NBA First Basket Scorer Odds & Picks: Saturday (11/9)
The NBA season is in full swing. Saturday night provides a small slate of action but has plenty of great angles to bet on. For a fun quick hitter, here are a few solid first-basket scorer plays.
Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>
Saturday’s Best NBA First Basket Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Who will score the first basket in today’s NBA games? We compare historical first basket stats to prop bet odds to help identify today’s best bets. View first-basket odds across sportsbooks here.
Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs
The Jazz travel to San Antonio to take on the Spurs. It's been a slow season in the win column for the Jazz but it's been a strong year for first baskets. They've scored first in seven out of eight games this year. Could it just be a small sample size? Last year they were the worst team in the league at scoring first.
Another team that has flipped is the Spurs. They were strong last year in the first score department but have gotten off to a slow start this season. However, I like the matchup for the Spurs and one star player in particular.
Victor Wembanyama has been excellent in many aspects of the game, particularly in first baskets, though. Utah gives up more first scores to centers than any other position. I like Wembanyama to add to his total on Saturday.
Pick: Victor Wembanyama (+450)
Chicago Bulls at Atlanta Hawks
The Bulls take on the Hawks in Atlanta in an Eastern Conference tilt on Saturday. It'll be the second night of a back-to-back for Atlanta. When it comes to first baskets, they have a slight edge.
Chicago made some big changes to their rotation this offseason and the early results indicate they're still trying to figure things out. One area where that's apparent is on first baskets. The Bulls have scored first in just one of their nine contests. Meanwhile, Atlanta has done so in seven out of 10 games.
When it comes to matchups, Chicago has allowed first scores to bigs more often than any other position. This is a great sign for Jalen Johnson, who has already cashed in two first baskets this season.
Last year he pushed that number to double digits. It was an impressive number given he didn't start all season. I'll back him to add to his 2024-25 total on Saturday night.
Pick: Jalen Johnson (+600)