NBA Betting: Best Picks to Lead the League in Steals

The NBA season has just begun, but it's not too late to get your season-long bets in for which player you think will lead the league in key stat categories.

FanDuel Sportsbook is offering various NBA player stat odds for the 2023-2024 season, and here we'll focus on some of the best bets for who may be crowned the steals leader this year.

OG Anunoby (+310)

The shortest odds to be this year's steals per game leader belong to OG Anunoby, which makes sense given that he led the NBA in this category last season.

He averaged 1.9 steals per game last year, an increase from the two years prior where he averaged 1.5 steals, finishing 18th and 13th, respectively, in the league.

Though he's only played one game, he did grab two steals in the Toronto Raptors' season opener, so the trajectory to following up on last season's numbers has already begun.

When it comes to being an NBA stat-leader, the main quality, beyond talent, that is absolutely crucial is availability. Not only does a stat-leader need to stay healthy and show up for the league-required amount of games, but they also need to clock in enough minutes per game to ensure that the opportunities are high.

For Anunoby, things look fairly productive, at least as minutes per game are concerned. Last year, he played 35.6 minutes per game, which was 17th among all NBA players. Only one other player (Dejounte Murray) that currently sits in the top-10 odds for the NBA steals leader clocked in more minutes per game than Anunoby last year.

Given that Anunoby enters this season at 26 years old (his seventh season in the league), it seems likely that he will start to reach peak overall performance for his career, which could go hand-in-hand with him leading the league in steals.

Jimmy Butler (+340)

Jimmy Butler followed close behind the ranks of Anunoby last season in steals, averaging 1.8 per game to Anunoby's 1.9.

Butler is no stranger to leading the league in this category; he recorded the most steals per game in his 2020-2021 season with the Miami Heat.

Similarly to Anunoby, he stole the ball twice in the Heat's season opener, and it's clear to see why he is a top-competitor to lead the league this year. In his last 11 seasons, Butler averaged at least 1.8 steals per game in all but one year.

His track record is strong, but he could be on a bit of a minutes decline this season. He played 33.4 minutes per game last year, and now that he's 34 years old, we could see that number dip a bit more. It will by no means be a noticeable minutes restriction, but given the 82-game season and the fact that steals as a whole are fairly hard to come by (the margin for leading the league in steals is always very close), it could jeopardize his chances in opposition to a steal-heavy player who clocks more minutes.

Paul George (+500)

Paul George currently holds the third-shortest odds to be this season's steals per game leader, though I wouldn't classify him as a top contender.

Throughout the last four seasons, George has only played 50-plus games in two of them.

In his heyday, George was a steals machine, averaging 2.0 in the 2017-2018 season (runner-up in this category) and a league-leading 2.2 in the 2018-2019 season. However, his age and non-ignorable injury-proneness makes him extremely hard to trust.

Perhaps the fact the he grabbed three steals in the Los Angeles Clippers season opener led to him being a heavier-favorite than originally anticipated, and he's still a star player, but I find that the younger and healthier players are much better candidates to lead the league in this category.

The Field

There's a couple bargain options that I prefer to side with as this year's steals per game leader -- Dejounte Murray (+1900) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+2800).

Both of these players are under the age of 28, averaged at least 35 minutes per game last season, and placed in the top-15 of steals per game last season.

SGA found himself in the 5th spot in the steals rank last season, and he played a sizable 35.5 minutes per game. Based on this, his high odds may be a dart throw, but he does possess some serious responsibility on the offensive end, which could make him a less serious candidate.

Murray could definitely be classified as a solid choice. He was the 2021-2022 steals leader and played 36.4 minutes per game last season (sixth-highest in the league). He failed to record a steal in the Atlanta Hawks season opener, which is probably why we can get him at such high odds as of this writing, but I think he may be the best value option on the board.

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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.