It’s your classic battle of the big markets on Thursday night, as the Lakers welcome the Knicks to Los Angeles. The Lakers enter this tilt as maybe the NBA’s hottest team. Not only are they winners of seven straight games, but the team also owns the league’s best defensive rating across it’s last 15 contests — a span where the Lakers own a +11.9 net rating.
LeBron James has obviously been a massive part of this recent turnaround. Let’s break down my favorite prop for the man that just exceeded 50,000 career points, shall we?
Best LeBron James Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
LeBron James Under 6.5 Assists (+120)
Taking an under in a matchup against the Knicks is a little bit of a risk with how they’ve been playing defense lately, but this prop is far more about Los Angeles’ new team dynamic than it is New York’s follies. The simple fact of the matter is that LeBron James has been able to do less with Luka Doncic around.
Nowhere has this trend been more evident that in James’ playmaking ability. Since the beginning of this current win streak on February 20, James has registered six assists or fewer six times. Consider that for the 2024-25 as a whole, James is averaging 15.7 potential assists per contest, yet in this seven-game span, that figure is down to only 12.1. For context, in that same stretch, Doncic leads the team at 14.3 per game. Need more proof? This season, James’ assist rate when sharing the floor with Doncic is 27.1%. With him off the court? It’s at a whopping 43.4%.
With Doncic ready to go tonight, I’d be looking to hammer this under at plus-money.
