The NBA has grown in its global appeal in the last 30 years, the league now enters the homes of almost every country around the world. In that brand expansion, so too has the appeal to bet on the NBA grown as well. Sites like BetMGM are a safe and comfortable platform to place bets on the NBA.
Like Soccer or Football, betting on the NBA can be diverse in terms of the type of betting options at your disposal. In Basketball there is the classic over/under point spread betting, you can pick a winner outright, and you can bet on futures like most sports.
Betting on the NBA can be fun and exciting, just like watching an NBA Finals game, the key to betting is knowing the odds and having a basic knowledge of the sport. This article will help you understand how to bet and how to understand what kind of bet you are placing.
How to Read NBA Odds
Before betting on the NBA the bettor needs to understand how to read NBA odds. Odds are always shown with a plus sign (+) and that signifies the underdog and a minus sign (-) is allocated to the favorite. Example:
San Antonio Spurs -110
Golden State Warriors +110
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NBA Moneyline Bets: Picking a Team to Win Straight Up
The NBA Straight up bet is like the moneyline bet of other sports, here you are picking a winner outright. Example the Bulls are favored over the Knicks:
Bulls -160
Knicks +120
Like we have mentioned before if you bet on the underdog you have a higher payout than if you bet on a favored team. An underdog bet is considered riskier since they are the team predicted to not win.
NBA Point Spread Betting
Like the NFL or Soccer, there is spread betting. Once again, the spread bet is when you predict that a given team win or lose will not cover a specific amount of points. In this case:
New Jersey Nets -15.5
Sacramento Kings +15.5
In this case, the Kings would need to win the game or lose by 15 points or less. As for the Nets, they have to win the game by 16 or more points. Most spreads for NBA games will be over 5 points since Basketball is a high scoring sport.
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NBA Totals
Total bets on NBA games is when you bet on if a game will have a combined final score of OVER or UNDER a set number of points. Example the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics will have odds that look like this:
OVER 250
UNDER 250
If you bet the OVER, it means the final combined score must be more than 250 points. If you bet UNDER then the game must end with a combined score under 250 points. If it’s a tie, then the money is returned to the bettor.
NBA Live Betting
You can also bet on the NBA live, odds will change as the game goes on and you can wager on each play, who will score next, or if there is a change in the spread. It is important to bet quickly on live bets because the variables change constantly so stay alert!
NBA Prop Betting
Like most sports, you can bet on props, what will happen in a given game, or what won’t happen in a given game. Here you can bet on how many points X player will score, or how many assists Y player will have, how many rebounds Z player will get, or how many timeouts a team will call in the third quarter.
NBA Futures
NBA futures are like most sports futures, it’s a bet placed on a future event that has not happened yet. How many wins X team will get during the season, who will finish first, last, who will be MVP, or who will be NBA champion.
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NBA Parlays
Parlays are multiple bets in one betting ticket. Parlays let you take the moneyline from one game, the totals from another, and the spread from a third matchup. What must happen is that all 3 bets must happen in order for you to win your ticket, you need all three outcomes to happen. If not, you lose your bet.
With these initial guidelines, you should be ready to start your NBA betting experience as soon as possible. Remember to take your time to learn the different bets and understand how the odds and betting options work.
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