Malik Monk and Victor Wembanyama headline Sunday’s NBA prop bets.
The pregame narrative: The Sacramento Kings are rolling with a new head coach and Monk has been at the forefront of their success. I expect him to fill the basket in a plus matchup and am also backing Wembanyama to continue wreaking havoc on defence.
Check out the best NBA prop bets for Jan. 19.
NBA prop bets
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Best bet: Monk over 19.5 points (-118)
Sacramento is firing on all cylinders under Doug Christie and I want in.
- The Kings are 8-2 since Christie took over for Mike Brown on Dec. 27.
- In that span, they rank fourth in offensive rating (118.9) and eighth in pace (100.75 possessions per 48 minutes).
Monk has been a steady contributor all season and has hit another gear this month. He’s putting up 23.7 PPG in January after averaging just north of 16.0 PPG the two months prior.
Has Christie unlocked something in the eighth-year guard? We’ll need a larger sample size to make that declaration. But Monk is shooting the ball more frequently and more accurately, which is good enough for me.
And tonight he gets to play a Washington Wizards team which has gotten torched by guards all season.
The Wizards allow the most points per game to point guards and the fourth-most points per game to shooting guards, per Fantasy Pros.
Key stat: Monk has scored 20+ points in six of seven games this month.
Quick picks
Wembanyama over 4.5 steals and blocks (-117): Wembanyama’s scoring has plummeted this month but that hasn’t slowed him on the defensive end.
The 7-foot-4 phenom is living up to his alien moniker with a ridiculous 6.1 “stocks” (1.4 steals, 4.7 blocks) per night in January.
Wemby has cleared this total in six straight games and has 19 stocks (five steals, 14 blocks) in his last two outings.
This isn’t a great matchup. The Heat don’t turn the ball over much and give up the 11th-fewest blocks per game to centers. But I’ll go ahead and call Wembaynama’s defence matchup-proof.
Maxey over 27.5 points (-125): Surprise, surprise: Joel Embiid is back on the injured list.
That’s bad news for the Philadelphia 76ers but good news if you want to back Maxey. The Sixers point guard has been humming over his last six games, averaging 30.0 PPG and clearing this line each time.
He hasn’t been the most efficient but is taking a ton of shots and gets a great matchup.
The Milwaukee Bucks have consistently struggled to defend guards since acquiring Damian Lillard. They’re allowing the fourth most points per game to PGs this season.
Picks made at 10:30 a.m. ET on 01/19/2025.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.