Pelicans vs. Thunder Prediction, Odds, Players to Watch for NBA Summer League

Betting odds, pick and prediction for the New Orleans Pelicans-Oklahoma City Thunder matchup in Summer League on Wednesday.

Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears is an intriguing player to watch on Wednesday. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans have yet to win a game at the Las Vegas Summer League, and they’ll take on the undefeated Oklahoma City Thunder in a matchup on Wednesday night.

This is the second night of a back-to-back for both teams, as OKC beat the Orlando Magic by 17 points on Tuesday while the Pelicans dropped their game with the Portland Trail Blazers by six.

As a result, oddsmakers have set the Thunder as 9.5-point favorites on Wednesday.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Thunder play all of their best players in the second night of a back-to-back, especially guard Nikola Topic, who is recovering from a torn ACL that cost him the entire 2024-25 season.

Let’s dive into the odds, players to watch, and my prediction for Wednesday’s battle between these Western Conference teams. 

Pelicans vs. Thunder Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Pelicans +9.5 (-110)
• Thunder -9.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Pelicans: +360
• Thunder: -470

Total

• 180.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Pelicans vs. Thunder How to Watch

• Date: Wednesday, July 16
• Time: 9:30 p.m. EST
• Venue: Cox Pavilion
• How to Watch (TV): NBA TV/ESPN+
• Pelicans record: 0-3
• Thunder record: 3-0

Pelicans vs. Thunder Key Players to Watch

New Orleans Pelicans

• Jeremiah Fears 

A first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Fears has a chance to step into a pretty big role in New Orleans with guard Dejounte Murray (Achilles) expected to miss a good chunk of the 2025-26 season.

Fears had 14 points in the loss to Portland on Tuesday night, and he’s averaging 14.3 points per game in Summer League.

However, the young guard has struggled to take care of the ball, averaging 5.3 turnovers per game as well. Can he turn things around in that department against OKC? The Pelicans certainly would love to see some growth before the end of Summer League. 

Oklahoma City Thunder

• Ajay Mitchell

Fresh off of a 27-point game against Orlando, Ajay Mitchell is a player to watch – if he suits up – in this matchup.

The second-year guard earned a spot on OKC’s roster in the 2024-25 season, and he’s already shown he’s outgrown Summer League, averaging 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from 3. 

He should carve up this New Orleans team on Wednesday if he’s in the lineup. 

Pelicans vs. Thunder Prediction and Pick

Note: Before betting on NBA Summer League, it’s important to know that rotations are fluid and predicting player performance is volatile. As an avid NBA bettor, I suggest only placing small wagers for fun on these games since they are often hard to predict.

Since there are going to be questions about the lineups for both of these teams on Wednesday, I don’t mind taking the points with New Orleans.

Oklahoma City may decide to be more cautious with Topic (coming off an injury) and Mitchell (an established player) rather than play them on the second night of a back-to-back.

Plus, New Orleans hasn’t exactly been blown out in every game, losing two of them by seven or fewer points.

I’d rather take the points in a Summer League matchup where there can be a ton of variance. 

Pick: Pelicans +9.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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