The 2026-27 NBA regular season continues Thursday, and the final two teams make their debut. The Cleveland Cavaliers hit the court for the first time this season, traveling to face old buddy LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. At 9:30 p.m. ET, the Denver Nuggets are the final team to make their season debut, as they battle the Oklahoma City Thunder at 9:30 p.m. ET in the second end of the national doubleheader. Let’s build our bankroll with our best NBA same game parlays (SGPs) for Thursday, October 22nd.
Get instant alerts when a line reaches your target via the BettingPros App >>
Thursday’s Best NBA Same Game Parlays
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Cleveland Cavaliers (+134) at Philadelphia 76ers (-158) | O/U 235.5 (-110/-110)
- Leg 1: 76ers -3.5 (-110)
- Leg 2: Under 235.5 Points (-110)
- Leg 3: Tyrese Maxey Over 32.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-110)
The Cavaliers (0-0) make their season debut, and they’re mostly healthy. Jarrett Allen (knee) is still recovering from right patellar tendinopathy, and officially he is listed as questionable for Thursday’s game. On lesser scale, role players Khalifa Diop (knee) and Nae’Qwan Tomlin (back) are out. We’ll get our first look at Peyton Watson in his Cleveland debut after an offseason trade from Denver.
The 76ers (1-0) served notice to the rest of the NBA that the chemistry is there already, despite a lot of new parts, as Philadelphia went to Madison Square Garden and topped the defending champion New York Knicks 106-100 on Tuesday night as a 4.5-point underdog as the Under (231.5) cashed.
Philly shot just 42% (37-of-89) from the field, and 28% (11-of-40) from behind the 3-point line, while Tyrese Maxey led the way with 28 points. He was one of six players to go for at least 10 points. Newcomers Jaylen Brown scored 19 points with eight rebounds, six assists and a block, while LeBron James was good for 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists with a steal and a block.
Cleveland swept the four-game regular-season series in 2025-26, while going 2-0 against the spread (ATS) in two trips to Philadelphia, but that can mostly be ignored since Brown and LeBron have joined the 76ers, and this is a completely different looking team with those two, a healthy Joel Embiid and the dynamic Maxey doing his thing.
If the line were a little higher, I’d say take the points, but roll with the Sixers in their home debut to get the job done by at least two buckets. We’ll also lean low on the total.
As far as the player props are concerned, let’s keep it simple. Maxey went for 28 points, five assists, four rebounds, three blocks, and three steals with a pair of 3-pointers in 40 minutes Tuesday in New York. Let’s go high on his player combo prop, projected at 32.5 for points, rebounds, and assists.
Parlay Odds: +569
Denver Nuggets (+245) at Oklahoma City Thunder (-300) | O/U 235.5 (-110/-110)
- Leg 1: Nuggets +8.5 (-115)
- Leg 2: Over 235.5 Points (-110)
- Leg 3: Nikola Jokic Over 49.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-120)
- Leg 4: Chet Holmgren 2+ Blocks (-130)
We get our first look at the Nuggets (0-0), as they travel to Oklahoma City to battle the Thunder (1-0). OKC opened the season with a 116-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on the road, exacting a little revenge for a loss in seven games in the Western Conference Finals last season.
OKC shot 45% (43-of-95) from the field, while hitting 45% (14-of-31) from behind the 3-point line, too. The Thunder managed 47 rebounds, going plus-2 in the category, while also posting a plus-2 differential in turnover margin. And, in a common theme, the Thunder was plus-2 in steals, too.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got off to a red-hot start, finishing with 32 points on 13-of-27 shooting, while going for six rebounds, four assists, threes steals, and three blocks, while knocking down three triples, too. Jared McCain was the second-best scorer with 20 points off the bench in 22 minutes, hitting six 3-pointers on eight attempts, and he did not mess up one of his painted fingernails in the process. Google it. Seriously. Meanwhile, Chet Holmgren opened with 14 points and seven rebounds, and he swatted four shots.
These teams met four times last season, with OKC winning three of the outings, but Denver ended up going 3-1 ATS in the matchups, including 2-0 ATS at Paycom Center. The Over cashed in all four meetings, and the total has gone high in six consecutive meetings dating back to their playoff series in May 2025. As such, let’s side with the Nuggets catching the points, and we’ll go Over.
For the props, whenever Denver plays, it’s fun to play the combo for Nikola Jokic, and then just watch him cook, and count. His projection is 49.5 for combined points, rebounds, and assists, and that’s very doable. Also, we’ll roll with Holmgren to get to two swats. In Game 1, have some fun, and keep it simple.
Parlay Odds: +642
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe