5 NBA Future Bets to Make Before the Season Begins:

The NHL has now commenced and that leaves us with another sport to watch out for. Basketball. The NBA season begins on October 22nd with the Knicks/Celtics & TWolves/Lakers. It should be another fantastic year and I'm looking forward to it very much. Let's take a look at five NBA Future Bets to make this season prior to the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign. *All Odds via. DraftKings Sportsbook. 

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You can't really bet on anyone else here. Last season, in his rookie year, Wemby completely dominated on the defensive side of the ball. As a matter of fact, he averaged 1.2 steals per game as well as 3.6 blocks a game. Some would say that he got robbed of the Defensive Player of the Year just because he was a rookie. Now, I'm not going to say he got "robbed." But, I am going to say that Rudy Gobert (who won it last year) needs to be ready for the biggest challenge of his life this season. The 7'3" 20yr old played 71 games last season. If he can play anywhere close to that this season, he'll be a threat to break some block records in his first two seasons in the NBA. Nobody wants to challenge the big man in the paint with his insane wingspan. The Spurs are slightly better than last season as well which should help take the Frenchman's game to even another level. Expect Wemby to win his first DPOY this season. 

After disappointingly losing to the Timberwolves in the Conference Semi-Finals last year, the Nuggets will want to regain their throne as the best team in the West this year. Although it was a down season for them, they still managed to finish second in the conference with 57 wins on the season. Yes, that's a lot of wins to try and repeat this season. But, they've still got plenty of the pieces from these past few seasons and should be able to at least make it "over" the total. The Nuggets added Russell Westbrook & Dario Saric this offseason which should help bolster their depth. Don't get me wrong, 51.5 wins is still quite a bit considering that this is probably the most competitive conference of the two with about 12 teams that could make a push into the playoffs this year. That being said, this Nuggets team is good enough to do just that once again this season. 

Prediction: 55-27 record.

After being an All-Star during the 2022-23 campaign, Lauri Markkanen wasn't able to get back to it in 2023-24. That being said, I do believe that he will be able to reach the All-Star game again this season. The Jazz big man is one of the deadliest perimeter forwards in the game right now. His ability to stretch the floor and cause havoc under the basket has really set him a part from others. Lauri only played 55 games last year, which is why he wasn't eligible for contention. But, he still averaged 23.2 PTS, 8.2 REB, 2.0 AST, 0.9 Steals & 0.5 Blocks. This season, he's getting tremendous value to make this All-Star game. Although he wouldn't be considered a front-runner by any means, Lauri is good enough and should be in contention to be an All-Star for the second time in his career this season. 

As everyone now knows, Stephen Curry is the greatest three-point shooter to ever live in the game of basketball. He's made three after three over the course of his career which is why he stands alone as the #1 three point getter of all-time. Last year, he led the NBA for the eight time in this category. As a matter of fact, Steph was 73 3pt FG's ahead of the next best guy who was Luka Doncic. That's absurd. Curry and the Warriors are reloading again this season as they hunt for another deep playoff run. They've got tons of depth which a good playoff team always needs. Losing Klay Thompson wasn't ideal for the Dubs, but that should open up even more 3pt opportunities for Curry this season. He's the big favorite in this category for a reason and there's no doubt in my mind that as long as he stays healthy, that he will win his ninth 3pt's Made in a Season title this season. 

Out of all of the rookies, I'm going to go a different route than most people would expect. Yes, Zach Edey is the favorite. His size and connection with Ja Morant has looked very strong so far. There is also Zaccharie Risacher, Reed Sheppard, Alexandre Sarr, Rob Dillingham & Matas Buzelis to consider. That being said, I'm going to go with Stephon Castle. The UCONN point guard can do it all and will do whatever Head Coach Greg Popovich asks of him. With other guard Devin Vassell out of the lineup for at least a couple of weeks, this is the perfect opportunity for the youngster to show the NBA what he's made of. Castle didn't put up monster numbers at UCONN last season. But, he didn't have to. He did the little things and it helped them win their second championship in as many seasons. He still was able to average 11.1 PTS, 4.7 REB, 2.9 AST in 34 contests last season. Castle is going to need to work for his playing time this year. But, don't be shocked if he builds a great relationship with both CP3 & Wemby. Popovich won't have any other choice than to keep him in the starting lineup all season long. 

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In less than a week now, we will have another sport to cheer on. I finished the year on a fantastic 24-13 (+$9,700) NBA sides run last season. Jump on board with a subscription today before I start winning big!