It’s an exciting month for sports betting enthusiasts as the NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup competitions are underway. To make online sports betting even more interesting, several of our top-rated sites have employed prop builders for the upcoming competitions.
The NHL Stanley Cup Finals will start Wednesday, June 4th, and the NBA Finals will begin Thursday, June 5th. Both series will be televised and are best-of-seven series.
In the NHL, the Edmonton Oilers will face the Florida Panthers, and in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Indiana Pacers. Both series will conclude with the league’s respected champions for 2025.
Below, we will discuss ways to bet on both sports and how to properly use prop builders to add to the action.
How Prop Builders Work
Prop builders are a new addition to online sportsbooks, and according to Digital Sports Tech, they first emerged online in 2017. Prop builders, like the one found at Bovada’s online sportsbook, allow players to select the player or team they wish to bet on and then the site generates odds based on the user’s selection.
Popular prop options include player points, specials, and other aspects of the game, such as goals, assists, and rebounds, depending on the sport. Once selected, you can enter your wager to see the payout of the winning bet.
While you can bet on a single prop, many players parlay props for bigger payouts. As most seasoned bettors know, parlays are incredibly risky but worth the reward when a bet hits.
NBA Finals Odds
The Oklahoma City Thunder is favored to win game one against the Indiana Pacers with (-410) odds on the money line. Led by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA), the Thunder is looking to secure its first championship since moving the franchise from Seattle (SuperSonics) in 2008.
On the other end of the court, the Indian Pacers have never won an NBA Championship. The Pacers have proven their resilience by defeating the once highly favored NY Knicks in the conference championship round. The Pacers will be looking to capitalize on that momentum in game one, despite what online sportsbook odds currently predict.
Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Spread: +9.0 (-110), -9.0 (-110)
- Win: +305, -410
- Total: O231.0 (-110), U231.0 (-110)
(Game line from Bovada)
Stanley Cup Finals Odds & Props
In the NHL, the Florida Panthers are looking to defeat the Edmonton Oilers again after winning the Stanley Cup over the Oilers in seven games last year. The 2024 Stanley Cup win was the first in franchise history for the Panthers despite two previous championship appearances in 2022 and 2023.
The Edmonton Oilers have won the Stanley Cup five times in team history, but their last championship was in 1990. However, according to the current future odds, they are favored to win game one of this year’s competition and are slight favorites to win next year’s Stanley Cup, according to the current futures odds.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Florida Panthers
- Spread: -1.5 (+160), +1.5 (-195)
- Win: -130, +110
- Total: O5.5 (-215), U5.5 (+175)