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Best 5 Prop Bets To Make Tonight For Kevin Durant's Suns Debut
Mark Strotman | 7 mins
Kevin Durant is back from injury and now a member of the Phoenix Suns as he makes both his return and debut with his new team.
Phoenix’s 2023 NBA futures odds skyrocketed from +1700 to +400 in the wake of the deadline deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Durant’s return comes against the lowly Charlotte Hornets, who will be without LaMelo Ball after the rising star fractured his ankle on Monday.
It's admittedly difficult to handicap Durant’s props tonight. He’s with a new team, he’s returning from injury, and they’re facing one of the league’s worst teams. That screams under.
Then again, Durant is playing some of the best basketball of his career (29.7 points on 56% shooting), the Suns are 3-3 in their last six, and are trying to fend off a number of teams in a crowded West—they may need KD to play big minutes here.
RELATED: Best NBA Player Prop Bets For Tonight
With that in mind, here are the best 5 prop bets to make tonight in Durant's return on betting apps:
Best 5 Prop Bets To Make Tonight For Durant's Return
Durant to score 15 points, 1 3P FGM, & Suns Win
Odds: Boosted to +100 at DraftKings ➜
The Suns are -500 favorites against the LaMelo-less Hornets, so we feel good about that leg hitting. Durant has made at least one 3-pointer in 34 of 39 games this season and the Suns and Nets both attempt 32.5 3-pointers per game. What’s more, the Hornets allow the 11th most 3-point attempts per game. We feel good about this one hitting, too.
The points are tougher—but still worth the risk. KD has 15+ points in 38 of 39 games this season, but he wasn’t coming back from a serious injury in those contests. Looking back the last few years, here’s how Durant has fared coming back from his extended absences:
- 2022: Missed 22 games, returned to score 31 points in 35 minutes
- 2021: Missed 23 games, returned to score 17 points in 19 minutes
We should only need 18-20 minutes for Durant to top 15 points. We’ll roll with him in this spot.
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Durant to Score 15+ pts, Donovan Mitchell to Score 20+ pts, Joel Embiid to Score 25+ pts
Odds: Boosted to +120 at FanDuel ➜
We already went over why Durant should hit the 15+ mark here, so that’s a leg we like. Donovan Mitchell gets a tough task in the Celtics, but he has hit 20+ in seven of his last eight games and has 25 and 41 points, respectively, in two games against the C’s this year.
Embiid is also a strong play: He’s facing a Heat defense that he tallied 27 points against two nights ago. Embiid has hit the 25-point mark in 43 of 48 games this season. This is a strong play.
Durant to Make 5 Straight FGs
Odds: +333 at BetMGM ➜
Here’s a fun one that we’ll play. No one cooks quite like KD—especially this season. He’s shooting 56% from the field, which would easily be a career-best mark, and the Hornets allow opponents to shoot nearly 48% from the field (9th worst in the league). Might KD’s teammates look to get him in a rhythm in his new uniform? This feels like a fun play to toss a few bucks on.
Durant Under 3.5 assists
Odds -109 at Caesars ➜
Durant’s remarkable campaign this season also includes 5.3 assists per game. But he’s now joining a team that has Chris Paul (8.9 assists per game) and Devin Booker (5.7) doing all of the distributing.
Phoenix is 4th in the NBA in assists, and we think KD will focus on scoring tonight while his teammates distribute—especially while not playing his full allotment of traditional minutes. We’ll play the under here.
Durant Over 0.5 blocks
Odds -160 at DraftKings ➜
Not exactly Earth-shattering odds, but we like them nonetheless. Durant has tallied a block in 31 of 39 games this season, AND the Hornets are the second most blocked team in the league. Ball is out of the lineup, which means 10.6 3-point attempts are also out of the lineup.
Charlotte won’t be able to replicate that, meaning more attempts at the rim and more shot-block opportunities for KD. Effort and minutes are question marks here, but we’ll roll with KD being able to get his hand on one attempt.
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