NBA Opening Night Best Bets

Derek Mountain Sports Betting Expert

8 minute read

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Looking for an NBA Opening Nights best bet? Look no further! Check out our staffs' best bets for NBA Opening Night.

We have comprehensive NBA Odds, be sure to check them out ahead of tonight’s tip-off!

Updated on 10/21/25

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Rockets at Thunder Best Bet

For our first game of the 2025-26 NBA season, the defending champion, Oklahoma City Thunder, will take on the Houston Rockets.

The big storyline here is how future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant will look on his new team, the Rockets. After making quite the splash, Houston looks much different than a year ago.

After acquiring Durant, Houston shipped away Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green to Phoenix. Furthermore, veteran guard Fred VanVleet suffered a season-ending injury over the summer. Insert Reed Sheppard.

The former No. 3 overall selection played sparingly in his rookie season, but fans can expect a dramatic uptick in usage this season.

Without the likes of Green, Brooks, and VanVleet, Houston will lean on Sheppard and Jabari Smith Jr. to space the floor for Durant, Alperen Sengun, and co.

According to reports, Sheppard will come off the bench Tuesday with Amen Thompson getting the start as the team's point guard, while Steven Adams will start at the 5. The Rockets will lean on Sheppard as instant offense off the bench and should get plenty of open looks around the perimeter with their starters throughout the night.

Although Oklahoma City is a strong defensive team, their elite rim protection usually results in a funnel to perimeter players like Sheppard.

Bet: Reed Sheppard Over 8.5 Points | Points Ladder up to 15+

Warriors at Lakers Best Bet

For our next best bet, we turn to the second game: Warriors at Lakers.

Due to sciatica, the Lakers will be without LeBron James for the season opener. Without the King, you can expect a big effort from Doncic ahead.

In five games without LBJ in 2024-25, Luka averaged 30.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game. With a tight spread of 2.5 points, there isn't a huge blowout threat.

Bet: Luka Over 48.5 PRA | Sprinkle Triple-Double (+525)

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Derek Mountain

Derek Mountain works in the Boston area as an SEO Performance Associate for Better Collective. Derek is a recent graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA where he played football for five years as well as walking on the basketball team his freshman year. Derek has experience writing and editing casino content for nearly four years. More from Derek Mountain