Top futures, specials on DraftKings Sportsbook after the trade deadline

Now that the dust of the NBA trade deadline has settled, we can dig in for the stretch run of this NBA season. So many potential contenders to evaluate. Plenty of seeding battles are up for grabs. We have a whole host of new player specials and futures on DraftKings Sportsbook to consider as we gear up for the stretch run of the season. Let’s dig into the best specials and futures.

Best NBA Finals Futures Pick

San Antonio Spurs (+1600)

The Oklahoma City Thunder, despite their recent struggles, remain the overwhelming favorites to win the title at +135 odds. The question still remains unanswered as to who is capable of taking them down?

We saw the Nuggets take them all the way to the wire in the 2024-25 playoffs. However, Denver is playing whack-a-mole with injuries, and those injuries did them in during that series. The Pacers are dead and gone (at least for this season). So we need to look at a new threat. That threat has been the San Antonio Spurs this season.

San Antonio is 4-1 against the Thunder this year. The Spurs’ average margin of victory in those four wins sits at 11.8 points. Granted, one of those games came with the Thunder resting several starters, but the quality of the early wins continues to stand out. They stopped the Thunder cold when they were at their hottest, winning back-to-back matchups on December 23rd and December 25th. I feel very confident that the Spurs can take down the Thunder in a seven-game series.

A lot of this comes down to matchups. San Antonio has struggled against other potential Western Conference playoff teams, such as the Suns and Warriors, who could face the franchise in the early rounds if the standings hold. But if the Spurs make it through to the Western Conference Finals, presumably meeting the Thunder, I love their chances. The Spurs are a great Finals dart throw.

Best Trade Deadline Special

More Regular Season Wins: Atlanta Hawks over Golden State Warriors (+175)

We have a few head-to-head specials between teams that made significant trades. One of them is between the Atlanta Hawks and the Golden State Warriors, two teams currently in the Play-In Tournament picture. After swapping Kristaps Porzingis for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, it’s fair to wonder which of these teams can be better down the stretch. My money is on the Hawks.

This comes down to availability. The Warriors lost Jimmy Butler for the season to a torn ACL and are currently managing a shorter-term absence for Steph Curry due to a knee injury. Their answer to these injury woes was to trade for Porzingis, one of the most injured players in the league this season. The big man made only 17 appearances for the Hawks, playing roughly one-third of their regular-season games. His POTS diagnosis leads to frequent absences along with his lingering lower-body injuries. The Warriors are confident that they can keep him healthy, but I’m not buying it.

Meanwhile, Atlanta turned a consistently unavailable player into two much warmer bodies. Jonathan Kuminga’s impact is fair to question, but I’m willing to bet his injury woes from this year magically disappear now that his trade request has been fulfilled. He can provide them with on-ball scoring depth, something they lack beyond Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Buddy Hield gives them another competent off-ball shooter, a skillset they have targeted heavily during this season. Atlanta did some selling at this deadline, but I’m not convinced it made the team weaker for this season. And since the Hawks don’t own their own draft pick, there’s no incentive here to tank.

There’s also the conference disparity. Atlanta, at 26-27, faces the 26th-easiest remaining schedule by winning percentage in the NBA. Golden State is all the way up at 28th. With only 2.5 games separating these two teams over the final 1/3 of the season, the strength of schedule alone is a value. Golden State’s disastrous injury potential makes this even more of a top pick.