During the "Inside the NBA on ESPN" halftime show, Shaquille O'Neal gave Gilgeous-Alexander his props by calling him the best player in the NBA right now.

In his first two games of the season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has now recorded 90 points in his 92 minutes of play.

In our first NBA-focused edition of Newsweek Sports Betting 📩, we give out our NBA Finals and regular season MVP picks.

It’s an NBA Finals rematch this evening as the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Denver’s core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon are back.

It’s a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals…almost in name only…as the Indiana Pacers (0-0) tip off their season against the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0) tonight at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Denver Nuggets (0-0) take the court against the Golden State Warriors (1-0) at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 23, 2025 on ESPN and NBCS-BA.