Best NBA Parlay Picks & Odds Today: Our Expert Playoff Predictions for Monday, May 5

Our NBA parlay picks and best bets today feature expert predictions for May 5, based on the latest NBA playoffs odds.

Last updated: May 5, 2025 4:36 PM EDT • 4 min read

NBA Parlay Picks Today — Pictured: New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is defended by Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren. Photo by Rick Osentoski via Imagn Images.

With both Game 1s tonight featuring lopsided spreads to open their second-round series, we're taking a shot on a favorite and an underdog with our best NBA parlay picks today - resulting in a three-leg parlay featuring +696 odds at BetMGM for our best NBA playoffs bets today.

Our NBA picks include a big opening win for Oklahoma City, while we see the Knicks keeping it close in the opener in Boston, with Karl-Anthony Towns as a notable reason for New York’s potential success.

🏀 Best NBA parlay picks today: Monday, May 5

✅ 1st leg: Thunder -9.5 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ 2nd leg: Knicks +9.5 (-115) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ 3rd leg: Karl-Anthony Towns Over 34.5 points + rebounds + assists (-112) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📊 Parlay odds: +696 via BetMGM (bet $10 to win $69.68 profit)

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💰 NBA parlay predictions & best bets for Monday

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🔥 1st leg: Thunder -9.5 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Nuggets and Thunder split four matchups during the regular season, but when OKC got the better of Denver, it did so by 14 or more points both times.

The Thunder are 29-12-2 ATS as a home team this season, leading the NBA in the category. Oklahoma City has beaten the spread by an average of +5.2 points per game in these spots, with an average margin of victory of 16.1 PPG at home.

The Nuggets are 21-22-1 ATS on the road this season. After the Thunder won their first-round home games by 19 and 51 points, respectively, we like a double-digit win over Denver in Game 1.

🔥 2nd leg: Knicks +9.5 (-115) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Although the Knicks lost both regular-season games in Boston by double-digit margins, New York’s efforts against the Detroit Pistons in first-round road games suggest this team might have the mentality to compete in Game 1 on Monday. The Knicks won all three road games in Detroit en route to a series win.

The Celtics have been underwhelming against the spread as a home team this season, going just 20-24 ATS at TD Garden, potentially opening up a path to the Knicks keeping things close.

🔥 3rd leg: Karl-Anthony Towns Over 34.5 points + rebounds + assists (-112) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

With his points, rebounds, and assists total set at 34.5, we like Towns to exceed this total despite a downturn in his scoring in the Knicks’ opening NBA playoffs series.

Towns has season stats that exceed this line, as he averaged 40.3 PRA during the regular season.

Against the Celtics in his most recent matchup against Boston on April 8, KAT took over the action by posting 34 points, 14 rebounds while chipping in a pair of assists. We’ll take advantage of this lower line by taking KAT to help propel the Knicks in a competitive affair.

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Written By:
Brenden Schaeffer

Brenden has covered the St. Louis Cardinals as a credentialed baseball writer for KMOV-TV since 2016. His sports writing has appeared in outlets including the Austin American-Statesman and Columbia Daily Tribune. Since 2021, Brenden has co-hosted 'The Big Show' during the afternoon drive for KTGR, the ESPN radio affiliate in Columbia, MO. He has appeared on radio stations around the country, including KMOX, and hosts a daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast. In the sports betting content space, Brenden has covered the NFL, college football, NBA, and college basketball for outlets including SBR since 2019. For his football handicapping, Brenden looks to target NFL player prop markets as well as sharp underdog lines in college football. Brenden looks to reference FanDuel for his sports betting articles because of its consistently competitive odds on parlays. FanDuel's boost offerings are also customer-friendly, and its odds on the NFL Same Game Parlay articles he's written for SBR have historically been consistently competitive compared to other books.