Best and Worst 2022-23 NBA Season ATS Teams

By Jeff Stinger • June 15, 2023

The Denver Nuggets have finally reached the summit of the NBA mountain after battling five hard-fought games in the 2023 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. The Nuggets were also one of the better ATS teams all season long but, when all was said and done, they’re not exactly the most reliable team to bet on against the spread.

This begs the question: which teams fared the best against the spread and which ones didn’t? Knowing which teams had great and unremarkable ATS records will go a long way toward understanding and predicting the most optimal betting opportunities for the upcoming 2023-24 NBA season.

3 Best ATS Teams from the 2022-23 NBA Season

Utah Jazz

ATS record: 47-33-2

The new-look Jazz had a forgettable first year under head coach Will Hardy as the former perennial playoff contenders missed out on the postseason for the first time since 2016. However, Utah’s rebuild has been a relative success, especially when they finished the 2022-23 NBA season with a league-best 58.8 percent win percentage against the spread.

Lauri Markannen – the season’s Most Improved Player of the Year – along with the likes of Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, makes the Jazz a very intriguing team to keep an eye on. They’ve covered the spread in losses very often this past season, which goes to show that betting on mediocre teams when the spreads are right is a viable strategy that could yield huge rewards.

Philadelphia 76ers

ATS record: 53-38-2

On the opposite end of the Jazz’s spectrum, meanwhile, are the 54-28 76ers, who finished with the third-best record in the East during the regular season. With a star-studded roster featuring a pair of MVPs in Joel Embiid and James Harden, the Sixers often found themselves as favorites to win any given matchup they were in.

And yet, Philadelphia won most of those games the team was favored to win anyway. It wasn’t until the Sixers’ disappointing playoff run started to hurt their overall ATS record. Nevertheless, Philly’s margin of victory of 3.6 points against the spread per game is still the third-best amongst all NBA teams last season. Can this powerhouse 76ers squad sustain their winning ATS ways, even if only during the regular season?

Oklahoma City Thunder

ATS record: 46-35-3

For the second straight year, OKC finished in the top three of teams with the best ATS records at the end of the season. The Thunder were a pleasant surprise, as up-and-comers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, and the Jalen/Jaylin Williams frontcourt made up a starting five unit that finished fifth in scoring (117.5 PPG). Oklahoma City won 56.8 percent of its games against the spread, proving the team has its upsides on the betting front even if the actual product is still a work in progress. Having six more ATS wins than their straight-up record means that the Thunder have massive upset potential that we expect them to sustain into the 2023-24 season.

3 Worst ATS Teams from the 2022-23 NBA Season

Dallas Mavericks

ATS record: 30-49-3

Not only are the Mavericks one of the most disappointing teams in recent memory, but they also finish their trainwreck of a 2022-23 NBA campaign with the worst record against the spread. Dallas’ pathetic 38.8 ATS win percentage against the spread is so bad that they’re the only team this season that failed to win at least 40 percent of their games against the spread.

Much of this downfall happened at the tail-end of the regular season when Mavs owner Mark Cuban pulled the plug on tanking the rest of the way in hopes of improving his odds in the 2023 NBA lottery. Dallas finished with a 2-7 ATS record in their last nine games, as the team now has to decide on what to do about the odd pairing of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the backcourt. The popular consensus now is that if Kyrie stays and the Mavs still have a terrible defense, the smart money is to bet against them.

San Antonio Spurs

ATS record: 33-49-0

It’s taking longer than expected for the Spurs’ rebuild to come to fruition after the Kawhi Leonard and the short-lived Dejounte Murray eras have passed. And while the Mavs had the worst ATS win percentage this season, the Spurs were just terrible at winning, period, as they had the worst margin of victory against the spread at negative-10.0 points per game (the only team to lose by double digits ATS).

Thankfully, hope is on the horizon for the once-celebrated San Antonio franchise. The Spurs lucked into getting the No. 1-overall pick at the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft and hold the golden ticket toward drafting generational big man Victor Wembanyama. The 19-year-old French phenom is one cornerstone to build around similar to the Spurs’ last top-pick legend in Tim Duncan. In turn, we expect the Spurs to slightly improve both in straight-up and ATS production next season.

Houston Rockets

ATS record: 33-45-4

There must be some bad basketball voodoo in Texas. The Rockets round out the bottom three of teams with the worst records against the spread and join their neighboring rivals from the Lone Star State. Houston and San Antonio were tied for the worst regular-season record straight-up in the West at 22-60; a fate that the team virtually shares with the Spurs as well ATS-wise.

The Rockets will still likely find themselves in limbo in the coming season, as their core trio of Jalen Green, Jabari Smith, and Alpren Sengun is still quite raw. Perhaps if Houston acquires a proven veteran presence to complement its young stars, then we’d be more confident in predicting the team escaping from the bottom-three pit of the ATS standings in the 2023-24 NBA campaign.

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This is just one of the many sports betting guides that you can read here at Nitrobetting news. Stay tuned for more 2023-24 NBA season previews and articles and don’t forget to check out the latest basketball betting odds on our online BTC sportsbook.