NBA Win Totals 2025: Best Over/Under Bets for Pacers, Lakers, Knicks & More

Action on NBA futures bets keeps swirling with six days left before tipoff of the league’s 79th season.

It could be I’m looking in the wrong places, but there’s nothing related to how many times NBC/Peacock will play the John Tesh jewel “Roundball Rock” on Opening Night Tuesday as NBA coverage returns to the network.

Of course, hearing the song once is a victory for anyone within earshot. In that spirit, let’s explore some best bets for regular season win totals.

Odds are via BetMGM. And Tesh turned 73 in July, if you’re curious.

INDIANA PACERS, OVER 37.5 (+100)

Whether you pull for the Pacers or not, simply thinking of Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles tendon injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals is cringey.

Indiana suffered another blow when center Myles Turner departed for division rival Milwaukee in free agency.

Make no mistake, the outlook is more dire than it should be for a team coming off its best season in a quarter-century. But this bet isn’t about the Pacers’ prospects to make a third straight trip to the Eastern Conference finals or a Disneyesque run to the top.

With T.J. McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, Pascal Siakam, and Obi Toppin back in the fold, among others, this is no sub-.500 club.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS, UNDER 47.5 (-125)

Sciatica basically is pain in or around your lower back, butt, or hips. You should know what it is because its impact on Lakers star LeBron James heavily influences this “under” pick.

James is expected to miss three or four weeks to start the season as he recovers from the condition. Meanwhile, running mate Luka Doncic did more hooping for the Slovenian national team at EuroBasket than for the Lakers during preseason.

It all suggests a slow start for LA. James’ ambiguity about sticking around if things get murky doesn’t inspire confidence, either.

NEW YORK KNICKS, OVER 53.5 (-115)

At first blush, this looks like a referendum on whether new coach Mike Brown at least three regular-season wins better than Tom Thibodeau.

The Knicks, after all, return much of the core that won 51 games and was third in the East last season. Otherwise known as the same core that faltered in the conference finals against the Pacers, a precursor to Thibs' dismissal.

Along with its change at the top, New York focused on adding depth this offseason, signing proven bench scorer Jordan Clarkson as well as big man Guerschon Yabusele. Expect the veterans and newcomers to mesh well before the Brown/Thibodeau debate resurfaces come playoff time.

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER, OVER 62.5 (-110)

OKC begins the defense of its Larry O’Brien Trophy with 95% of its minutes from last season back in the fold. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed an offseason extension, as did fellow Big 3 stalwarts Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.

While duplicating or surpassing last season’s league-best 68 victories behind a “go with what got you there" approach seems unlikely, the Thunder still are good bets to come close. Talented youth and relentless defense produce victories, period, and this organization is built to do so for seasons to come.

PHILADELPHIA 76ers, OVER 42.5 (-110)

What’s a four-letter phrase with tremendous potential to inspire four-letter words among Sixers’ faithful?

“Left knee injury management.”

Center Joel Embiid and forward Paul George continue to contend with those ailments, providing an uncomfortable but undoubted backdrop for the season. Should they round into form quickly – and stay there – there’s a chance Philly makes noise in a wide-open Eastern Conference race. But if the duo combines for just 60 games as they did last season, well, you know.