Matas ranks fourth on the team in usage rate, and with White and Giddey out of the picture, the offense should run through Vučević and the native Chicagoan.
Raptors vs Nuggets
NBA Best Bets for New Years Eve (12/31) | Betting News
Written by: Danny Burke
Published: Wed Dec 31, 2025, 12:44 pm ET
Read Time: 8 minutes
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Happy New Year's Eve, everybody! As we ring in the new year, we'll also be looking to cash in on some winners across today's NBA slate. We've got nine games on tap, and I – along with fellow NBA analyst Varun Sharma, aka "V" – will be breaking down a handful of our favorite plays. Let's dive into our NBA best bets for New Year's Eve.
For additional information on picks, props, moneylines, and more on today's slate, take a look at ourNBA Picks Page or ourNBA Odds Page.
You can also browse our recommendations for thebest online sportsbooks available in the U.S.
NBA Best Bets for New Years Eve (12/31)
Hawks vs T'Wolves
V's Bet: Anthony Edwards Over 29.5 Points (-115 at Lucky Rebel)
Edwards has been phenomenal this season. He's averaging 29.1 points per game while shooting 49.7% from the field and 39.7% from beyond the arc. The Timberwolves sit at 21–12, sixth in the Western Conference, and much of that success rests on the shoulders of Antman.
Antman is carrying a 30.3% usage rate, accounting for 33.3% of the team's points, and he draws a matchup against an Atlanta defense that allows plenty of scoring.
The Hawks rank 24th in opponent effective field goal percentage, and those numbers have worsened with Trae Young back on the floor. In the five games since Young's return, Atlanta ranks first in pace, 30th in points allowed, 27th in opponent field goal percentage, and 28th in opponent free throws allowed.
Edwards is taking 37.3% of the Timberwolves' free-throw attempts and has been even better on the road. He's averaging 32.1 points per game away from home, shooting 53% from the field and 46.4% from three.
Lastly, Antman is an Atlanta native. He played his college ball at Georgia and has cleared this line in two of his last three games in Atlanta.
Bulls vs Pelicans
Danny's Bet: Saddiq Bey Over 5.5 Rebounds (-127 at Lucky Rebel)
Saddiq Bey and the Pelicans head to the United Center to take on the Chicago Bulls. I'm targeting Bey's work on the glass tonight, taking him over 5.5 rebounds. He's averaging six boards on the season and has been fairly consistent throughout the year.
We appear to be getting a slight discount on this rebounds prop, perhaps due to how poor the Pelicans' defense has been. They rank 27th in points allowed per 100 possessions, which can lead to more made shots for Chicago and fewer rebound opportunities on the surface.
However, the Bulls are an inconsistent offensive team and will inevitably miss enough shots to create opportunities for Bey to clean up the glass. Chicago is also a middle-of-the-pack rebounding team, and in two previous matchups, Bey pulled down 13 and six rebounds. While that doesn't guarantee a repeat performance, it does give us a solid reference point for how he's fared in this matchup and why this lower number presents value.
V's Bet: Matas Buzelis Over 20.5 Points + Rebounds (-120 at Lucky Rebel)
The Bulls are severely shorthanded today with both Josh Giddey and Coby White out of the lineup. News came out yesterday that Giddey will miss at least a few weeks, which is a tough blow for an already stagnant Bulls offense.
Buzelis is averaging 14.0 points per game in his sophomore season, along with 5.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.6% from the field. The Pelicans rank 29th in points allowed to the small forward position and 30th in rebounds allowed. They also rank 28th in opponent effective field goal percentage and dead last in opponent wide-open three-point attempts.
Danny's Bet: Jamal Murray Under 3.5 3-Pointers (-127 at Lucky Rebel)
Let's take things to the Great White North, where I'm expecting a subpar performance from Jamal Murray from beyond the arc.
Asking Murray to knock down four three-pointers feels a bit too steep in this particular matchup. While he's averaging right around four made threes per game, I expect him to fall below that mark against a Raptors defense that ranks second in opponent three-point field goal percentage (34.2%). Overall, Toronto features a strong defensive unit, ranking top 10 in both points per possession and opponent effective field goal percentage allowed.
Murray will still be able to create shots for himself, just not as frequently from deep as he typically does.
V's Bet: Jonas Valančiūnas Double-Double (+100 at Lucky Rebel)
Nikola Jokić is out for a few weeks with a hyperextended knee, and the injury comes right before Denver's matchup in Toronto. The next man up for the Nuggets is Jonas Valančiūnas, and tonight's matchup comes against the very team that drafted him.
Valančiūnas spent the first 6.5 years of his career in Toronto, starting 444 games for the Raptors. Now, at age 33, he returns to the Air Canada Centre as the starting center for the opposition.
In 10 career starts against the Raptors, JV has averaged 13.7 points and 13.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.1% from the field and grabbing 3.6 offensive rebounds per contest. His overall numbers have dipped a bit this season, but that's been strictly due to reduced playing time.
Valančiūnas is still shooting 58.5% from the field and averaging 4.5 rebounds per game despite playing just 13.0 minutes per night. The Raptors rank 17th in opponent offensive rebound rate, and without Jakob Poeltl, it's hard to see that improving. Look for Valančiūnas to take advantage.
Spurs vs Knicks
Danny's Bet: OG Anunoby Under 2.5 3-Pointers (-125 at Lucky Rebel)
My final prop bet of New Year's Eve features another under on a three-point prop, this time with OG Anunoby.
In the month of December, Anunoby is averaging just 1.7 made threes per game, down from his season average of 2.2, which is already convincing enough to target the under. It becomes even more appealing when you factor in a San Antonio defense that ranks 13th in both shot rate and field goal percentage allowed from beyond the arc. Overall, the Spurs rank eighth in both points per possession and opponent effective field goal percentage allowed.
That should lead to tougher scoring looks for the entire New York offense, but especially for a player like Anunoby, who isn't a primary scoring option to begin with.
V's Bet: Victor Wembanyama Over 1.5 3-Pointers (-102 at Lucky Rebel)
After back-to-back wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wemby returned to the Spurs' starting lineup and they've since lost back-to-back games. Wembanyama has still looked great, scoring 26 and 32 points in those two contests, though he's gone a combined 2-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Wemby's three-point shooting has been inconsistent this year. He's shooting 34.9% from deep and has cleared this line in just nine of his 21 games. He's averaging a career-low 4.2 three-point attempts per game, which helps explain why he's hit this line so sporadically.
Tonight, the Spurs take on a Knicks team that ranks 27th in threes allowed, 21st in opponent three-point percentage, and 24th in threes allowed to the center position. Two big reasons for that are Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Both big men have struggled to close out on the perimeter, which is why the Knicks rank bottom 10 in opponent wide-open three-point attempts.
Over their last few games, the Knicks have given up six threes to Onyeka Okongwu, five to Kel'el Ware, and even three to Andre Drummond. Wemby faced the Knicks twice last season, finishing with 40+ points in both games and a combined 38 rebounds. He shot 10-for-25 from beyond the arc and cleared this line in both matchups.
Danny's Best Bets:
- Saddiq Bey Over 5.5 Rebounds (-127)
- Jamal Murray Under 3.5 3-Pointers (-127)
- OG Anunoby Under 2.5 3-Pointers (-125)
V's Best Bets:
- Anthony Edwards Over 29.5 Points (-115)
- Matas Buzelis Over 20.5 Points + Rebounds (-120)
- Jonas Valančiūnas Double-Double (+100)
- Victor Wembanyama Over 1.5 3-Pointers (-102)
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Danny Burke is a betting analyst with a decade of sports media experience. He got his start at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, sharing picks on the local ESPN affiliate. After college, he hosted shows for VSiN in Las Vegas before returning to Chicago to launch 'Rush Hour', the first daily sports betting show from an Illinois casino. He also co-hosted 'Props and Locks' on Fox32’s Bears pregame show and ran 'Bet On, Chicago' on WLS-AM 890.
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