NBA Player Props and Best Bets: Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell & More Picks for Thursday, Jan. 8

Thursday might belong to the College Football Playoff, but I’m still ready to share my best NBA player prop picks and bets for the upcoming games.

Paolo Banchero dropped 30 points, 24 rebounds, six assists, and a game-winner on the Brooklyn Nets last night, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 46 points, six rebounds, and six assists in an overtime win against the Utah Jazz.

There are only four games tonight, but one of those is an intriguing cross-conference showdown between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Here are my top NBA player prop picks and bets for Thursday, Jan. 8.

Best NBA Prop Bets for Thursday, January 8

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LaMelo Ball Under 2.5 Threes (+110) at FanDuel Sportsbook

I’m confused why the odds are so heavily in favor of Ball going over this line. Granted, he just finished December shooting 47.3 percent from beyond the arc, but he also shot 22.6 percent in November and split the over/under at two games apiece in his last four outings.

Ball only had one previous matchup with the Indiana Pacers, and he finished it by going 2-11 from three-point land. The Pacers also allowed the fewest made threes per game over the last few weeks on the second-lowest three-point percentage (34.2). 

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Kevin Huerter Under 12.5 Points (-132) at FanDuel Sportsbook

The Miami Heat have not done a great job of defending the three-point line recently, but that could be of little consequence, given how poorly Hurter shot the ball to start the New Year. The 27-year-old is at a miserable 19.2 percent from beyond the arc in 2026 and did not make a three in 10 attempts over his last two games.

While Huerter played 30 minutes last night, he has mostly gotten somewhere around 20-25 minutes per night. He went under this line in seven of his last nine games, and with the Chicago Bulls being on the second night of a back-to-back, this doesn’t seem like the moment that he will snap out of his slump.

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Donovan Mitchell 6+ Assists (+134) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Mitchell only averaged 5.4 assists per game, but he went over in four of his last six outings. He and the Cavaliers haven’t faced the Timberwolves this season, but he logged seven and eight dimes when they matched up in January and February of 2025.

The Timberwolves are a good, not great, defensive team that allowed the eighth-fewest assists per game over their last few weeks of action. Mitchell will draw plenty of attention as a scorer and could even have Anthony Edwards as his primary defender at different points, which is why I’d look for him to find success as a facilitator.

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Anthony Edwards Over 3.5 Threes (+100) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Oh, which team is that? The one that allowed the second-most made threes per game over the last 15 games at the highest percentage in the NBA (39.7). Of course, it was the Cavaliers, who are the only thing standing in Edwards’ way tonight.

Ant Man went 5-8 from downtown in only 29 minutes in his last game and shot 50 percent from range to start the New Year. He went under in four of his last six, but he also went over in both encounters with the Cavs in early 2025, and he’ll be fresh after only playing 59 combined minutes in his last two games.

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Lauri Markkanen Under 2.5 Threes (-130) at FanDuel Sportsbook

“The Finnisher” went over in four of his last six games and has been fairly consistent shooting the ball, but with one notable outlier. He only went 1-6 (16.7 percent) from three despite scoring 33 points in 40 minutes in his only matchup with the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 15.

The Mavericks allowed the second-fewest made threes per game on the lowest three-point percentage (33.2). Anthony Davis is a difficult matchup for any big man, and Dallas’ bevy of rangy wings will allow them to close out and contest Markkanen’s long-range attempts.

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