NBA First Basket Scorers & Picks: Wednesday (Timberwolves vs. Thunder)
The Oklahoma City Thunder will have three opportunities to make the NBA Finals. They’re currently up 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals and will have a home game tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves to clinch an NBA Finals bid.
The Thunder are 8.5-point favorites and haven’t lost at home to the Timberwolves in the postseason. The Thunder won Games 1 and 2 by double digits.
This series has been more underwhelming than the Knicks-Pacers Eastern Conference Finals, but Game 4 was pretty electric. We’ll see if Game 5 will be the same.
I’ve added a first-basket wager for tonight’s Western Conference Finals matchup at the Paycom Center.
Follow along and make sure to check out our NBA First Basket Prop Bet Cheat Sheet for help identifying all of today’s best prop bets.
Wednesday’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.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves have won the opening tip in three of the first four games in this series. On the road, the Timberwolves scored first both times.
Jaden McDaniels began Game 1 with a three-point shot, and Anthony Edwards scored the first basket in Game 2 after several missed shots on both ends of the floor. Still, again, the Timberwolves won the opening tip behind Gobert in Game 2.
Most recently, Gobert won the tip over Chet Holmgren in Game 4. However, Minnesota missed the first shot attempt, allowing the Thunder to add the first basket from Jalen Williams.
With all hands on deck, you can expect the Timberwolves to get out of the gate with some urgency.
The Thunder have allowed the first basket to centers 33% of the time. Meanwhile, Gobert took the first basket attempt in Game 4. He was blocked and didn’t score, but the Timberwolves did at least look for Gobert on that first possession.
Gobert added six first baskets this season and scored the team’s first basket in 22% of games this season. He also added the team’s first field-goal attempt in 20% of games. At +1100 odds, Gobert has a ton of value.
Pick: Rudy Gobert (+1100)
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Wednesday: