Giannis Antetokounmpo headlines Saturday’s NBA prop bets.
The pregame narrative: The Greek Freak gets an injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks team, which is bad news for Dallas and good news for us. Earlier on, back Fred VanVleet against the Sacramento Kings and fade Cade Cunningham against the Brooklyn Nets.
Check out the best NBA prop bets for March 1.
NBA prop bets
Best bet: Antetokounmpo over 42.5 points and rebounds (-110)
This is a big number but I expect Antetokounmpo to completely smash it.
The Mavericks are missing the following players on Saturday:
- Anthony Davis (6-foot-10)
- Daniel Gafford (6-foot-10)
- Dereck Lively (7-foot-1)
Newly-acquired Moses Brown will start at centre, and while the 7-footer is a physical upgrade from the likes of Kessler Edwards and Dwight Powell, he’s incapable of defending a player like Giannis.
The journeyman centre has 45 NBA starts across five seasons with nine different teams — 32 of those came in his sophomore season with the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder.
Brown is getting thrown into the fire against a two-time MVP averaging 30.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per game.
This is an A-plus matchup and all we need is for Giannis to have an average night.
The Greek Freak just put up 28 points and 19 rebounds against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. Imagine what he can do against Brown and Co.
Key stat: Giannis is 5-5 against this line in his last 10 games with 39 and 41 P/R performances mixed in.
Best NBA picks
VanVleet over 2.5 threes (-125): VanVleet is set to return on Saturday after missing 11 games with an ankle injury.
I’m typically hesitant to back players coming off an injury but can make an exception tonight.
VanVleet won’t be playing on a minutes restriction, according to head coach Ime Udoka, and gets one of the worst perimeter defences in the NBA.
Sacramento is allowing opponents to shoot 37.9% from deep (29th out of 30 teams) and is giving up the seventh-most 3s to PGs in the last 30 days.
VanVleet is averaging 7.9 three-point attempts this year and has cleared this mark in two of his last four games against the Kings.
Cunningham under 30.5 points and rebounds (-137): This feels like a good spot to fade Cunningham as the red-hot Detroit Pistons host the Nets.
Detroit has won eight of its last nine and is a 10.5-point home favourite while playing on a back-to-back.
If there were ever a game to manage Cunningham’s minutes, it would be tonight with some blowout potential mixed in.
The point guard is coming off a stinker against the Nuggets, posting 11 points, three rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes on Friday.
He’s gone under this mark in back-to-back games and three of his last five.
Brooklyn has allowed the sixth-fewest points and third-fewest rebounds to PGs over the last 30 days. On the season it’s allowed the 13th-fewest points and fifth-fewest boards to PGs.
Picks made at 10:54 a.m. ET on 03/01/2025.
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.