Now that the smoke has cleared from a wild 13-game Wednesday, the NBA has a much more modest four-game slate lined up on Thursday night. NBATV will air the night's marquee games, with Joel Embiid and the 76ers hosting the Raptors at 10:00 a.m. AEDT and Victor Wembanyama's Spurs running it back against Kevin Durant and the Suns at 1:00 p.m. AEDT.
We're getting our popcorn and our player prop multis ready on TAB and we'll share our favorite props with you today to hopefully help you win some Thursday night cash.
It didn't take long for the NBA to give 76ers head coach Nick Nurse some "revenge games" against his former squad. The 2-1 Sixers will be looking to beat the 2-3 Raps for the second time in five days. As for the Suns, they will be looking for revenge after Wemby, Keldon Johnson, and company literally stole the ball — and the game — from KD and Phoenix at the end of the Suns-Spurs game on Tuesday.
We also have a couple of solid games sandwiched between the opening and closing acts, with the Pelicans hosting the Pistons and the Jazz hosting the Magic. Needless to say, we will be busy with multiple streams on multiple screens. We'll also have multiple prop multis in play on TAB.
Below, we'll break down four of our favorite player props on TAB for Thursday night's NBA slate. Users don't necessarily have to multi all four picks together, though. You could make separate two-leg multis to increase your win probability or attempt to hit it big if all four picks come through.
Best NBA prop bets today: Player prop picks
1. Victor Wembanyama, F/C, Spurs at Suns — OVER 17.5 points
The Spurs often seem to need three-plus quarters to realize Wemby makes for a fantastic scoring option near the hoop, but good on them for at least getting there eventually. The 7-4 rookie phenom played a crucial role in a big comeback win against Phoenix on Tuesday, knocking down a jumper, dunking home a put-back, and helping San Antonio trap KD in the corner to steal the ball for the go-ahead Keldon Johnson layup. It was surreal.
What's even more surreal is that Wemby looks so awesome in spurts despite clearly not knowing what he's doing offensively for most of the game. If he's this talented when he's lost, imagine how damn good the dude will be once he finds his way in this league. We don't think that will take long, nor do we expect him to be limited to 12 shot attempts per game too often moving forward. That's how many Wemby attempted Tuesday, and he still bested this total. We have him taking closer to 15 tonight and easily clearing 17.5 points once again.
MORE: How James Harden's trade to the Clippers shakes up the championship odds
2. Tyrese Maxey, G, 76ers vs. Raptors — OVER 24.5 points
The East's inaugural Player of the Week this season, Maxey has been on a sizzler, and he can really smolder now that James Harden has taken his issues to Los Angeles. We have no reason to believe the young guard's usage rate will suddenly drop off now that four Clippers power forwards have joined Philly, so we have 25 as a pretty easy target to hit in what should be a pretty close game.
Tobias Harris remains a distant third scoring option behind reigning MVP and breakout star Maxey. Harris is a glorified (and overpaid) floor-spacer at this point in his career. Kelly Oubre Jr. has been inconsistent, and De'Anthony Melton will never be much of a go-to scorer. We're not saying Maxey will continue to score 30 points per game as he has through three contests, but we do expect this motivated scoring streak to continue into tonight. He averaged 29.3 PPG against Toronto last season and dropped 34 on the Raps just five days ago. Let's go!
3. Franz Wager, F, Magic at Jazz — OVER 18.5 points
Wagner, like Maxey, is one of my first-time All-Star picks for the 2023-24 season, and he definitely played the part through large stretches of the Magic's opening games. He averaged 21 points per game through Orlando's first two contests and then simmered down to 15 points per game in his past two outings against the Clippers and Lakers. We have him going back up OVER 18.5 points tonight against a young Utah team ranking in the bottom-six in the NBA in scoring defense (118.6 PPG) and field-goal percentage allowed (48.4%).
4. Joel Embiid, C, 76ers vs. Raptors — UNDER 29 points
Embiid had 34 points when the Sixers and Raps squared off on Saturday, but he averaged just 28 per game across four meetings with Toronto last season. Just a hunch, but we think Raps head coach Darko Rajaković will double the reigning MVP to limit his damage down low. The odds of Toronto pulling off the road upset will be much shorter if the ball gets forced out of JoJo's hands. This number just seems a skosh too high for our liking.
