2025 Big Bets report: Bettor could win $70k on 8-leg parlay with OKC title

Patrick Everson

FOX Sports Betting Analyst

Betting on NBA playoff odds has been pretty entertaining throughout the first round. But there’s still a long way to go before a team lifts the championship trophy.

Perhaps no one knows that better than a FanDuel Sportsbook customer holding a phenomenal futures parlay ticket on a bet made nearly a year ago.

Will a modest wager turn into a massive five-figure payday?

Read on for more on that parlay, along with other notable bets, unique wins and major wagers — winners and losers alike — tied to NBA playoffs betting.

Forecasting The Future

Back before the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, a bettor put 50 bucks on the following futures parlay:

Florida Panthers -130 over Edmonton Oilers
Cleveland Guardians -145 to win the AL Central
Philadelphia Phillies -320 to win the NL East
Kansas City Chiefs -230 to win the AFC West
Houston Texans +105 to win the AFC South
Philadelphia Eagles +115 to win the NFC East
Ohio State +440 to win the College Football Playoff
Oklahoma City Thunder +950 to win the NBA Finals

Add up all eight legs, and you’ve got monster odds of +140584 — or, in easier-to-read terms, about 1406/1.

Now, all that remains is the Thunder winning the NBA championship, which they are favored to do.

If OKC wins the title, then that bettor’s $50 turns into $70,341.78. It’s a lottery ticket, but even lottery tickets hit big on rare occasions.

As you can see from that ticket, the bettor has a cash-out option for $19,120.55. Which is still a huge win.

Would you let it ride or cash out?

Big Shot

On Thursday night, the New York Knicks knocked out the Detroit Pistons in Round 1 of the NBA playoffs. The shot that clinched the series also clinched a hefty profit for a FanDuel Sportsbook customer.

The bettor had a mere $10 on a seven-leg player-prop parlay. In the final seconds of Game 6, that ticket still needed one more Jalen Brunson 3-pointer. And Brunson delivered, as the Knicks won 116-113.

So the customer cashed out for $3,919. That’s my kind of ROI.

Quite An Improvement

On Wednesday, Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for the 2024-25 season. Daniels led the league in steals with 229, and he averaged 14.1 points per game, way up from his previous average of just 5.8.

Back in October, as the regular season began, a Caesars Sports customer was prescient enough to wager on Daniels’ improvement. The bettor put $50 on Daniels, who was a +15000 long shot (150/1).

On Wednesday, that bettor cashed out for $7,500 in profit.

Parlay Partay

There are countless ways to bet on NBA odds, both pregame and in-game. Among those is “method of first basket.”

A FanDuel customer decided to dabble in that market for Monday’s two playoff games: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat, and Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors.

The bettor put $25 on a two-leg first-basket parlay of:

Jarrett Allen dunk +2100
Alperen Sengün other +1100

To clarify: “Other” for Sengün meant any basket other than a dunk, layup, 3-pointer or free throw. Twenty seconds into the Rockets-Warriors game, Sengün put Houston up 2-0 on a short jumper. And 16 seconds into the Cavs-Heat game, an Allen dunk gave Cleveland a 2-0 lead.

The odds of both those outcomes: +26300, or 263/1. So just like that, the bettor pocketed $6,575 in profit ($6,600 total payout).

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I Like Big Bets And I Cannot Lie

NBA playoff odds have drawn an assortment of major wagers over the past week or so. That includes a five-figure play involving one of the bigger surprises of Round 1: The No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves eliminating the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers. And doing so in just five games.

On Wednesday night, the Wolves went on the road and beat L.A. 103-96 to advance. And a Caesars Sports customer got a nice payday out of it.

Banking on a Wolves Game 5 upset, the bettor put $20,000 on Minnesota moneyline +210. The victory scored a profit of $42,000, for a total payout of $62,000.

More notable bets from Caesars:

$120,000 Pistons’ moneyline -125 vs. Knicks in Thursday’s Game 6. As noted above, Brunson put a dagger into Detroit on a late 3-pointer. So that wager was a big donation to the house.
$50,000 on Rockets’ moneyline -175 vs. Warriors in Wednesday’s Game 4. Houston rolled 131-116, and the bettor profited $28,571 (total payout $78,571).

And finally, how about this good fortune from another Caesars customer: In Sunday’s Game 4 between the Knicks and Pacers, the bettor put $20,000 on Karl-Anthony Towns +650 to score the first basket.

Eighteen seconds into the game, that $20,000 bet netted $130,000 in profit (total payout $150,000), when Towns hit an 8-foot bank shot to give New York a 2-0 lead. That’s some speedy and healthy ROI.

That said, keep in mind that these big bets are often made by high-roller customers who can absorb such a loss. Regular Joes and Janes like you and me cannot.

So keep it reasonable. Never bet more than you can afford to lose.

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on X: @PatrickE_Vegas

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