It is a loaded day of NBA action with all 30 teams suiting up.
The league will pause tomorrow for Election Day, but plenty of excitement remains for Monday night’s slate. Kicking off the action at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Oklahoma City Thunder will face off with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Five games start at 7:30, and the action builds to a triple-header in the 10:00 p.m. window.
There are plenty of ways to get involved on DraftKings Sportsbook. Here are my top three player prop bets for Monday’s NBA slate.
Best NBA Prop Bets Today
Caleb Wilson to Record 7+ Rebounds (+117)
It has been an encouraging start to Caleb Wilson’s NBA career after Chicago selected the North Carolina product with the fourth overall pick in the NBA Draft. Through his opening six games, Wilson is posting averages of 21.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.5 blocks. His efficiency has been a bit of a struggle, as he is shooting just 41.7% from the field and 29.8% from beyond the three-point arc, but the flashes of Wilson becoming a foundational franchise player are already clear.
There is a lot to like from the Philadelphia 76ers to start the season. They have leaped out to a 6-1 start following their star-studded offseason additions, finding their form at a far more rapid rate than felt fair to expect. However, one area where this has not been evident is on the boards. Philadelphia currently ranks 26th in rebounds per game, dead last in opponents’ rebounds allowed, and dead last in defensive rebounds allowed. Joel Embiid leads the team with 9.4 rebounds per game and is listed as questionable with a foot injury. V.J. Edgecombe is second on the team with 7.8 rebounds per game, with LeBron James being the lone other player to pull in more than 6.2 boards per game.
Wilson has logged 31 or more minutes in every game, averaging 34.2 minutes per game overall. He has recorded as many as 14 rebounds in a game and at least five in five consecutive games. The athleticism of the rookie will be problematic for this Philadelphia roster, especially as the Sixers have opted to lean on small-ball lineups at a high rate when Embiid spends his minutes on the bench. Count on the 6-foot-10 forward to continue attacking the glass at a high rate and for seven rebounds to be a comfortable bar to clear.
Jayson Tatum Over 6.5 Assists (-108)
The Boston Celtics have fully turned the keys of the franchise to Jayson Tatum following the controversial offseason trade of Jaylen Brown. Tatum looks like the healthiest version of himself once again, and it is showing in the stat sheet to start the season. Through his opening six games, the six-time All-Star is posting averages of 28.3 points, 7.7 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game. Boston is leaning on their offensive identity of spacing the floor and allowing Tatum to serve as the lone offensive creator to attack the rim and kick to perimeter shooters.
The 28-year-old is posting a career-high 36.4% assist percentage, well above his 18.5% career average and previous career-high of 27.0% over a season. Tatum has tallied at least six assists in every game, and over 6.5 in five of his six games played.
It is a tough matchup with the Houston Rockets tonight, who are off to a 6-1 start while ranking seventh in opponents’ points allowed and 11th in defensive rating. The volume of offensive chances on Tatum’s plate is notable, and the lone game he has fallen short of clearing the 6.5 assist total was the 134-99 blowout over the Bulls. Expect a competitive battle tonight against this Rockets team and for Tatum to continue running the offense. It feels the prop lines have not fully caught up to his output given his change in role, especially following Brown setting a career-high in assists last year on this Celtics team. Back Tatum to continue pulling the right strings of the offense and recording over 6.5 assists for the sixth time already this season.
Victor Wembanyama Over 41.5 Points, Rebounds, & Assists (-114)
Through the early stages of the season, Victor Wembanyama has climbed to the MVP favorite at +200 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. The 22-year-old is posting averages of 28.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 4.2 blocks per game across his first six games of the season. Wembanyama will look to build off this during tonight’s matchup against the Utah Jazz.
There are some areas of optimism surrounding this young Jazz team. But Utah enters this matchup with a 1-5 overall record, ranking 25th in opponents’ points allowed, 25th in defensive rating, and 15th in opponents’ rebounds allowed. Utah will also be without Jusuf Nurkic and Jaren Jackson Jr., further creating a pathway for the Spurs’ star to dominate the boards. This is a matchup that Wembanyama has had success with, historically averaging 26.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 4.4 blocks across his past 10 matchups with the Jazz, and finishing with 36 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists against them already this year.
Wembanyama has recorded 52+ combined points, rebounds, and assists in back-to-back games, including in a match with this Jazz team. There is no clear blueprint to slow down his production, but Utah especially lacks the personnel to provide resistance. After a slow start to the year, he has climbed back into the driving force of the production with 59 field goal attempts across the past two games. Expect another massive statistical output from the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and for the 41.5 combined points, rebounds, and assists line to be too low.
