Best 2025-26 NBA Futures Picks | NBA Season Betting Preview
2025-26 NBA Betting Preview Including NBA Futures Picks!
The GoldSheet gives 2025-26 NBA futures picks including odds, offseason moves and other betting angles around which teams will go over or under their season win totals! Which teams will under and over perform during the 2025-26 regular season? Get The GoldSheet’s FREE NBA futures picks below!
NBA Futures Pick #1: Houston Rockets Under 52.5 Wins
The Rockets suffered a crucial blow during the offseason as starting point guard Fred VanVleet tore his ACL and will likely be out the entire regular season.
Sure the team did trade for Kevin Durant, but for how many games can they expect the veteran to be healthy for?
Over the last five years he’s averaged just 49 games played per season with the Rockets letting go of Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks in the trade this offseason. Houston will be reuniting with longtime center Clint Capela but the backcourt is where they may struggle.
Amen Thompson will be the starting shooting guard, but the team may have to turn to Reed Sheppard for a ton of quality minutes before they wanted with the VanVleet injury.
Sheppard did impress in the G-League last season, but he didn’t see many opportunities on the main roster averaging just 12.6 minutes per game, 4.4 points per game while shooting 34% from three-point range.
Aside from Sheppard Houston will also have to heavily rely on Aaron Holiday and Josh Okogie in the backcourt averaging a combined 12 points per game last season.
We’re not saying Houston doesn’t make the playoffs, but we see them as possibly more of a play-in team and playing their way into the playoffs from there, hopefully with the return of VanVleet already happening or soon occurring at that point of the season.
Of course, they can make a move to acquire another backcourt star during the season, but after the Durant trade they may not have much more to give up to gain a star guard.
With the Rockets winning 52 games last season, we don’t think they win more than that this season going under 52.5 wins during the 2025-26 NBA regular season.
NBA Futures Pick #2: Milwaukee Bucks Under 42.5 Wins
Will Giannis Antetokounmpo last the entire season on the Bucks? There were rumblings this offseason that the former NBA MVP wants out of Milwaukee and although that’s not going to happen going into the season, it won’t take much losing before Giannis wants out.
The Bucks O/U win total is set at 42.5 for this season with the team winning 48 games last season including going 8-2 in their last ten games and that was with Damian Lillard playing in 58 games. He has since torn his achilles and is back with the Trail Blazers.
The Bucks did add Cole Anthony and Myles Turner this offseason but is that enough to make up for the absence of Lillard, Brook Lopez (signed with LAC), Pat Connaughton (traded to CHA) and Khris Middleton who was traded during the middle of last season?
Projected starters Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr. and Kyle Kuzma averaged just a combined 36 points per game last season which will need to improve so Giannis doesn’t feel like the scoring workload isn’t solely on him.
The betting odds are in favor of Giannis to stay on the Bucks this season, but if chemistry with new players is slow to develop or inconsistent, Milwaukee will be a play-in team come season’s end instead of a playoff team.
In a highly competitive Central Division in which every team made the playoffs or play-in last season, let’s take the Bucks to go under 42.5 wins in the 2025-26 season.
NBA Futures Pick #3: Denver Nuggets Over 54.5 Wins
This may be a square take, but we really like what the Nuggets were able to do this offseason to get them up and over 54.5 wins during the 2025-26 regular season.
They were able to successfully trade Michael Porter Jr. to the Nets in exchange for Cameron Johnson. The former Nets small forward was quite efficient last season scoring 19 ppg while shooting it at 47.5% from the field and 39% from three-point range.
The Nuggets were already top-5 in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage last season and that acquisition will only help them spread the floor more and create more opportunities for former MVP Nikola Jokic.
Johnson will be the only new starter for Denver as the team was also able to bolster its bench this offseason by re-acquiring Bruce Brown who was a catalyst in the team’s NBA Championship run in 2023 as well as Tim Hardaway Jr. who provided veteran presence in a Pistons resurgence last season and Jonas Valanciunas who is arguably the best backup center Denver has had during Jokic’s tenure with the Nuggets.
Sure, the Nuggets do still play in one of the most competitive divisions in the NBA with Minnesota and OKC, but Portland and Utah are also in the division as we expect Denver to go better than the 8-8 record they had against divisional foes last season.
Let’s not forget the youngsters who have been with Denver the past 2-3 years as Christian Braun, Julian Strawther and Jalen Pickett have all taken steps forward during their tenure with the Nuggets as they all will factor into Denver’s success this season with Braun specifically earning his spot as the starting shooting guard. Take Denver to compete for a division title going up and over 54.5 wins this season.
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