The 2026-27 NBA regular season begins tonight, with three games on the slate. It’s a rare afternoon game to kick off the day, with the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons doing battle on NBC. We’ll focus on the two evening games-the defending-champ New York Knicks host the Philadelphia 76ers, while Oklahoma City and San Antonio tangle at 9:00 p.m. ET for the nightcap. Let’s build our bankroll with our best NBA same game parlays (SGPs) for Tuesday, October 20th.
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Tuesday’s Best NBA Same Game Parlays
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Philadelphia 76ers (+156) at New York Knicks (-186) | O/U 232.5 (-102/-120)
- Leg 1: Knicks -4.5 (-115)
- Leg 2: Over 232.5 Points (-102)
- Leg 3: Jaylen Brown 20+ Points (-148)
Well, this game doesn’t have any interesting tidbits, does it? We get the debuts of Jaylen Brown and LeBron James with the Philadelphia 76ers, and the defending champions raising a long-awaited banner at the world’s most famous arena. No big deal.
It’ll take time for the 76ers to gel, and we know what the Knicks can do. They’re together, they’ve won important games and the distractions of all the pomp and circumstance surrounding Opening Night, the ceremonies, etc., shouldn’t faze this team one bit.
The Knicks are laying just a few points, and unless this line somehow creeps up to -5.5 or more in the next few hours after publishing, a bet on the home side should be safe. The Knicks dominated the Sixers’ hodgepodge roster last season, winning their playoff series in four games, but New York and Philly split the regular season 2-2, both straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS). This season, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey have a lot more help.
While I’m still leaning toward the Knicks to cover, I think we’ll have quite the track meet with All-Star and Hall of Fame talent on both sides.
And while a lot of people are talking about James and his new uniform in Philadelphia not looking quite right, we’ll focus on another star debuting. Brown should be able to get to 20+ points in his team debut, with plenty of help around to get him the ball.
Parlay Odds: +457
Oklahoma City Thunder (-102) at San Antonio Spurs (-116) | O/U 231.5 (-105/-115)
- Leg 1: Spurs Moneyline (+102)
- Leg 2: Over 231.5 Points (-105)
- Leg 3: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 25+ Points (-390)
- Leg 4: Victor Wembanyama 10+ Rebounds (-320)
These teams played an epic playoff series in May, with the Spurs winning in seven games. The Thunder are former champs, but Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs dethroned them, helping the Knicks rise to the top. We should see an emotional game in the heart of Texas as this rivalry grows.
Since the Spurs’ 117-102 Christmas Day win in Oklahoma City, San Antonio has been a thorn - or spur - in Oklahoma City’s side. The teams went 1-1-1 ATS in the final three regular-season games, with San Antonio holding a slight 4-3 ATS edge in the playoffs. These games have been back-and-forth.
At Frost Bank Center, the Spurs won two of the three playoff games, including a 116-106 win in the final regular-season matchup. The Spurs will hold their own at home, and it won’t take much to grab the cover in the opener.
As for the total, the playoffs saw a lot of ebb and flow, but early in the postseason and late in the regular season, scoring was much higher. Look for these teams to put on an offensive show in the opener, since there’s much less pressure early in the season.
And we’re going to keep it simple in the opener, as far as the player props are concerned, focusing on the two biggest stars for each side.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a good bet to fill the box score, so we’ll take him to score 25+ points, and we’ll take Wembanyama to clean the glass at a feverish pace and grab at least 10 boards.
However, don’t bet those props straight up, as they will cost you more than three times your potential return, and that makes no sense for such heavy favorites. Only go with them as part of an SGP.
Parlay Odds: +440
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe