NBA Player Props Today: Best Bets & Picks for Thursday (12/26)
What kind of performances can we expect on Thursday from De’Aaron Fox, Jabari Smith, and Jalen Johnson? Follow along as our NBA betting expert, Nick Galaida, breaks down three of his favorite NBA prop bets for today — Thursday, December 26, 2024. Get all of Nick’s picks, including more NBA player props, at ScoresAndOdds.
Following a thrilling 5-game NBA Christmas Day slate, basketball fans have another 9 games on tap for Thursday, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET. However, bettors will have their hands full ahead of tip off this evening, with a number of notable names listed as questionable, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young, Domantas Sabonis, Damian Lillard, Myles Turner, and more.
As always, be sure to monitor the status of these key players throughout the day and utilize tools like RotoGrinders CourtIQ to help identify value opportunities in the betting and DFS market!
If looking to target the player prop market today, we have three player prop leans worth considering for Thursday, December 26!
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NBA Player Props Today – Thursday, December 26, 2024
- De’Aaron Fox Over/Under 38.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists
- Jabari Smith Over/Under 21.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists
- Jalen Johnson Over/Under 20.5 Points
De’Aaron Fox OVER 38.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-108, FanDuel)
Domantas Sabonis is officially listed as questionable for tonight’s game against the Pistons, but it’s worth noting that he wasn’t present at shootaround this morning, which is typically a sign that a player has less than a 50% chance of suiting up for that evening’s contest. If Sabonis doesn’t play, it could lead to a big night for De’Aaron Fox. According to RotoGrinders CourtIQ, Fox is averaging 28.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per 36 minutes this season with Sabonis off of the floor. In 2 games played with Sabonis sidelined, Fox posted 61 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) against the Jazz and 40 PRA two nights later against the Hawks. This is also a good matchup for Fox against a Detroit defense that has struggled to contain opposing point guards of late.
Jabari Smith OVER 21.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-125, BetMGM)
Tonight, Dillon Brooks will miss his 2nd game of the season, which could mean another big night for Jabari Smith. According to RotoGrinders CourtIQ, Smith is averaging 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per 36 minutes with Brooks off of the floor this year. Earlier this week, with Brooks out of the lineup, Smith scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and added 2 assists for good measure. More important from a betting perspective, Smith played 35 minutes, had 14 shot attempts, 15 rebound chances, and 4 potential assists in that game. He should have every chance to pile up counting stats once again this evening, playing a New Orleans team that has allowed some big games to opposing forwards in recent weeks.
Jalen Johnson OVER 20.5 Points (-105, DraftKings)
Jalen Johnson has continued to thrive for Atlanta and has firmly established himself as a core piece of the team’s plans for this season. Tonight, he gets a dream matchup against a Chicago team that ranks in the bottom half of the league in defensive rating but top 5 in pace across their last 10 games. Chicago has been particularly poor when it comes to slowing down opposing forwards in that span, ranking 21st in opponent field goal percentage. Johnson has seen his scoring regress somewhat during the latter portion of December, but he’s positioned for a potential spike performance this evening.
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