NBA First Basket Scorer Odds & Picks: Saturday (11/30)
Saturday’s slate includes only five games, but it's chock full of action. If you're looking for a way to get into the action early, First Basket is a great option. Here are a few of my favorite plays for Saturday.
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Saturday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorer Props
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.
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Atlanta Hawks vs. Charlotte Hornets
The Hawks are coming off of two straight wins over the red-hot Cavaliers. Efficient offense has been the name of the game, and they've been spreading the ball around very well. This includes early in games where they've scored first in over 75% of their games this season. It creates an advantage for Atlanta against a team like Charlotte that is closer to the league average.
Like their scoring throughout the season, the Hawks have spread love on first scores. Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and even Zacharrie Risacher have all gotten into the swing of things with Trae Young. In fact, one of those young guys is my favorite matchup in this game.
Risacher has gotten off to a hot start in his rookie year, including for First Baskets. In only 18 starts into his young career, Risacher has already scored four First Baskets. Against a Charlotte team that disproportionately gives up first scores to wings, Risacher is great value to cash this prop.
Pick: Zaccharie Risacher (+850)
Washington Wizards vs. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks have really caught fire since getting off to an incredibly slow start to the year. They'll host the Wizards on Saturday in a game that they're massive favorites to win. This game could get ugly, and it could get ugly early.
Milwaukee has been great at scoring first this season, doing so in nearly two-thirds of their games. Over the last two seasons, few players have been better at cashing these props than the Bucks' do-it-all superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis has produced 17 First Baskets since the start of last season and I like the matchup with Washington. The Wizards give up more first scores to bigs than any other players on the court. Giannis isn't a traditional big, which makes this matchup even more appealing. His ability to score and score often makes him a threat in First Baskets. I'll back him on Saturday.
Pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo (+300)