It’s that time of the year again where we’re ready to give you our best futures bets for the upcoming NBA season. We hit on some bets at huge odds last season including Nikola Jokic for MVP ($34) and have some more juicy plays for you this season, which you can find below! Best of luck to everyone following our NBA betting tips this season.
We'll be bringing you full preview and betting tips for the key games of at least three slates per week in the NBA this season, so be sure to check our NBA Tips page regularly for updates.
2021-22 NBA Futures Betting Tips
NBA Championship
Injuries were as prevalent as ever during the 2020-21 season, resulting in an unlikely NBA Finals matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. The Bucks obviously came out on top 4-2 and are expected to contend again this season ($9 to win the Championship), whereas the Suns ($17) are likely to struggle to replicate their impressive run. The other key fancies at this stage of the year are the Brooklyn Nets ($3.50), Los Angeles Lakers ($5) and Golden State Warriors ($13), all of whom you could build a compelling case for.
There have been a ton of moves in the off-season that have shaken up the title race, but none have changed the fact that the Brooklyn Nets, if healthy, are clearly the team to beat. The superstar trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving are an unstoppable force on offence and have a more than capable supporting cast surrounding them. The $3.50 quote might be a little too short to take with so much basketball to play out over the next several months, but we just don’t see it as a wise move to oppose them at this stage.
Most Valuable Player
The MVP market is always a fun one to have a crack at prior to the commencement of the season and it’s no different this time around. In our opinion, due to the configuration of the top tier teams in the league this season there are only a handful of guys who are legitimate contenders for the MVP trophy; Luka Doncic ($5.50), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($8), Kevin Durant ($8), Joel Embiid ($9) and Steph Curry ($9). It’s no surprise the five we named are the top five in the market as any winner outside of that quintet would be a huge shock.
Of the five we named above it’s actually the two outsiders in Steph Curry and Joel Embiid who we fancy the most, which really shouldn’t be a big surprise considering they came 3rd and 2nd respectively in last season’s voting behind Nikola Jokic. For Curry, the reintroduction of Klay Thompson to the line-up will take pressure off him and also help his team secure more wins, which is absolutely necessary to legitimise his MVP chances. In Embiid’s case, the only query about his legitimacy is whether or not the Sixers can improve on last season in the win/loss column as it’s almost a given that his numbers will be right up there again. If we were to only pick one then we would slightly lean towards Curry, however, the odds are juicy enough if you’re keen to have something on both.
Also Backing: Joel Embiid ($9.00)
Most Improved Player
We’re keen on having something on two point guards in the MIP race this season, the first of which is Kevin Porter Jr from the Houston Rockets. Porter had a slow start to his career in Cleveland where a number of problems halted his progress, however, he came to life in the second half of last season when he was traded to the Rockets, putting up averages of 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists from 23 games. With John Wall now out of the picture for the Rockets, the keys will be handed to Porter from day one this season and we expect him to make the most of it. It certainly won’t be a successful season for his team, but we expect Porter to put up career high numbers and give himself a big chance of being name MIP.
For our second MIP fancy we’re backing in San Antonio Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray who is well over the odds right now. 25-year-old Murray is coming off a career year where he averaged 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists from 67 games while playing the same lockdown defence that saw him named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2018. Like Porter, the premier ball-handler from last season in DeMar DeRozan is no longer with the team, which means Murray’s usage rate will increase significantly. There’s no reason why Murray can’t go onto average splits of 19/8/7 this campaign, which would put him right in the mix for MIP at a very juicy quote of $31.
Also Backing: Dejounte Murray ($31)
Rookie of the Year
The Rookie of the Year market is an interesting one this season as there are now clear cut favourites expected to run away with it. In saying that, at the top of market at most agencies at around $3-4 you’ll see the name ‘Cade Cunningham’ and he’s the man we’re keen on. Cunningham was the #1 pick in the draft this year when joining the Detroit Pistons who are desperately in need of some star power. The combo guard is a lights out shooter from beyond-the-arc and showcased that in the Summer League where he hit on 50% of his 26 attempts from deep and averaged over 18 points per game. There are some slight injury concerns regarding his ankles which has held him out of the pre-season to date, but he’s expected to suit up very soon for a Pistons outfit where he will be one of the top two options on offence all season long. There aren’t any rookies who are absolutely jumping out and saying pick me, but Cunningham looks to be the best of the bunch at this point in time.
