NBA Best First Basket Bets Today – June 16

The NBA Finals resume tonight. The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Indiana Pacers at the Paycom Center for Game 5. Tip-off is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET. 

Oklahoma City evened up the series at 2-2 after defeating Indiana 111-104 on Friday. 

The Thunder enter Game 5 as 9.5-point favorites with the total points set at 224.5 by most sportsbooks.

Oklahoma City remains a heavy favorite to win the series at -520 on FanDuel. 

We’ve included one first basket pick below for the Thunder’s Jalen Williams.

Make sure to bet responsibly and monitor your bankroll.

Note: Odds were correct at the time of writing.

Jalen Williams (+525) at BetMGM

After a slow start to the series, Jalen Williams has caught fire and scored 27 and 26 points in the last two games, shooting 47.22% from the field.

Williams averages the second-most points (20.8) of any player on the court for both teams, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30.4) this postseason. 

The same went for the regular season, as Williams recorded 21.6 points per game (25th-most in the NBA among all positions).

While the Santa Clara product only has a first-basket rate of 7.9% (seven first baskets in 89 games), he has taken the first shot 25% of the time during the playoffs for his team. 

According to BestOdds First Basket Pro, the 25% is tied for the most on OKC with Chet Holmgren. 

Williams has also made three first baskets in his last 20 games (playoffs), which is also tied with Holmgren and more than any other player on either roster.

Holmgren (7-foot-1) is slated to attempt the opening tip against Indiana’s Myles Turner (6-foot-11). 

Throughout the Finals, Holmgren has won all four tips and is 5-1 against Turner dating back to the start of last season, which makes it likely OKC will attempt the first shot. 

During the season, the Thunder also scored the first basket 57.3% of the time compared to 41.2% from Indiana. 

Williams, the No. 12 overall pick in 2022, has been extremely aggressive recently, with 18 or more field goal attempts in six of the last nine games since the start of the Western Conference Finals.

The 24-year-old plays a combination of both small forward and shooting guard. On the depth chart, he’s technically listed as a small forward.

Our First Basket Pro tool also highlights that Indiana has surrendered 33% of its first baskets to small forwards during the playoffs (tied for the most with point guards at 33%).

In 82 regular-season games, the Pacers allowed 25% of their first baskets to be scored by shooting guards (second-highest percentage behind centers at 29%).

The +525 odds at BetMGM showcase value compared to other bookmakers featured in the table below. 

Odds Comparison for Jalen Williams First Basket

Sportsbook	Odds
BetMGM	+525
bet365	+500
FanDuel	+500
DraftKings	+500
Caesars	+475
Hard Rock Bet	+425

Note: Remember to double-check the first basket rules at your bookmaker.