NBA betting trends: Thunder continue to rain cash on bettors, with Sixers not far behind

Quick: Name the Oklahoma City Thunder’s four starters beyond All-Star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

OK, how about just Gilgeous-Alexander’s backcourt mate? Or, heck, any other player on the Thunder’s payroll?

Not easy, is it? But you know what has been pretty easy? Making money betting on Oklahoma City.

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While the Thunder entered the All-Star break with a straight-up record that’s barely on the wrong side of .500 (28-29), they have been the NBA’s most profitable team from a wagering perspective. In fact, if you bet $110 on each of Oklahoma City’s 57 games to this point, you’d be sitting on $1,190 of pure profit.

That’s not to say that the Thunder, who are a league-best 35-21-1 ATS, have been the NBA’s only moneymaker this season — there are others (including the Philadelphia 76ers). However, you don’t need more than two hands to count them all.

With the league on pause for the All-Star break until Thursday, here’s a look at several NBA betting trends — both positive and negative — through the first four months of the 2022-23 campaign.

All statistics via Action Network and updated through Feb. 20.

When Oklahoma City drafted Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, many expected the franchise to make a playoff run for the first time in three years.

Then the 7-foot Holmgren suffered a season-ending foot injury in late August, and the Thunder’s expectations promptly plummeted.

Yet despite a nondescript roster — including two rookie starters with near identical names (Jaylen Williams and Jalen Williams) — OKC is very much in the playoff hunt.

If the season ended today, the Thunder would be the fourth and final Western Conference play-in tournament entrant.

But what Oklahoma City has done at the betting window has been even more remarkable. Although they split their last dozen games ATS entering the All-Star break, the Thunder are still covering the spread at a 62.5% rate.

They’re the only team in the league above the 60% threshold — although another squad is close.

That squad: Philadelphia, which is 34-23 ATS (59.7% cover rate).

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The Sixers actually began the season under water for bettors, going 5-7 ATS through Nov. 10. Since then, coach Doc Rivers’ troops are 29-16 ATS, a sizzling 64.4% hit rate. That includes an ongoing four-game SU and ATS winning streak.

Oklahoma City and Philadelphia are two of just 10 teams that are profitable this season. They’re also two of just seven squads with point-spread records at least six games over .500.

The others: Orlando (33-25-1 ATS), Utah (33-25-2), Milwaukee (32-24-2), Boston and Denver (both 32-26-1).

The 76ers also have been the NBA’s most bankable team at home (21-10 ATS), just ahead of Cleveland Denver (both 20-10-1 ATS).

The most profitable road team: That would be the New York Knicks, whose 19-10 ATS record as a visitor is two games better than the Thunder (17-10-1).

The Houston Rockets (13-45), San Antonio Spurs (14-45) and Detroit Pistons (15-44) own the NBA’s three worst SU records. So it should come as no surprise that all three have been burning holes in the pockets of bettors all season.

However, two other franchises have been even worse: Miami (21-35-3 ATS) and Dallas (22-36-2 ATS). Both are the only teams that have cashed in fewer than 40% of their games (and both are below 38%).

Houston (22-33-3), San Antonio (24-35) and Detroit (25-30-4) are next, followed by Atlanta (26-33), Charlotte (26-32-2) and two of the NBA’s most popular teams: the defending champion Warriors (26-32) and Los Angeles Lakers (26-30-3).

The Heat (8-19-2 ATS) and Mavericks (10-17-2) also have the worst point-spread records at home. But at least both teams have double-digit spread covers on the road.

The same cannot be said for the Rockets (9-20-1), Warriors (9-20) and Grizzlies (9-18-1), who have been the league’s biggest money burners away from home.

What about recent form?

Here are the hottest ATS teams coming out of the All-Star break:

The team that entered the break in the biggest ATS funk? That would be the Spurs, who have failed to cash in 12 of their last 13.

Other frigid teams besides San Antonio include: Chicago (0-6 ATS last six); Miami (2-8 ATS last 10); Detroit (6-12 ATS last 18); and Memphis (4-10 ATS last 14)

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While Oklahoma City bettors have cashed 62.5% of their point-spread tickets, the same thing can be said for bettors who wager on Golden State’s games to go Over the total — the Warriors are 35-21-2 to the Over this season.

The next best Over teams: San Antonio (34-24-1), Philadelphia and Oklahoma City (both 34-24), Atlanta and Toronto (both 33-26), and Utah (33-26-1)

On the flip side, Chicago (34-25) has been the most profitable Under team. That’s followed by Miami (33-26), the Clippers (34-27), Milwaukee (31-27) and Memphis (30-26-1).

Finally, here’s a look at totals from a home and road perspective:

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.