The NBA has a festive five-game Christmas slate lined up, and in one of the best matchups of the day, we get Spurs vs. Thunder Part III. The Spurs won the first two matchups between these two teams in the last couple of weeks, first in Vegas and then Tuesday in San Antonio. On Christmas, they’ll meet again in OKC with tipoff at 2:30 p.m. ET. Let’s take a look at some of the top player prop bets from this matchup to consider on DraftKings Sportsbook.
In the overall matchup, the Thunder are 9.5-point home underdogs, with the game total set at 235.5. The Thunder are an impressive 26-4 on the season and 14-0 at home, but they have lost three of their last five, including two losses to the Spurs. The Spurs have won four straight and nine of their last 11, beating the Thunder twice, including a 130-110 win on Tuesday at Frost Bank Center. These two teams currently sit No. 1 and No. 2 in the Western Conference, and this could be a great playoff series down the road, depending on how everything plays out.
Let’s dive into this matchup and find a few of my top player prop bets for this fun Christmas matchup.
Spurs vs. Thunder Best Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Isaiah Hartenstein over 9.5 rebounds (+104)
Hartenstein missed six games at the start of December with a calf issue and has been in and out of the lineup for injury management since then. When he has played, though, he has done great work on the boards. He played 26 minutes on Tuesday against the Spurs and hauled in 12 boards. Against the Spurs in the NBA Cup matchup, he had nine rebounds in 20 minutes in his first game back after his injury.
He has double-digit rebounds in five of his last nine games, averaging 9.9 rebounds per game over that span. This season, he’s averaging 10.7 rebounds per game, and he could have more responsibility down low on Christmas, depending on whether Chet Holmgren (face) can play after an early exit on Tuesday after taking a shot to the face.
Devin Vassell over 14.5 points (+100)
Vassell has been boom-or-bust scoring this season as his role fluctuates depending on who else is available. With Victor Wembanyama still working his way up to full speed, though, Vassell is getting enough usage to be a solid play for the over at this price point.
He has averaged 15.6 points per game overall this season, and he has gone over this prop line in three of his last four games. He had 17 points in 28 minutes in Tuesday’s win over OKC, and he was even more productive with 23 points in the first matchup between these teams in Vegas.
Vassell has the ability to pile up points when he’s called upon for a larger role. In his 17 road games, Vassell has averaged 16.2 points per game, so him getting to 15 points in this third matchup of the season with OKC seems likely.
Stephon Castle over 22.5 Points + Assists (-106)
Castle had 24 points and three assists on Tuesday, going over this prop line with points alone. He had 22 points and two assists to go over this prop line in the first matchup between these teams as well. He has at least 23 points plus assists in each of his eight games since returning from a hip injury on Dec. 8. Castle has been excellent over that span, scoring at least 17 points in seven of those eight games since returning.
The second-year guard has made a huge leap this year, and getting him at this line feels like a Christmas gift!
Bonus Parlay Pick: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over 1.5 3PM (-170)
If you’re looking to use these props to create a Same Game Parlay (SPG) or an SPGx, one other leg I would consider to sweeten the odds would be tossing in SGA to hit multiple 3PM up to +1000, as you can see below.
SGA had hit multiple threes in six of his last seven games before going just 1-for-4 on Tuesday. He’s gone over this prop in 15 of his last 20 games (75%) and has averaged 1.9 3PM per game at home this season.
