Pelicans vs. Thunder: Today’s Best NBA First Basket Scorer Prop Bets

After what I hope was a lucrative Super Bowl everyone, we can jump back into betting the NBA. Let's keep 2023 going right by winning some money in first-basket bets. As always, there is a lot of variability when it comes to betting the first basket but keep in mind, these bets are to maximize your profit in the long run with some being mere lottery tickets.

Here are my favorite first-basket options for tonight's slate. Below is a closer look at Pelicans vs. Thunder.

And here are our other top picks for Monday:

View 5-star bets and historical prop performance by players with our Prop Bet Analyzer >>

Monday's Best NBA First Basket Prop Bets: Pelicans vs. Thunder

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Pelicans vs. Thunder

Again, this is more so fading the Thunder than anything else. Oklahoma City not only struggles at winning jump balls but scores the first bucket of the game only 41 percent of the time. Their offense may be solid but going against a top-10 defensive team can cause problems for them too, even if they win the opening tip.

This is another example of the offensive team going to their center often for the first bucket (27%) and the defensive team allowing first buckets to the opponents' center often (28%). I won't spend too much time on this one but no big value plays tonight. Another bet where I'll be betting one unit.

Pick: Jonas Valanciunas (+500)

Last Week: 0-2 (-1.0U)
This Year: 2-14 (+1.5U)

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View 5-star bets and historical prop performance by players with our Prop Bet Analyzer >>

All opening tip and first basket data courtesy of NBA First Basket (@NBAFirstBasket)

Ryan Coleman is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @ryancoleman_98. For more from Ryan, check out his archive.