Best Bets for the 2022-23 NBA Season (NBA Finals Picks, MVP Predictions and More)
The 2022-23 NBA season is HERE!
Basketball fans everywhere can rejoice, and the BetSided team has put together all of their favorite futures picks heading into the 2022-23 season.
Who will win MVP? What about Rookie of the Year? Check out our best bets and predictions below:
Best Bets to Win NBA MVP in 2022-23 Season
- Joel Embiid (+700) – Donnavan Smoot
- Giannis Antetokoumpo (+600) – Ben Heisler
- Joel Embiid (+700) – Reed Wallach
- Giannis Antetokoumpo (+600) – Joe Summers
- Giannis Antetokoumpo (+600) – Peter Dewey
Best Bets to Win NBA Rookie of the Year in 2022-23 Season
- Keegan Murray (+460) – Donnavan Smoot
- Shaedon Sharpe (+3600) – Ben Heisler
- Bennedict Mathurin (+650) – Reed Wallach
- Keegan Murray (+460) – Joe Summers
- Paolo Banchero (+200) – Peter Dewey
Best Bets to Win Defensive Player of the Year in 2022-23 Season
- Bam Adebayo (+700) – Donnavan Smoot
- Joel Embiid (+2500) – Ben Heisler
- Ben Simmons (+2700) – Reed Wallach
- Evan Mobley (+1450) – Joe Summers
- Ben Simmons (+2700) – Peter Dewey
Best Bets to Win Sixth Man of the Year in 2022-23 Season
- Malcolm Brogdon (+1600) – Donnavan Smoot
- Christian Wood (+1000) – Ben Heisler
- Norman Powell (+850) – Reed Wallach
- Tyler Herro (+1000) – Joe Summers
- Spencer Dinwiddie (+2400) – Peter Dewey
Best Bets to Win Most Improved Player in 2022-23 Season
- Josh Giddey (+4900) – Donnavan Smoot
- Precious Achiuwa (+15000) – Ben Heisler
- Tyrese Maxey (+1200) – Reed Wallach
- Tyrese Haliburton (+2500) – Joe Summers
- Jalen Brunson (+2400) – Peter Dewey
Best Bets to Win Eastern Conference in 2022-23 Season
- Milwaukee Bucks (+260) – Donnavan Smoot
- Milwaukee Bucks (+260) – Ben Heisler
- Brooklyn Nets (+440) – Reed Wallach
- Milwaukee Bucks (+260) – Joe Summers
- Milwaukee Bucks (+260) – Peter Dewey
Best Bets to Win Western Conference in 2022-23 Season
- Denver Nuggets (+850) – Donnavan Smoot
- Denver Nuggets (+850) – Ben Heisler
- Denver Nuggets (+850) – Reed Wallach
- Memphis Grizzlies (+1000) – Joe Summers
- Golden State Warriors (+320) – Peter Dewey
Best Bets to Win NBA Finals in 2022-23 Season
Milwaukee Bucks (+550)
The Milwaukee Bucks were in line for the title last season before Khris Middleton’s injury derailed everything. They have the best player in the world, a defensive player of the year candidate and one of the best systems in the league. The Eastern Conference will be tough to get out of, but Milwaukee also has the most continuity among any team in the East. – Donnavan Smoot
Losing Khris Middleton to injury zapped the Bucks’ playoff dreams last year, and they still took the Celtics to seven games. With Giannis at the peak of his powers, Milwaukee is the class of the Eastern Conference as long as Middleton stays healthy.
I don’t trust the Nets, and Boston’s Ime Udoka situation makes the Celtics a team I’m avoiding. The Western Conference should be a bloodbath, so I’m sticking with the Bucks as my Finals pick. Would it surprise me if the Warriors, Clippers, Grizzlies, or any of the other stellar teams in the West wound up winning? No, but I’m the most confident in Milwaukee.
The best player in the world is getting his second ring this year, reminding the NBA and fans that we’re watching one of the finest players in the history of the sport. – Joe Summers
Denver Nuggets (+2000)
After Nikola Jokic held Denver together on his broad shoulders, help is on the way to help transform this team to take the next step in a winnable Western Conference.
With Giannis set to take home another MVP, I think he deals with a similar scenario that Jokic took on last year. There's only so much one player can do, and while Milwaukee has improved depth compared to Denver the last few years, the Nuggets, when healthy, may have the deepest roster in the league. Antetokoumpo took over the NBA Finals a few years ago against the Suns, but Denver is the ultimate swiss army knife team that I expect to take a monumental move.
The Bucks and Giannis run out of gas against a well-balanced Nuggets team, and we're cashing at 20/1. – Ben Heisler
Brooklyn Nets (+900)
The Nets have as much talent as any team in the league and assets to improve the roster. While questions will run wild around the likes of Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, the team finally had their first full offseason during the Durant/Irving era and it will pay dividends on the court. – Reed Wallach
Golden State Warriors (+700)
The dynasty lives on.
The Warriors come back with just as deep a team as last season, only this time around Klay Thompson and James Wiseman are both healthy for a full season.
The Warriors’ young guns (Wiseman, Jordan Poole, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga) are extremely talented, and Steph Curry showed last season he is still one of the best players in the NBA. – Peter Dewey
Best Bet and Prediction for 2022-23 NBA Season
Denver Nuggets OVER 51.5 Wins (-110)
The Nuggets won 48 games last season with just Nikola Jokic to lean on. They’ll have Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back to give him some help. Denver’s offense now has some more shooting and defense with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope now on the team. The Nuggets have star power, good coaching and depth. Trust them to have one of the better regular seasons. – Donnavan Smoot
Phoenix Suns UNDER 52.5 Wins (-110)
Phoenix may have the stink of the organization on the way out with Robert Sarver agreeing to sell the team, but this team has played a lot of postseason games, expended a ton of energy, and up until the postseason, had been fairly fortunate with health.
This year, the West is more competitive and I don't think the Suns will have the straight forward path we've become accustomed to seeing the last few years.
They're still a top 4-6 team in the West when everything lines up properly, but I'm getting some weird vibes coming out of the desert this year. – Ben Heisler
Orlando Magic OVER 27.5 Wins (-110)
With Paolo Banchero in, the Magic finally have the go-to option on offense. The most refined offensive player in this year's draft, I expect Banchero to thrive off of great decision makers Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. The Magic won 21 games last year but this is a team that is incentivized to win now after getting the No. 1 pick last year. I think 30 wins is in the cards with a ton of young talent on hand. – Reed Wallach
Dallas Mavericks Over 48.5 Wins (-112)
Luka Doncic is the MVP favorite with good reason, as he dominated once the Mavericks traded Kristaps Porzingis and gave their young star complete control of the offense. Losing Jalen Brunson hurts, but Luka is such a superhero that I don’t think it matters.
No NBA team won more games following the All-Star break than Dončić's Mavs, then Dallas toppled the No. 1 seed Phoenix Suns en route to a Western Conference Finals run.
In the Mavericks' 17-6 run after the break, Luka averaged 30.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game while shooting 47.3% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc. If the 23-year-old can maintain anything close to that level of production over a full season, Dallas will emerge as legitimate contenders to win the West.
At the least, I expect a 50-win season for Dallas. Adding Christian Wood gives the Mavs a candidate to win Sixth Man of the Year, and Luka’s penchant for regular season dominance will carry Dallas all year. Back the Mavs to get over their win total with confidence. – Joe Summers
Chicago Bulls UNDER 41.5 Wins (+105)
I think the Chicago Bulls are due for some major regression in the 2022-23 season.
The team was able to withstand several injuries last season thanks to the amazing play of DeMar DeRozan, but does the veteran wing put up another career season in the 2022-23 campaign?
It’s going to be tough for him to do so with Lonzo Ball out of the lineup for a good chunk of the season, and the Bulls didn’t make nearly as big of moves as many of their opponents in the East. Chicago was just 24-23 without Ball last season.
The Atlanta Hawks (traded for Dejounte Murray) and Cleveland Cavaliers (traded for Donovan Mitchell) both could leapfrog them this season, and that’s not even mentioning the Brooklyn Nets, who finished seventh in the East last season.
I think Chicago could miss the playoffs, but the play-in tournament does give it a much better chance of snagging a spot late, similar to Atlanta last season.
Instead, I’m going to fade the Bulls’ win total, as they still don’t have a great interior defense and now lack a true starting point guard (sorry Goran Dragic and Coby White). – Peter Dewey
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.