NBA Betting

NBA Betting Explained

The NBA is one of the most popular leagues to bet on in the US and there are many ways in which you can bet on the NBA. The common markets such as Money Line, Points Totals and Spreads, which are popular across most major sports are also NBA betting favorites. There are also a wide range of NBA-specific markets for both teams and players, often related to the key statistics associated with basketball such as points scored, rebounds or assists. There are also countless ways to bet on NBA Futures, from the NBA Championship, to Divisional or Conference winners, or even Player Futures such as the NBA MVP Award.

The NBA is a tough league to bet on with firm favorites but frequent upsets across a long season, any team can beat another on any given night regardless of realistic championship contention. Here at Pickswise, our expert NBA handicappers follow all of the latest NBA news as well as the key player and team stats to bring you the best Basketball Picks and NBA Predictions from opening day to the NBA Finals.  

NBA Basketball Bets Today 

The NBA action comes thick and fast during the season, with several games every day and teams playing multiple times a week, successful NBA betting requires a lot of time and effort. Researching matchups, statistical analysis, injury reports, and watching all the games is a full time job. So our dedicated NBA experts do just that, all with the knowledge and prowess you can only get from decades of NBA betting experience. We ensure that no stone is left unturned ahead of publishing our NBA game previews and bets throughout the NBA season.

You can find all of today’s NBA bets from across the entire schedule by heading to our NBA Picks page, or to our NBA Best Bets for all the NBA wagers our experts are most confident in, and for more advice on how to bet on the NBA, our guide has everything you need.

NBA Betting Lines

With up to 15 games daily, keeping up with NBA betting lines isn’t easy, finding great value is even harder. Being aware of the NBA betting lines as soon as they are released, often the night before or even the morning of a game, will help you get more value out of your wagers. If you place your bet early you can get favourable odds before Sportsbooks make adjustments in line with public betting. We can help you find the latest NBA odds from all the biggest sportsbooks, so you can track NBA betting lines and time your bets for the biggest returns.

NBA Public Betting

NBA public betting refers to who the majority of money and bets are backing in a particular game. If the favored team has the highest volume of bets or the most amount of money behind them this would be the public being on the favorite. NBA public betting can be very useful for individual bettors because sportsbooks will adjust their odds to keep their books balanced and not risk a loss on a potential outcome, so staying ahead of the curve could help you net bigger profits from your wagers.

You can also use NBA public betting trends to identify who the smart money is backing. For example, if the Warriors are up against the Nuggets and the majority of bets are backing the Warriors to win, but more money is backing the Nuggets, its very likely the higher value wagers are coming from those more experienced bettors, and they think the Nuggets will win. The more information like this at your disposal the smarter your NBA betting can be and at Pickswise we’re all about smart betting.

NBA Live Betting

Live betting is the new kid on the block in the betting industry and NBA Live betting is certainly towards the top end of Live Betting popularity amongst bettors. The very nature of NBA and basketball betting lends itself perfectly to Live betting. With it being such a dynamic end to end scoring sport, you can see the odds of an NBA game flip on its head in a matter of minutes. The odds and betting lines update in real time, reacting to every shot that is made or missed. You wont get as an exhaustive list of betting markets with live betting as you would with pre-game markets, but all of the main NBA bets will be available on the live betting tab, such as Money Line odds, Spreads and Points totals. 

NBA Betting Markets

The NBA and basketball in general is a game that revolves around points and other key stats, so the NBA betting markets reflect this. The most common ways to bet on an NBA game include the winner of the match, known as the Money Line, the total points in a game and also betting against the spread. 

There are many other ways in which you can bet on an NBA game including individual player performances and team performances. Check out the most popular types of NBA betting, what they mean, and how they work below. You can also check out our selections of the best NBA betting sites.

NBA Money Line Betting

NBA Money Line betting is the simplest way in which you can bet on the NBA. An NBA Money Line bet is a bet on which team will win the game. With no ties in the NBA, and unlimited Overtime periods played until a winner is decided, the money line has two outcomes, Team A or Team B, or from a bettor’s perspective, right or wrong, win or lose. The NBA Money Line is a viable option for bettors because in the main, the odds won’t be too bad to make it worthwhile, unlike College Basketball Betting, where the gulf between the big and small schools can mean money line odds of -10000, or in some case not even offering odds. There is much more parity in the NBA by comparison. Although there is of course heavy favorites in many games, you can get great odds on an upset and have a real chance at a big win.

NBA Against The Spread Betting

NBA betting against the spread is the most popular way to bet on an NBA game. Unlike the Money Line where you are betting on which team will win the match outright, against the spread you are betting on which team will cover the spread, as set by the sportsbooks and oddsmakers. This means the Favorites will have to concede points and the Underdogs will get points on the spread.

The reason NBA betting against the spread is popular is that it evens the playing field and makes either side of the match a viable betting option. If you take a game between the Los Angeles Lakers vs the New Orleans Pelicans, LA Lakers could be a 7-point favorite, or -7 against the spread, this means the Lakers must win by 8 or more points to cover the spread, while the Pelicans must win or lose by 6 or fewer to cover the spread. If the match finishes in the middle, i.e.. a 7-point Lakers win, 117-110 for example, the game will be a push and your stake will be returned. This is why you will often see spread lines with .5 to avoid the possibility of there being a push.

NBA spread betting can make backing the underdog more appealing, and it adds excitement with every point being able to impact the outcome, even the bench players could decide your bet in a blowout. Our experts give their advice and analysis throughout the whole season including bets against the spread so be sure to check out all of our NBA Picks against the spread today.

NBA Over Under Betting

Betting the over under or points totals on an NBA game is a bet on how many total points, from both teams combined, will be scored in the game. If the line is set at 208.5 points and the match ends 110-104, then 214 total points are scored and the over cashes. If the score finished 104-90 then only 194 points were scored and unders tickets will cash.

NBA Over Under Betting offers a great alternative to betting on one team or the other via the Money Line or Against The Spread. NBA over under can typically be set anywhere between 180 and 240 points. The oddsmakers will assess the matchups and the styles of each team to determine the number of points they predict will be scored in the match.

The exciting thing with NBA over under betting is that every possession, and every shot counts. You can win or lose an over/under bet on a last second shot, regardless of if it actually affects the winner of the game. Each of our NBA match previews will have full expert analysis with picks and predictions on the over under totals markets.  

NBA Player Prop Bets

NBA prop bets are side wagers that don’t directly bet on the outcome of the game itself. Instead, you are betting on the occurrence or non-occurrence of a specific event which is typically a team, or player stat line. The most common types of NBA Player Props are based around the three main performance metrics in Points, Assists, and Rebounds, or at times, a line that has an over/under total combining all three. Plenty of markets exist for other player stats within a game like blocks, fouls, turnovers and three-pointers.

These are great spots to wager on when you have highlighted a potential mismatch on the floor, such as a dominant center vs a team that concedes points in the paint. While the lines will reflect these matchups, we put in the research to find the best value spots for these plays and lines. Our experts spend hours researching player vs player matchups as well as building the wider picture of the game to make the best free expert NBA player props, all season long.

NBA Team Prop Bets

NBA team prop bets are similar to the player prop bets in that you aren’t directly betting on a winning team but aspects of their performance. This can be done in many different ways but the most common props will revolve around points, such as a team total points, rather than a match total points line, or the team to score 20 points first. Being able to wager on one team or the other offers greater flexibility to your NBA betting. You may like one team more than the other but at the same time may feel the spread is too high, or don’t feel confident in the other team scoring enough points for the overs to hit. In spots like these you can zone in on one team and make the most of these team Basketball Prop Bets. 

NBA Parlay Betting

The NBA schedule comes thick and fast throughout the season and with numerous games played on any given day, NBA Parlay Betting is a popular way to bet on the NBA. While parlays in general are only ever recommended as smaller side wagers, they offer a huge amount of upside and can see a bettor reap big rewards when they hit.

NBA parlays are when you combine multiple individual NBA picks into one bet. With a parlay, all of the selections must win in order for the bet to win, a single loss means the ticket is a loss. The upside is that the odds of each selection multiply with one another to create the parlay odds, so if they do hit your potential winnings are much greater than a straight bet. The most common market to add to NBA parlays are bets against the spread. With this type of parlay you can expect odds of around +260 for a 2-team parlay, +600 for a 3-team parlay or +1100 for a 4-team parlay. Of course other markets can be added to your parlay, including the vast array of props, you could even add all your selections from a single game for a Same Game Parlay. The odds and difficulty grow rapidly with each extra selection and balancing risk and reward is a key part of successful parlay betting.