The NBA season is underway, and it’s almost time to see who claims the crown! You asked for it, we answered. For our Christmas week slate, we’re giving you three times the fun. Tonight, Three Kings of the Court will be crowned.
Every Tuesday, $1 million in bonus bets will be split and distributed to users who opt in and place a player prop bet on the player who ultimately leads that night in total points, rebounds, and assists! But this time, there’s a twist. $3 million will be split amongst those who bet on the top three leaders in points, rebounds, and assists.
Crowns for the Kings
We have our winners in a special Christmas week edition of King of the Court! Tonight, we crowned three kings to divide up $3 million in bonus bets. Those winners were Kawhi Leonard, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jamal Murray. Congrats to the winners!
King of the Court Preview | Tuesday, December 23
Leaders in projected points, rebounds & assists totals
- Nikola Jokic: 54.5
- Jalen Johnson: 45.5
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 43.5
- Cade Cunningham: 42.5
- Deni Avdija: 41.5
LIVE UPDATES
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Kings of the Court
- Kawhi Leonard: 54 PRA
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 54 PRA
- Jamal Murray: 52 PRA
Turning Back the Clock
Every once in a while, Kawhi Leonard shows his true self. Tonight, the Rockets were on the business end of that. With a killer fourth quarter, Leonard surged to the top of our leaderboard. That boots Cooper Flagg out of the top three in a cruel twist of fate.
We’re unlikely to get any more late entrants, so here are your sure-to-be winners: Kawhi Leonard, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jamal Murray. Congrats to the bettors on those three! Stay tuned to the DraftKings Sportsbook Twitter account for updates on what kind of bonus bet you can expect.
Two Down, One to Go
The Magic-Trail Blazers game has ended, and we had no challengers for the three crowns. Deni Avdija, one of the projected leaders, finished with 39 P/R/A while Anthony Black came close with 35.
The Pistons and Kings game put up a better fight. DeMar DeRozan cooked all night, finishing with 37 points, three rebounds and eight assists for a grand total of 48 P/R/A. That was dangerously close to the top three. Cade Cunningham, another popular pick, ended his night with 22/7/14 for a 43 P/R/A total. Valiant efforts, but no crowns to show for it.
One game remains: the Rockets against the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard is the best candidate with 36/7/5, followed by Alperen Sengun with 19/11/7. Can one or two of our current Kings get knocked off at the end?
Silent Night
It’s all quiet on the front as our slate winds down. In our last three games, no player has cracked the top 10 on the leaderboard. Cade Cunningham does have 40 P/R/A, and a late surge could put him over the top. Alperen Sengun remains on a strong pace as the third quarter comes to a close in LA. But right now, we’re in wait-and-see mode.
Another One Short
Santi Aldama had a clean shot at the top three. With 48 P/R/A on the board, he took a flagrant foul in the closing minutes of the Grizzlies-Jazz game, netting him three free throws. But he only sank one, ending with 49 P/R/A and settling for fifth place behind the Three Kings.
We’ll have to hope the late games produce some results. Alperen Sengun is off to a promising start, and at his current pace, would threaten for one of the top spots. With three games left on the board, we’ll see if there are any late-night upsets.
No Sir, SGA
Another disappointing night for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After tying the NBA record with a 24-1 start, they’ve dropped three of their last five games and lost their second game to the Spurs in the last two weeks. SGA’s chance to jump into the top three was also halted, and he finished with 44 total P/R/A.
Looking down the board, Santi Aldama has surged in Memphis, and has piled up 44 P/R/A of his own with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Perhaps he can challenge for one of the top spots as this game winds down.
Texas Two-Step
It was a star-studded affair in Dallas that came down to the wire. Nikola Jokic sure wishes he had one more assist on his stat line.
That miss ended the game and left Jokic out of the top three. His 50 P/R/A leaves him in fourth place, with Cooper Flagg ahead of him at 51. Jamal Murray topped that trio at 52, but Karl-Anthony Towns has taken the cake so far with 54 P/R/A. As it stands, Towns, Murray and Flagg would be the top three and the prize winners for our Three Kings contest.
Looking down the board for potential leaders, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has 41 P/R/A with six minutes to play in the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies-Jazz and Lakers-Suns games seem unlikely to produce a winner. We’ll keep an eye to see if anyone else pops from the later slates, but for now, our leaders are beginning to crystallize.
Manic Finish
It was a sprint to the finish in the 7:00 p.m. ET games. Josh Giddey took the day in the Hawks-Bulls game with 45 P/R/A, closely followed by Jalen Johnson at 43. On some nights, that would be good enough to stay in the race, but they have quickly been overtaken.
A quartet of players in the Nuggets-Mavericks game are in the top six. Cooper Flagg and Jamal Murray are tied with 45 P/R/A as that game winds down the last five minutes. Nikola Jokic isn’t far behind with 44, and Anthony Davis has 43. All are vying to overtake Karl-Anthony Towns, who leads the field with 47 P/R/A.
Flagg Attack
The Denver Nuggets are not having a good time containing Cooper Flagg tonight. With a few minutes left in the third quarter, Flagg has 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists. That’s good enough to take the top spot on the leaderboard.
Currently, Flagg is in first with 42 P/R/A, closely followed by Josh Giddey and Karl-Anthony Towns at 40. Several players are hovering right behind. It’s coming down to the wire in the early slate.
Giddy for Giddey
It remains a crowded field at the top, but Josh Giddey has separated a bit. He’s already posted a triple-double, and is working on 39 P/R/A in the fourth quarter.
But things can change in a hurry. A whopping six players have 35+ P/R/A, and they’re all in the late third quarter or in the fourth. Get ready for a crazy finish.
Scrap At The Top
It’s a constant back-and-forth at the top. Josh Giddey has thrown himself into the top of the leaderboard, but these leads are not safe. Currently, six players are within four P/R/A of the top spot: Giddey, MPJ, Jalen Johnson, LaMelo Ball, Moussa Diabate and Karl-Anthony Towns.
KAT in particular bears watching. He has 24 points and four rebounds before halftime, and is on an excellent pace. Stay tuned as we get into the hectic part of the early window.
Heated Early Window
We’re reaching out first batch of halftimes in the early slate. Michael Porter Jr. caught fire in the second quarter, finishing the first half with 25 points and three rebounds, taking a lead on the Three Kings slate heading into halftime. But that lead was short-lived, as Jalen Johnson surged forward to take the lead. Atlanta’s breakout star has 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists going into halftime against the Bulls.
He’s not the only one cooking in this Bulls-Hawks game. Johnson, Trae Young and Josh Giddey are all in the top six of the board. Also, keep an eye on Moussa Diabate, who continues to build on his first-half double-double. Joel Embiid also merits watching with 19 points and three rebounds at halftime.
Jalen Johnson Breakout Continues
To the surprise of nobody, Jalen Johnson is continuing to cook. He brutalized the Bulls in their matchup over the weekend, and is continuing his campaign of terror over Chicago tonight. It’s nothing new for Johnson, who is in the midst of a breakout year.
Johnson came into the night with the second-highest projected total P/R/A on the night, and is delivering with 14 P/R/A in the first quarter. But he already has some catching up to do: Moussa Diabate has a double-double, and it’s not even halftime.
The Mousse Man
It’s a hot start out of the gate for a few players in our 7 p.m. ET slate. Most surprising of all is Moussa Diabate. Charlotte’s big man is inhaling rebounds left and right, and making an early name for himself on the Three Kings leaderboard.
It’s early, but Diabate bears watching. Elsewhere, Michael Porter Jr. is off to a great start and is one of our dark horse candidates to take the top spot. Stay tuned, as we have four more games about to tip off.
Previous Winner
Three weeks ago, Anthony Edwards took the crown in our previous King of the Court on DraftKings. He put up a strong 53 P/R/A to net a $108 bonus bet for all Edwards bettors.
What could’ve been if Trey Murphy III was the King of the Court…
How to Play King of the Court
- Opt in to receive your King of the Court token in the Promotions page
- Bet on an NBA Player Prop on DraftKings Sportsbook and apply your token (Minimum leg odds of -200 apply)
- If the player you wagered on with your token applied was the points, rebounds and assists leader that night, win a share of $1 million in bonus bets paid out the next day.
For more information on this promo, click here!
