Image Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

NBA Best Bets Today- Our Top Picks for Thursday, January 1

Here, we breakdown our NBA Best bets for today, January 1.

Image Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The NBA kicks off 2026 with a five-game slate on New Year’s featuring some key matchups including the Boston Celtics locking horns with the Sacramento Kings. The Day will also see the Miami Heat hosting the Detroit Pistons as well as the Dallas Mavericks being hosts to the Philadelphia 76ers. The day also features the Utah Jazz hosting the LA Clippers in a predicted competitive game. Injuries to key players such as Anthony Davis will play a key role, and create more opportunities for other players, impacting the odds significantly. In this article, we have picked our best NBA bets for today instead of breaking down every game. Here, we present our best bets consisting of spreads, totals as well as player props.

However, if you want to look into complete previews and detailed insights to build the card, head to our NBA picks and predictions for tonight. Otherwise, continue scrolling for our favorite NBA best bets of the day accompanied with a quick breakdown for each play.

Our NBA Best Picks of the Day

Tag	Game	Market and Line	Odds and Book
Best Bet	Celtics at Kings	Celtics -9.5 (spread)	-110 at FanDuel
Play #2	Heat at Pistons	Under 239.5 (total)	-110 at FanDuel
Play #3	Sixers at Mavericks	Tyrese Maxey O 27.5 Points (player prop)	-120 at FanDuel

Odds from FanDuel, accurate as of January 1, 2:03 am ET. Lines may move before tip-off.

Game 1-Best Bet: Celtics -9.5 at Kings

Pick type	Market	Odds and Book
Play #2	Celtics -9.5 (spread)	-110 at FanDuel

Boston Celtics, who faced a challenging start to the NBA 2025-26 season, recently have had an outburst of success. They are seeded third in the conference standings with a 20-12 record, having won seven of their last three games. In fact, their recent four-game winning streak came to an end with a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, but considering how they bounced back right in the next game, says a lot about how far they have come, even without Jayson Tatum.

The Kings, on the other hand, are dealing with key injuries such as Domantas Sabonis, which puts them in a challenging spot as well as weakens their interior. The Celtics are 6-4-0 ATS in the last ten games.

The given spread at -9.5 is accurate given the Celtics’ form and the Kings’ issues. Considering everything, we like the Celtics to cover the 9.5 on Thursday.

Game 2- Play#2: Pistons vs Heat Under 239.5

Pick Type	Market	Odds and Book
Play #2	Under 239.5 (total)	-110 at FanDuel

The Detroit Pistons have emerged as one of the most pleasant surprises of this season, boasting a 25-8 record, and leading the Eastern Conferences. They possess an elite defense and are led by Cade Cunningham’s scoring. Though the Heat are a fast-paced team, the Pistons have been limiting their rivals at 112.7 points on an average this season. In fact, the Heat are also a mid-racked team when it comes to points allowed to opponents, generally leading to lower-scoring games.

Both teams have the best defensive ratings in the league. It makes this total, 239.5 seem high where we generally expect games with controlled tempo and a great defense. The Pistons are 4-6-0 over/under recently, and the Miami Heat’s offense has been struggling against top defenses.

There is no doubt that the Pistons have improved significantly, but the line hasn’t adjusted enough to that. We believe both sides will be focused fully on defense and hence, the total is likely to remain under 239.5.

Game 3: Play #3: Tyrese Maxey Over 27.5 Points vs Mavericks

Pick Type	Market	Odds & book
Play #3	Tyrese Maxey Over 27.5 Points (Player Prop)	-120 on FanDuel

Tyrese Maxey has taken over as the key Philadelphia 76ers’ playmaker this NBA season. He is scoring 30.8 points on an average, while shooting 46.6% from the field and 39.6% from the three-point range. He is the third-leading scorer in the league this season, and has a solid 31.5 point average on road. In addition to it, the Dallas Mavericks are not only struggling defensively this season, but Anthony Davis’ potential absence also puts them in a tough spot.

Maxey has been a consistent player this season, dropping 30+ points in five of the last ten games he has appeared in.

Given his consistency and the Mavericks’ recent struggles, we expect Maxey to put up another blockbuster performance on Thursday and score 28+ points.

How we are betting tonight’s NBA slate

The games scheduled on January 1, and our picks for the night, are strongly influenced by defenses and absence of key names. Teams such as the Boston Celtics, Pistons, and the SIxers maintain an edge on Thursday night.

NBA Best Bets Recap for January 1

Best Bet: Celtics -9.5 at Sacramento Kings (-110 at FanDuel)
Play #2: Pistons vs Heat Under 239.5 (-110 at FanDuel)
Play #3: Tyrese Maxey Over 27.5 Points (-120 at FanDuel)

Boston Celtics

Dallas Mavericks

Detroit Pistons

Miami Heat

Sacramento Kings

Tyrese Maxey

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.