Ending off the month of January on a high note means looking for the best value player props on the market for Friday's NBA schedule, and that means (hopefully) going three-for-three on plus-money bets
Here are the three expert player prop picks of note, including Kawhi Leonard taking on the remnants of the Charlotte Hornets and potentially reaching an OVER of 18.5 points (+102) on January 31, 2025.
Kawhi Leonard OVER 18.5 Points vs. Hornets (+102)
Preview: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Charlotte Hornets, 7 p.m. ET
It's been four-straight games that the Los Angeles Clippers have had the services of Leonard, so knock on wood that the injury bug doesn't strike again because the team is 7-2 this season with him available with all seven victories coming by 10 or more points. That should continue on Friday as the Hornets are 1-4 in their last five games and have exceeded 100 points just once with LaMelo Ball injured and Brandon Miller out for the remainder of the season.
Leonard's playing time has slowly but surely been on the rise as head coach Tyronn Lue gets his superstar forward back into the thick of it. His minutes reached a season high on Wednesday at 28 as Leonard finished with 27 points, six rebounds, and seven assists in a win over the Sacramento Kings.
While he's gone UNDER 18.5 points in three of these recent four performances, Leonard's showing versus Sacramento bodes well for the role he's expected to serve moving forward. Rather than keep his minutes in check, it's clear the Clippers really want to get Leonard back to where he was, and with the Hornets down to their skeleton squad, especially with Mark Williams (foot) also ruled out, Friday should serve as an ample opportunity to continue down that path.
Victor Wembanyama UNDER 23.5 Points vs. Bucks (+100)
Preview: Milwaukee Bucks vs. San Antonio Spurs, 8 p.m. ET
There's a great deal of risk whenever wagering on a superstar-level talent like the 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama to not score a certain amount of points, but this particular matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks could prove difficult even for someone of his stature and skill.
There have been only six instances in Wembanyama's short career that he's scored 10 or fewer points in a game, four of which came during his rookie year. The most recent fell on Jan. 8 versus the Bucks when the sophomore center dropped 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting in what ended up being a 16-point blowout loss.
Wembanyama has also gone UNDER 23.5 points in nine of his last 10 appearances, although three games came with exactly 23 points. Milwaukee even owns the eighth-best defense across the Association in January, holding opponents to 111.6 points per 100 possessions, but that number does plummet to 119.1 points per 100 possessions (26th) when competing on the road. Still, based on his last 10 outings, along with his output on Jan. 8, the UNDER should prove to be the correct choice.
Patrick Williams OVER 15.5 Points + Rebounds vs. Raptors (+100)
Preview: Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. ET
Patrick Williams usually wears a "stay away" sign on his back as one of the bigger red flags for player props on the Chicago Bulls, simply because his role is all over the place and he's usually far down the pecking order when it comes to producing offense.
Working in his favor, however, is that Zach LaVine will miss a second game in a row due to personal reasons, and Williams averages 12 points and 3.7 rebounds when he's not around.
In his last two games since being moved to the second unit, Williams has gone OVER 15.5 points and rebounds each time, just recently finishing with 16 points and seven boards in a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics. That seems to be the ideal spot for him, and Chicago will need all of the points it can muster up to compensate for losing LaVine's 24 per game.
