How to Bet on NBA Games

How to Bet on NBA Games

The NBA is one of the most popular leagues to bet on worldwide. Every year, between October and June, bettors place millions of NBA bets just in the United States alone. If you want to join this crowd and start betting on the NBA but find yourself asking “how does NBA betting work?”, you’ve come to the right place.

In this guide, we’ll tell you about the most popular NBA betting markets, key betting terms, and everything you need to know about how to bet on NBA games in the US.

We won’t go super in-depth into our specific NBA bonuses and promotions, but you can head to our “Promotions” section to explore our great offers. However, if you don't understand how NBA betting works first, Fanatics Sportsbook and its NBA bonus offers won't matter much.

With that out of the way, let’s dive into it.

NBA Spread Betting

Spread betting, or betting against the spread, is one of the most popular ways to bet on the NBA. It's essentially betting on the margin of victory a team will win or lose by, which is called the spread. It's a handicap used to level the playing field between two teams.

The favorite is the team most likely to win, while the underdog is the team that we (or the sportsbook) think will likely lose. If you bet on the favorite, they must win by more than the spread. If you bet on the underdog, you can still win your bet if they lose, but only if they lose by fewer points than the spread. Let’s talk this through with an example.

Imagine that the Oklahoma City Thunder are playing the Washington Wizards. OKC would be the favorite, and the Wizards would be underdogs, so the spread is 12.5 points. If you bet on Thunder to win against the spread, you would place a wager on Thunder (-12.5). OKC would have to win by 13 points or more to win this bet. You would lose your wager if they lose or win by fewer than 13 points. On the other hand, if you bet on the Wizards (+12.5), you would win if the Wizards won or lost by fewer than 13 points.

As you can see from the example, spreads usually include half points so that there is always a winner or loser. Yet, Fanatics also offer whole spreads, so teams can tie against the spread. If this happens, it's a push, and you get your money back.

Spread betting works the same way in the NBA as in almost every other major sport. However, it’s sometimes called different names. When you bet on soccer, it will almost always be referred to as handicap betting. For hockey, spread betting is called puck line betting. Both hockey and soccer allow you to place three-way handicap bets, where you can bet on whether it will be a draw after the handicap is applied.

NBA Moneyline Bets

Moneyline betting is the simplest way to bet on NBA games. All you need to do is pick the winner. If you place a moneyline bet on a team and they win, you win. If they lose, you lose. It's that simple. You don't need to worry about the points spread, how many points were scored in the game, or even if the team you bet on played well. Just pick the correct winner, and you win. This simplicity is one of the significant reasons why moneyline bets are so popular with NBA fans and new NBA bettors.

If you’re a new bettor, the most important thing you need to know about moneyline betting is how to read NBA odds. The odds will tell you which team is the favorite, which is the underdog, and whether it's even worth placing a bet on a team.

NBA bets here at Fanatics are written in the American odds format. This format uses positive and negative numbers to represent how much you can win from a $100 bet or how much you need to bet to win $100.

If that last paragraph didn't make sense, don't worry. Here’s a more in-depth breakdown of how moneyline payouts work in the American odds format:

Negative Odds (e.g., -150): The number tells you how much you have to wager to win $100. So, -150 odds means placing a $150 wager for a $100 payout. If you win, your total payout will be $250, $150 back from your original wager plus $100 in profit.
Positive Odds (e.g., +180): The number tells you how much you stand to win from a $100 wager. +180 odds, for example, means you would get $180 in profit from a $100 wager. Your total payout would be $280, your $100 wager plus the $180 profit.

As you can see, the larger the number, the more you stand to win. This is why teams with positive odds are usually the underdogs, and teams with negative odds are the favorites. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. It depends on specific matchups and who the sportsbook gets its odds from.

Moneyline betting works the same way across all sports, although some sports offer much more value than NBA moneyline betting does.

NBA Totals (Over/Under) Bets

Totals betting, also called over/under betting, is the third of the three main NBA betting lines listed for every game. However, unlike spreads and moneyline bets, totals bets are unrelated to the game’s actual outcome. Instead of betting on the winner or the margin of victory, you are betting on the number of combined points scored in a game by both teams.

We will set a line, then you just have to wager whether the combined score will be over or under the line. If you guess correctly, you win. It works the same way in other sports. The only difference is that some sports have different scoring systems. The MLB uses runs, hockey uses goals, etc. You can also bet on the points scored in a quarter, half, etc., but that usually falls into the prop betting category, which we’ll cover later. For now, let’s make sure you understand over/under betting with an example.

Let’s say the Boston Celtics are playing the New York Knicks, and the line is 214.5 points. If you think it will be a high-scoring game, you can be on the over, which will usually be written as O214.5. On the other hand, if you think it will be a turgid, low-scoring game, bet the under (U214.5). If your prediction is correct, you win. In cases where the combined score equals the line, like if the line was 214 points and the Celtics and Knicks scored 214 points exactly, the bet would result in a push, and you would get your money back.

Totals betting is great for beginners because it’s so simple, but it’s also an excellent way to bet on the NBA if you like stats and tracking trends. You will find totals betting very valuable if you can identify when a team is hot or cold.

Betting on NBA Player Props

Player prop betting is one of the fastest-growing NBA betting markets in the US. These wagers focus on individual player performances rather than team-wide stats or the team’s results. For example, instead of betting on how many points a team will win by, you’re placing bets on what a player will do in the game.

The most common types of NBA player prop bets include basic box score stats like points, rebounds, and assists. We also offer player props for the number of three-pointers made, steals, and blocks. You can even bet on more niche stats like three-pointers attempted, free throws made, and number of fouls committed.

Combo markets are also prevalent. For example, you could bet on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to have more than 40 combined points and assists in a game. If you want to get even more specific, you can place a player prop on how many points, assists, steals, etc., a player will have in a particular quarter or half.

We believe player props are better for more engaged fans than casual ones. A key way to be a successful player prop bettor is to know when a player has a favorable matchup. You can only know this if you follow the player and/or the NBA as a whole. That said, player props are extremely popular with fans across every sport. Many people view them as a way to stay engaged in a game or to follow star players.

NBA Parlays

A parlay is a bet that combines multiple individual wagers into one. Each wager that makes up a parlay is called a leg. Although some sportsbooks will just call it a selection, e.g., a parlay cannot have more than six selections.

Every leg in a parlay bet must win for you to win your wager. For example, say you place a parlay with three moneyline bets on each of the Lakers, Clippers, and Warriors to win against their opponents. This would be a three-legged parlay. If one of the legs loses, like the Clippers, you will lose your bet. It doesn’t matter what happened in the other two games.

This example illustrates why parlays pay so much more than standard single bets. More things need to go right for you to win, so the odds of winning are inherently lower. When the odds are lower, the potential payout is higher.

Some people use parlays to bet on multiple favorites to win, since one favorite usually has little value. Others like to combine underdogs and hope to turn a small bet into a huge payout. These are not the only two options, though. Everyone has their own NBA parlay strategies. Many people even combine NBA bets with NFL or NHL bets in one parlay since parlay bets are not limited to one sport.

With betting on multiple sports in mind, there are some restrictions on parlays that you should know about. First of all, many sites have a limit on the number of individual bets in a parlay. You typically can’t have more than 6-10 legs, but some sites allow you to combine up to 20. Specific markets also can’t be combined. For example, if the Sixers and Heat are playing each other, you can’t have a parlay with a moneyline bet on the Sixers to win and the Heat to win.

NBA Same Game Parlays

Same-game parlays (SGPs) are a type of NBA parlay that only includes bets from the same game. For example, if the Lakers are playing the Warriors, you could place an SGP with a Lakers moneyline bet, LeBron James to score over 23.5 points, and Steph Curry to hit at least four three-pointers. All three legs would have to win for you to win your SGP.

Same-game parlays used to be prohibited, but they are now available here at Fanatics. They are super popular with fans of every sport since they allow you to predict how a game will go. The example in the last paragraph is a good representation of this. If you thought the Lakers would win a challenging game against a good Warriors team, that parlay makes perfect sense.

Like with regular parlays, SGPs are popular in every sport. Soccer is probably the most popular same-game parlay market outside the US. In the US, the NBA and NFL come out on top. Here at Fanatics, we have dozens of markets from which you can combine wagers to make one SGP.

We also frequently offer same-game parlays as boosted bets, which gives you an even bigger chance of getting a huge payout.

NBA In-Play (Live) Betting

NBA in-play betting just means placing a bet after the game has started. You are betting on a live NBA game instead of placing a pre-game bet before the opening tip. Live betting markets typically include all the same markets that were available pre-game. This includes spreads bets, totals, moneyline, and prop markets. However, we also offer markets only available once the action starts. For example, Fanatics allows you to bet which team will score more points in an upcoming five-minute game stretch.

Besides new markets, the best part about live betting is how the odds change. Odds are updated dynamically based on how the game is going, stats, and trends within the game itself. The algorithms that make these odds don’t always capture the reality of the situation, which is great if you can recognize when it’s happening.

Let’s say the Milwaukee Bucks are playing the Chicago Bulls. Before the game, the Bucks might be big favorites with a -10.5 point handicap. If Chicago starts strong and takes a big early lead, the live spread might flip and have Milwaukee as +3.5. If you still think the Bucks will win, you can bet on them at a much more favorable spread than before tip-off.

We can’t guarantee a winning basketball betting strategy, but if you are an engaged fan who likes fast-paced action, there is definitely value in placing strategic live bets at the right time.

NBA Futures Bets

Most of the NBA bets we have covered so far are wagers that will be decided as soon as a game ends. On the other hand, futures bets are wagers that focus on big-picture results that usually won’t be decided until the end of the season. For example, the most popular NBA futures bet is who will be the NBA Champion. If you placed a bet on a team to win the NBA title, you won’t know if you won until after the Finals in June.

Other popular NBA futures bets include:

Conference and Division Winners: Bets on the team who will finish at the top of their respective conference or division standings.
Award Winners: We allow you to bet who will win the NBA MVP award, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and other NBA player awards.
Stats Leaders: If you are confident that a player will lead the league in points, assists, or some other stat, you can bet on it.
Win Totals: We will set a line for the number of games a team will win in a season. You bet whether the team’s win total will be over or under that line.
Worst Record: A kind of “anti-futures” where you bet on the team most likely to have the worst record in the league.

All of these markets and the ones we haven’t mentioned require patience. Your bet might not settle until months after you place it. That said, the longer wait can come with big rewards. Futures are usually harder to predict than regular game bets, so the odds are higher. If you make a smart futures bet, you can turn a small wager into a small fortune.

Glossary of Key Betting Terms

The types of NBA bets above should be enough for you to start betting on the NBA. But if you want to be prepared, you should also understand these key NBA betting terms:

Spread: The handicap in spread bets. The team you bet on must win by more than the spread or lose by less than it for you to win your wager.
Moneyline: A straight-up bet on a team to win a game. If the team you bet on wins, you win.
Odds: The probability a sportsbook assigns to a specific bet represents how likely the bet is to win. Odds are written in positive and negative numbers. The higher the odds, the less likely the outcome.
Push: Essentially a tie, which results in a refund. For example, if the final result lands on exactly the spread or total bet, you will get your wager back.
Prop: A bet unrelated to the outcome of the game. Typically related to a player’s stat (e.g., number of points scored) or some aspect of the team’s performance (e.g., the number of three-pointers made by a team in a game).

Final Tips for Betting on NBA

You should now know everything you need to know about how to bet on NBA games. We’ve covered the major NBA betting markets, how to read NBA odds, and key betting terms. Now, all you need to do is start betting. Browse our available markets here at Fanatics Sportsbook and pick the best one for you. Thanks to our NBA betting features like NBA promos, same-game parlay betting tools, and 24/7 customer support, you’ll have everything you need to bet on the NBA with complete confidence.

Wherever you decide to play, make sure you do your research before betting on the NBA. Look up teams and players, and don’t be afraid to dive into the stats before placing your bets. Good luck, and gamble responsibly!