The 2025-2026 NBA season starts in just a few days and anticipation for the season is growing every minute.
It’s the perfect time to place some futures bets for the season and see where we can find some value on the NBA betting lines. We start with betting on three prizes: Most Valuable Player, Sixth Man of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
Before we get to the betting, remember that the NBA has implemented new qualifications for majors and All-NBA teams. To be eligible for MVP, a player must be active for at least 65 of 82 games, or 85 percent, and play at least 20 minutes in those games. If a player has played at least 62 games, accounting for 85 percent of his team’s games to date, he is still eligible.
The qualifications do not apply to Rookie of the Year or Sixth Man of the Year. But to be eligible for Sixth Man, a player must have played more games off the bench than games in the starting lineup.
Now that we’ve gone over the rules, let’s get started with some bets.
Luka Doncic becomes NBA Most Valuable Player (+440, ESPN BET)
The skinny Luka Doncic was all the rage this summer. He has a revenge body that fits the revenge season people expect from him. I’m sure Doncic would love to dominate this season and rub it in the faces of the Mavericks’ front office, but that’s not the only reason I like him at this price.
Doncic is just beginning to reach his peak at age 27 and has already taken a team to the NBA Finals. His game, as good as it is, is not complete and he has needed to hear that since the trade was heard around the world.
A player with his talent level, who has room for improvement and the motivation to improve, is dangerous. Add in the fact that LeBron James will miss the start of the season with sciatica (which could linger throughout the year) and the Lakers look like a team that will rely heavily on Luka ball.
He has done well in the past when he has had a second ballhandler, such as Jalen Brunson or Kyrie Irving. Doncic has a pretty good approach to that in Austin Reaves. Deandre Ayton provides much-needed size and rebounding, another key component of good Doncic teams of the past.
My biggest concern is health, but looking at Doncic’s career, he would have only been out of contention for major honors twice in his career, including last season.
I think this is the year he gets over the hump for his first MVP trophy.
Bet on the NBA?
Miles McBride wins NBA Sixth Man of the Year (80/1, BetRivers)
This award has evolved in recent years. It used to be seen as the ‘player who scored the most points off the bench’ award. But over the past three years, the winners haven’t just been winners.
None of the previous three winners, Payton Pritchard (2025), Naz Reid (2024) or Malcolm Brogdon (2023), were the top scorer in the year they won, but they were part of very good teams. The past two winners have also been relative long shots to win with odds of 50/1 to win the prize at the start of the season.
Pritchard is the co-favorite to win Sixth Man this season with De’Andre Hunter, but I think we’ll see another preseason winner.
This season I have Miles McBride in my sights. McBride took a slight step back in terms of his efficiency last season compared to last year, but he showed more value during the playoffs. He can play off the ball but still get his own shot, and he impresses by guarding the ball with defensive pressure.
Two of his Knicks teammates – Jordan Clarkson and Josh Hart – are actually ahead of him on the scoreboard, but Clarkson’s fit in Mike Brown’s offense doesn’t seem seamless so far. Hart starts the season with a lingering problem with his shooting hand and back cramps after a nasty fall in Abu Dhabi.
Right now, McBride seems like the most reliable player off the bench for the Knicks. If the team has success with Deuce anchoring the bench unit, his odds of 80/1 will drop quickly.
Cooper Flagg NBA Rookie of the Year (-180, DraftKings)
I really wanted to make a case here for Ace Bailey, who is 11/1 on ESPN BET and looks great. Bailey will have some standout nights, but he’s playing on a team with the lowest expected win total in the NBA (19.5), full of players with less than three years in the NBA or more than a decade.
The Mavericks are in contention for something this season and there’s a good chance they could be in line for a playoff spot if they can maintain their health.
Flagg should be great out of the gate and the Mavericks won’t have Irving for months to start the year. This is also a situation where Flagg will get the benefit of appearing on national television.
The Mavs will play eight nationally televised games between opening night (vs. Spurs on ESPN) and Christmas Day (vs. Warriors). That’s a huge opportunity to convince voters who won’t see him regularly.
I don’t like betting on him at these odds, but it would be hard to see another player (obviously not named Bailey) competing with Flagg here.
Why trust New York Post betting
Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He is a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and martial arts. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for benefits for NBA player props with more money.
#NBA #awards #odds #picks #bets #Opening #Night