NBA Opening Night Best Bets: 2026-27 Season Picks
The day all basketball fans worldwide have been waiting for is finally here, as we get set to embark on yet another NBA regular season! A total of 129 days has passed since the buzzer beater sounded in Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. Tuesday marks the beginning of the 2026-27 NBA season and we couldn’t be more excited to get things going again!
Jalen Brunson and his New York Knicks will get their championship rings on Opening Night at Madison Square Garden, as they host LeBron James and his new look Philadelphia 76ers. We have two more games coming your way on Tuesday, I’ve prepared my Best Bets for each of the three encounters. Be sure to follow our NBA Picks for predictions during the entire 2026-27 NBA season, but for now let’s dive into my NBA Opening Night Best Bets!
Best Bet: Boston Celtics ML vs Detroit Pistons (-108)
Best Bet: Tyrese Maxey Over 21.5 Points vs New York Knicks (-105)
Best Bet: San Antonio Spurs -2.5 vs OKC Thunder (-106)
Best Bet: Boston Celtics ML vs Detroit Pistons (-108)
After a 60-win season last year, the Pistons are now projected to win 48.5 games, so what happened? Tobias Harris is the only notable departure, he contributed massively on the offensive end last season, especially in the 1st round win over Orlando. The Jalen Duren contract saga finally ended with him getting a new deal, but you have to wonder if that has left any negative side effects on the entire mood around the team.
Meanwhile, the Celtics also made major moves this offseason by shipping Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George. They also added Mitchell Robinson for rim protection, Mike Conley for his veteran leadership and were able to retain most of their depth. The preseason showed us they are still a well-oiled machine, with 3 of their 4 wins coming by double-digits. Jayson Tatum is now the lone superstar on the roster, I am eager to see how far he can carry this team come postseason time. Detroit might have won 3 of the 4 meetings last season, but I think the loss of Harris will prove costly. Give me the Celtics to come out on top in their season opener.
Best Bet: Tyrese Maxey Over 21.5 Points vs New York Knicks (-105)
Tyrese Maxey might just benefit the most from the offseason moves the Philadelphia 76ers have made. We’ve seen Maxey carry a massive load on his back over and over in the last couple of seasons, with his running mate Joel Embiid out injured. After the additions of Jaylen Brown and LeBron James, plus Embiid finally getting healthier (knock on wood), there’s no longer pressure on Maxey to look for his shot every possession down the court.
I expect that to show right from the get-go, as the Sixers head to Madison Square Garden. Philly got swept last year in the playoffs; Maxey simply couldn’t do much on his own against a loaded Knicks team. This time around he’s got a lot more help and scoring the ball should be a lot easier. He’s averaged 25.6 points per game in the last 10 meetings vs the Knicks, while at MSG he’s averaging 24 ppg in 10 visits so far. With Mitchell Robinson now gone, the Knicks paint will be exposed by rim attacking players this season and this is the perfect match-up for Maxey to go off.
Check our our Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks Predictions
Best Bet: San Antonio Spurs -2.5 vs OKC Thunder (-106)
To close out the night we have the first meeting of the season between the Spurs and Thunder. A lot happened in the 12 meetings between the two sides last season, the Spurs came out on top in 8 of those, including Game 7 of the West Finals. OKC would love to get revenge in a hostile environment on opening night, but you have to like San Antonio here.
The Spurs had one of the best home record last season winning 32 of 40 games, plus they also went 24-16 ATS for a cover percentage of 60%. They are also the healthier team at the moment, with OKC having 5 players on the injury report including Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams among others. Two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot under 41% from the field and just 28% from three in those aforementioned West Finals, if the Spurs are able to limit him offensively they’ll be just fine here. I’ll take the home side to cover.
Read our Oklahoma City Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs Predictions
