The NBA is back with Opening Night 2025 on Tuesday. The latest NBA odds show the Oklahoma City Thunder, who will raise their championship banner, as 6.5-point favorites against the Houston Rockets, while the Golden State Warriors are 2.5-point road favorites against the Lakers at 10 p.m. ET. LeBron James (sciatica) will miss the opener as he aims for a return in a few weeks.
It’s a smaller slate, but with spread, money lines and props on the board, there are still plenty of opportunities to build Opening Night NBA parlays. What are the best NBA bets on the board? Before locking in any NBA picks be sure to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven computer model.
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The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past seven seasons. The model enters the 2025-26 NBA season on a sizzling 160-118 roll on all top-rated NBA picks, returning nearly $4,000. It also went 24-11 (69%) on top-rated NBA against-the-spread picks last season. Anyone following its NBA betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Now, the model has scoured the latest NBA odds and locked in three confident NBA best bets. If you successfully parlay its picks, you’d be looking at a payout higher than +500. You can only see the model’s NBA picks at SportsLine.
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Top NBA picks for Opening Night
After simulating every game 10,000 times, the model is taking the Under (227.5) in Rockets vs. Thunder in the first tip of the season at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. While the core pieces for the Thunder return, the Rockets saw a big shake up in the offseason when Kevin Durant came over via trade that sent Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the Suns.
There very well could be some adjustments for Houston as it works Durant, a high-volume scorer, into the mix. The model, in fact, is projecting just 20.6 points for Durant, which is a big reason that the teams are projected to combine for just 219 points, helping the Under hit in 63% of simulations. See which other NBA parlay picks to make here, and bet Under right here:
How to make NBA predictions for Opening Night
The model also locked in a spread pick for both games, and it says one team covers more than 70% of the time in an A-rated pick. You can only see the model’s NBA Opening Night parlay at SportsLine.
What are the model’s top NBA Opening Night parlay picks, and which best bets should you target for a chance at a payout of more than +500? Visit SportsLine now to see NBA best bets from a model that’s returned more than $4,000 on top-rated picks, and find out.
