3 Best NBA Bets and Player Props for Thursday 12/18/25

The 82-game NBA regular season offers us a wide variety of betting options, including point spreads, moneylines, and totals. The Association features 1,230 regular season games, which can make sifting through the odds an overwhelming task.

However, various advanced statistics can help narrow the choices. Our NBA player prop projections paired with advanced stats from the NBA can help give the inside track to quality bets.

While utilizing some of the mentioned tools, which NBA odds from FanDuel Sportsbook look like the best bets today?

Please note lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All injury news comes from the NBA's official injury report.

NBA Betting Picks for Today

Atlanta Hawks at Charlotte Hornets

Jalen Johnson Under 7.5 Assists (-128)

Trae Young is back, and that'll shake up the Atlanta Hawks' offense. It should be a blow to Jalen Johnson's usage.

Johnson has four straight triple-doubles and has been a breakout star this season. But he's undoubtedly benefitted from Young playing just five games. Maybe Young will operate in a second-fiddle role in his return, but I'll believe that when I see it.

So far in 2025-26, with Young off the floor, Johnson owns a 26.6% usage rate. But with Young on the court, Johnson's usage rate drops to 24.1%. Johnson posted a 22.5% usage rate last season, and he also dished out just 5.0 assists per game.

While the Charlotte Hornets are a superb matchup and this game could be a shootout (239.5-point total), I'm banking on Young returning and assuming his usual role of lead ball-handler, which should put a dent into Johnson's assist potential.

Miami Heat at Brooklyn Nets

Egor Demin Over 1.5 Made Threes (+102)

The Miami Heat give up a lot of three-point tries, and I'm intrigued by Egor Demin's plus-money odds to hit multiple treys today.

For the season, Miami is giving up the sixth-highest three-point attempt rate (43.8%). They're allowing the seventh-most made threes per night to PGs (3.4).

Demin makes an average of 1.8 threes per game on 5.2 attempts. He's drilled at least two triples in four of his past seven games, making an average of 2.0 per game in that span. He's also been a much better shooter at home (37.5% three-point percentage) than on the road (31.9%). At home, he averages 5.5 attempts and 2.1 made threes per game.

All in all, I find these +102 odds on Demin to sink at least two threes pretty appealing.

Sacramento Kings at Portland Trail Blazers

Kings +9.0 (-112)

The Sacramento Kings are one of the league's worst teams, but a 9.0-point spread is a lot, especially against a Portland Trail Blazers team that isn't all that great, either.

Over the last 10 games, Sacramento is next to last in net rating (-8.6) while the Blazers are just three spots ahead at a clip of -7.1. Over the last 15 games, these two teams are last (Kings) and 28th (Blazers) in net rating.

In short, the Kings are bad, and Blazers are almost as bad.

Through 26 games, Portland has notched just four wins of at least nine points -- with only two of those occurring since the start of November.

While it won't feel good to back the Kings, a team that is 8-17-1 against the spread this campaign, I like their chances to cover against Portland.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.