they will, nor that you should pick one of those two, but it might look like more value in the coming months than the short-priced champions.

In the MVP betting markets, a similar story can be told: Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic lead the way in the odds, all ranging from +200 to just under +400. For betting purposes, those are the Big 3, but there might be value further down the markets, including with Giannis Antetokounmpo at +1000. Trade rumors weigh heavily on the Bucks and Giannis right now, but he looks like decent value to get an MVP nod in a Bucks uniform, or potentially somewhere else, like the Knicks.

Anthony Edwards has an MVP shot

Giannis’ future might put some off, though, which brings us to a player who looks like superb value for MVP, Anthony Edwards. Odds of +2000 look very generous for a player who looks like he is on the path to true elite status. His numbers last season were excellent, and he was arguably unfairly overshadowed by SGA.

And if you like a wild card pick, then, apparently, Victor Wembanyama has been training like a demon all summer. Wemby’s season was hit by injury last term, but he still did enough to earn an All-Star nomination. He remains the league’s best player aged 21 and under, and he still has a huge ceiling.

The above, as stated, is not a set of tips. Rather, it’s about starting a discussion on some of the outside-the-box-thinking ways you can bet on the NBA season. There are 100s of markets you can look at if you want to avoid simply lumping on the OKC or top candidates for the MVP award. The only thing that’s certain is that there will be surprising performances from both teams and players in the campaign ahead.