We have three NBA games tonight. It's a smaller slate, but there are still 30 potential NBA first basket scorers to consider. Here are a few players worth sprinkling a few dollars on to score the first basket on Thursday, October 29th.
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Thursday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorers
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Who scores first in today’s NBA slate? We compare historical first-basket stats to prop bet odds to help identify today’s best bets. View first-basket odds across sportsbooks here.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
Jarrett Allen has scored the first basket in three out of four games this season. Despite having the worst matchups in all three games, Allen has been the first look for the Cavaliers. Allen has the success rate and the extra profit to move the needle.
It's rare that you get such a high success rate on a niche prop, so we are going to ride this one more time and see if the veteran center can make it four out of five games. Cleveland has won the opening tip in four games, which has usually resulted in a down-low look for Allen.
Pick: Jarrett Allen (+500)
Sacramento Kings at New Orleans Pelicans
Our next selection is a tremendous long shot. That said, Zach LaVine has already scored the first basket in one game this season. The leaders in scoring the first field goal in 2026 have mostly been forwards and centers. You can't rule out the veteran guard, however, especially against a Pelicans team that has scored the first basket in only one contest.
This contest will be New Orleans’ second leg of a back-to-back. The Pelicans could come out sluggish, which would increase the chances of Sacramento scoring first. We think that is exactly how this game will start, and LaVine will be the early beneficiary of a lapsed defense. A +1000 return would be our highest of the season.
Pick: Zach LaVine (+1000)
Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
There are definitely other first basket scorer options to mull over in tonight's Grizzlies-Blazers contest. Ty Jerome (+600) is going nuclear for Memphis and playing at an MVP-type level through four games. Zach Edey (+550) is borderline unstoppable under the rim. Donovan Clingan (+950) has already scored the first basket once this season.
While each player listed is a strong candidate, we are going to side with the revenge narrative. This will be the first game Ja Morant faces against his former team, and they are in front of his new home crowd.
We expect Morant to have one of his best games of the season, and it could start with the first possession. We usually avoid something as trivial as a revenge narrative. However, this will certainly be one of the exceptions to the rule.
