NBA Opening Night Player Props | Oct. 24

It’s opening night in the NBA, and with only two games on the slate for Tuesday, there are still a plethora of player props to wager.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets tip-off the NBA season at 7:30 pm ET, shortly after the Nuggets hang their championship banner from the rafters.

Then, at 10:00 pm ET, the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors square up in a Western Conference matchup.

It’s only two games, but with four NBA Championship contenders, and a litany of star players on the court, it should be an entertaining night.

Player prop bets make it even more entertaining.

Let’s check out some potential props to wager, and as always, with the best odds.

Jamal Murray – PG, Denver Nuggets

Tonight, Murray gets a matchup with the Lakers, and he’ll be heavily shadowed by fellow point guard D’Angelo Russell.

This bodes well for Murray, as the Lakers allowed an average of 27.4 points per game to opposing point guards last season, only the Houston Rockets allowed more.

Murray averaged exactly 20 points per game last season, but when facing the Lakers in the postseason, he went off.

Here’s a look at Murray’s point totals in the Nuggets four-game sweep of Los Angeles in the playoffs:

• Game 1: 31 Points
• Game 2: 37 Points
• Game 3: 37 Points
• Game 4: 25 Points

In all games against the Lakers last season (including playoffs), Jamal Murray was able to consistently hit his "points" numbers at a pretty convincing rate

⏰ Current line on @UnderdogPicks : 22.5

Does he start the season off on the right foot Opening Night?

🧪 @propsdotcash pic.twitter.com/cMx1LcP8Sn

— Jared Block (@jaredrblock) October 24, 2023

With the championship banner being raised in Denver, maybe Murray can allow his postseason dominance over the Lakers crossover into opening night.

Pick: Murray – OVER 21.5 Points

Best Odds: (-115) FanDuel

Michael Porter Jr. – SF, Denver Nuggets

Porter averaged 5.5 rebounds per game in 2022-23, but tonight, he will face a Los Angeles team that averaged the second-most rebounds per game to small forwards.

With Jarred Vanderbilt out of the lineup for LA, Porter should regularly match up with Taurean Prince, and when it comes to rebounds, I like Porter’s four-inch height advantage.

I mentioned Murray’s points against the Lakers in the playoffs, and it was a similar success for Porter grabbing boards.

Here’s a quick look at Porter’s rebound totals against Los Angeles in the playoffs:

• Game 1: 10 Rebounds
• Game 2: 7 Rebounds
• Game 3: 10 Rebounds
• Game 4: 10 Rebounds

Hitting double-digits in the rebound column is nice, but for Porter, we only need six.

Pick: Porter – OVER 5.5 Rebounds

Best Odds: (+106) FanDuel

Nikola Jokic – C, Denver Nuggets

I’m going to continue attacking the Lakers here, because their defense wasn’t great last season, and nothing has really changed.

Los Angeles allowed 4.9 assists per game to centers, the most in the NBA last season.

Normal Jokic pass pic.twitter.com/CR53PUZe54

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 10, 2023

While big men don’t typically record gaudy assist totals, Jokic is an atypical big man.

Jokic averaged 9.8 assists per game last season, and on a night where Murray has a very solid matchup with Russell, I can see Jokic passing the ball off frequently.

Once again, here’s a look at Jokic’s assists totals in the Nuggets four-game sweep of the Lakers:

• Game 1: 14 Assists
• Game 2: 12 Assists
• Game 3: 8 Assists
• Game 4: 13 Assists

While history doesn’t always repeat itself, it certainly rhymes.

I’m backing these Nuggets to continue their dominance over Los Angeles.

Pick: Jokic – OVER 9.5 Assists

Best Odds: (+100) BetMGM

Kevin Durant – PF, Phoenix Suns

Tonight, Durant will face the Golden State Warriors in a revenge game against his old club.

The now 35-year-old power forward still averaged 29.1 points per game last season, and his usage should be high in this one, considering that guards Bradley Beal (back) and Devin Booker (toe) are not 100% healthy.

With an average of 6.7 rebounds per game last season, Durant should surpass that number on Tuesday with a floor matchup against Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins.

One big thing working in Durant’s favor, the Warriors will be without their brilliant defender, Draymond Green.

With no Green on the floor Durant should have little issue with finding open shots and cleaning up boards in the paint.

Durant has scored at least 20 or more points in his last 12 opening night contests, which is tied with Karl Malone for the longest such streak in the NBA.

I believe Durant will make it 13-straight 20+ point openers tonight.

The 6’10 forward should collect plenty of points and rebounds.

Pick: Durant – OVER 33.5 Points+Rebounds

Best Odds: (-120) bet365

Stephen Curry – G, Golden State Warriors

I did some digging on Steph Curry’s three-point shooting in opening games.

In his first contest of the season, Curry is 33-for-113 from long range. That’s a .292 shooting percentage from beyond the arc in opening games.

Considering that Curry is a career .428 shooter from three-point range, the .292 three-point percentage in openers is somewhat concerning.

Also, Curry has tallied five three point field goals made in only two of his 14 opening contests.

The number of three-point field goals expected from Curry is roughly five, with the prop being set at over/under 4.5 on almost every sportsbook.

It’ll be interesting to see how many shots Curry will take with Chris Paul slotted in as point guard, shifting Curry from the 1 to the 2 guard position.

The shots still need to go down though, and history tells me that Curry is a slow starter.

Pick: Curry – UNDER 4.5 Three-Point Field Goals

Best Odds: (-106) BetRivers