The long grind of the NBA season and playoffs is complete, with the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs the last two remaining teams standing. New York carved their way through the Eastern Conference, coming off back-to-back series sweeps, while San Antonio went toe-to-toe with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to earn this NBA Finals chance.

Looking at the odds on DraftKings Sportsbook for the series, the Spurs open as -205 favorites to win the NBA Finals, while the Knicks hold +170 odds of pulling off the upset.

Looking at the odds for the series opener, the Spurs will be 5.5-point favorites and hold -205 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Knicks hold +170 odds of winning outright on the road, with the game total set at 218.5.

But there are plenty of ways to get involved in the action beyond just backing a side for the game or the series. DraftKings Sportsbook offers a variety of props for both individual matchups and the series. This article will look at the odds and best bet for which player will lead the NBA Finals in scoring.

Who Will Lead the NBA Finals in Points?

There are two clear favorites for this prop, and it should be no surprise based on the context of these two teams.

Victor Wembanyama enters as the -185 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. The unanimous Defensive Player of the Year posted averages of 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game across the regular season. Since the playoffs started, Wembanyama has averaged 23.2 points per game. There was a bit of a learning curve in his first career playoff appearance, but the Spurs star recognized his importance as the postseason has gone on and is playing in attack mode at a greater rate. He averaged 27.3 points per game across the Western Conference Finals, scoring 20+ points in all seven games.

Jalen Brunson is next up with +140 odds of leading the NBA Finals in scoring on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Knicks star finished the regular season with averages of 26.0 points per game, which ranked 10th in the NBA. Since the postseason has kicked off, the Villanova product is scoring 26.9 points per game. This also comes while the Knicks have coasted through blowouts for several matchups over the past two series.

Stephon Castle and Karl-Anthony Towns are worth mentioning, each holding +5000 odds of leading the series in scoring. Castle has proven ready for the weight of the postseason moment and has been the most reliable (and healthiest) guard in this playoff run. He averaged 16.7 points per game in the regular season, but has increased his scoring output to 19.2 points per game across the postseason. Towns was brought in to raise the ceiling of this Knicks team, and New York has been successful in this coming to fruition. The six-time All-Star averaged 20.1 points per game across the regular season and is scoring 16.9 points per game in the postseason.

While I think Castle and Towns will be closer in the conversation than the odds indicate, the clear best bet in my mind is Jalen Brunson to lead the series in scoring at +140 odds. Without being overly critical to Wembanyama’s offensive skillset, there is pretty much no pathway to his greatest impact coming anywhere but the defensive end. The Frenchman has an impressive offensive skillset of his own right, but expect the Knicks to get creative in their defensive scheme that will shake things up. Wembanyama got comfortable in the matchups with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in the previous series, and it feels unlikely that he will see as much single coverage in the Finals.

While the Spurs can still be competitive even if Wembanayma is not scoring at a high rate, the same is not true of Jalen Brunson and the Knicks. Brunson is at the epicenter of the attack for New York, with the foundation of their offense built upon his ability to attack downhill and score in isolation. He has scored 15+ points in every playoff game, and recorded 30+ points in five of the 14 postseason games thus far.

This all occurred while the Knicks have not leaned on their star player at the expected rate. New York has swept the past two series matchups, with six of these eight wins coming by 14 points or greater. Brunson is at his best when it is crunch time of the matchup and getting to his spots in the half-court with the game on the line. These opportunities have not been as frequent as you would expect at this stage of the playoffs, and count on them to be much more regular in this series.

San Antonio possesses a strong defensive unit with plenty of physical individual defenders. But Brunson has seen just about every possible defensive technique against him in the books. He possesses a level of veteran savvy that will be problematic against this young Spurs team. Expect the Knicks to be willing to live or die with the ball in his hands and for Brunson to lead the scoring charge in this series. Even with the Spurs being the favorites, expect Brunson to be the top scorer in the series and for his offensive work rate to be greater than that of any other player in this series.

Best Bet- Jalen Brunson: +140