NBA First Basket Scorer Odds & Picks: Friday (12/6)
With Group Play in the NBA Cup tournament coming to an end we get normal regular season action on Friday. The night provides a full slate of action with plenty of great angles to bet on. For a fun quick hitter, here are a few solid First Basket bets.
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Friday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorer Prop Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
NBA First Basket Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
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.
Los Angeles Lakers at Atlanta Hawks
The Lakers looked gassed against Miami on Wednesday and will follow that up with a trip to Atlanta. The Hawks have bounced back this year after a tough season in 2024. One area they have really thrived in is First Baskets.
With Clint Capela taking the opening tip, the Hawks have won the first possession in nearly two-thirds of their games. Because of this, they've been able to score first at just about the same rate. Going up against a Lakers team that only scores first at half that rate, I like a Hawk for First Basket on Friday night.
The Lakers have given up more first scores to opposing power forwards than any other position this year. That lines up perfectly with the fact that Jalen Johnson is one of the leaders in First Baskets on the Hawks and I like him to add another to his total on Friday night.
Pick: Jalen Johnson (+600)
Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics
The most highly anticipated matchup of the day will take place in Boston between the Bucks and the Celtics. Over the last two seasons, these have been two of the best First Basket teams in the entire league. Milwaukee has continued to stay scorching hot offensively in these early-game situations and has a nice edge against Boston.
Surprisingly, Boston hasn't thrived at winning opening tips while Brook Lopez is winning around 60% of his jump balls. This big advantage for Milwaukee is one of the reasons I'll be targeting Giannis Antetokounmpo for First Basket.
Additionally, Giannis is the leading scorer in the league, and in a huge matchup like this, he will be looking to get going early and often. Boston gives up first scores to power forwards more than any other position so the matchup favors Giannis too. It's overall a great position to take the Bucks' star forward.
Pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo (+430)
Indiana Pacers at Chicago Bulls
It's been a rough start to the season for both of these teams. The offense For Indiana has not gotten off to the start that they expected. They’ve struggled so far after being a juggernaut on that end of the court last season. This includes first scores where they are hitting less than 50% on the season.
Thankfully for the Pacers, they are going up against perhaps the worst First Basket team in the league: Chicago. The Bulls have scored first in only four games this season and that's directly related to Nikola Vucevic performing poorly on the opening tips. Myles Turner has a significant advantage here.
I also like Turner to score first. Chicago gives up first scores to centers at a rate higher than any other position. Turner is already pretty good at cashing these First Basket props. He's put up three and with a matchup against a poor First Basket team like Chicago, I like his chances at adding a fourth.
Pick: Myles Turner (+600)