NBA Betting Guide: A Quick Rundown for Newcomers

I’ll keep it short and sweet: our NBA betting guide will give you all the knowledge you need to make money from your bets. I’ll teach you how to read odds like a master, how you can see value in bets before you bet a penny, and I’ll even throw strategies you can use to make smart bets.

Let’s start.

How NBA Betting Odds and Payouts Work

There are two elements to finding value in a bet: knowing what the odds actually mean, and using your superior game insight and analysis to see if the bet has any value. Let’s figure out how NBA Betting Odds work first.

Odds in American format can be positive numbers or negative numbers:

Favorites get a minus sign, and the number tells you how much you need to bet to win $100. If the Rockets and Blazers are playing, then the Rockets would get -150 in odds, meaning you’d have to bet $150 to win $100 in profit.
Underdogs, on the other hand, get the plus sign and it tells you how much you’ll win for a $100 bet on them. In our made-up match, the Blazers would probably get +200, so your $100 bet would net you $200 in raw profit.

Let’s talk money now. Here’s what the payout would look like for the Rockets vs Blazers game:

If you bet on the Rockets at -150, and they win, you’d get $100 in profit for every $150 you bet. For a $100 bet, your total payout would be $166.67 (your $100 bet back plus $66.67 in profit).

If you bet on the Blazers at +200, and they win, you’d get $200 in profit for every $100 bet. So, a $100 bet pays out $300 total (your $100 bet plus $200 profit).

Types of NBA Bets

Now that all those weird odds numbers make sense to us, it’s time to see how each NBA bet works. That way, we can figure out how to piece them together into a system that prints us money.

Moneyline Bets in the NBA

Moneyline bets in the NBA are really simple: you pick who will win the game and that’s it. If the team you picked wins, great, you get the cash. Otherwise, you lose. I like to see how things play out with real-world examples, so let’s see how a moneyline bet would look in our previous Houston Rockets vs Portland Trail Blazers game.

In this matchup, the Rockets are the favorites. Here’s how the odds might look:

Rockets: -150
Blazers: +180

Just like we mentioned on our odds section, the minus means the Rockets are favorites. So, if you bet $150 on the Rockets and they win, you’ll get your $150 back plus $100. Total payout: $250.

The plus sign means that the Blazers are the underdogs. If you bet $100 on the Blazers and they win, you’ll get your $100 back plus $180. Total payout: $280.

Let’s say we want to bet $100 on the Rockets at -150 odds just because Segun is having an incredible season again. If they win, you get $166.67 total—your $100 bet plus $66.67 in profit. If they lose, you lose your $100.

Pros of Moneyline Bets:

Simple to understand: Just pick the winner.
Good for beginners: low entry barrier, so an ideal pick for beginners and casuals.

Cons of Moneyline Bets:

Lower payouts for favorites: You have to risk more to win less.
Risky for underdogs: If you go for the long shot, your odds of winning are lower.

Point Spread Bets in the NBA

Point Spread Bets in the NBA are beginner-intermediate levels of bets, so they’re very popular. The sportsbook sets a margin of victory called the point spread, and you bet on whether a team will “cover” that spread.

You could think of the spread as a handicap that gets applied to the favorite, and a head start that the underdog gets to have to even things out. Let’s face it: some games are just so unevenly matched that they become dull to watch. Spread betting solves that by evening the field.

Let’s take a game between the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers, where the Rockets are the favorites. The spread looks like this:

Rockets: -6
Blazers: +6

Here’s what it means:

If you bet on the Rockets at -6, they need to win by 7 or more points for you to win your bet.
If you bet on the Blazers at +6, they can lose by up to 5 points, or even win the game, and you still win the bet.

If you put $100 on the Rockets at -6, with standard odds of -110, then they’d need to win by 7 or more points if you want to see money. If they win by exactly 6 points, then your bet is a push and you get refunded. If they win by fewer than 6 or lose the game, you also lose the bet.

For a $100 bet at -110 odds, you’re risking $100 to win $90.91 in profit. So, if the Rockets win by 7 or more, you’d get a total payout of $190.91 (your $100 bet back plus $90.91 profit).

I gotta stress this:

the Rockets have to cover the spread if you want to win your bet. It doesn’t matter if they won, it matters if they beat the margin the sportsbook set.

Pros of Point Spread Bets:

More balanced odds: You don’t need to bet a ton on the favorite to get a decent payout.
Underdogs can still win for you: They don’t have to pull off an upset; they just need to keep the game close.

Cons of Point Spread Bets:

More stressful: Even if your team wins, if they didn’t cover the spread, you can kiss your money goodbye.
Complicated scoring: You’ve got to keep an eye on every point, especially at the end of the game. A last-minute rally by the other team could ruin your win.

Over Under Bets in the NBA

Over/Under Bets in the NBA are also known as Totals bet, and this time you’re betting on the combined score of both teams. The sportsbook sets a total points line, and you bet whether the final score will be over or under that number.

That’s right: you’re not betting on who wins or loses; instead, you’re betting on the total number of points both teams will score combined. So both teams will be working together to make you win money, which is cool.

Let’s use our Rockets vs Blazers example again.

Imagine that the sportsbook sets the Over/Under line at 225.5 points. This means you’re betting on whether the total score for both teams will be over or under 225.5.

The odds could be:

Over 225.5 points: -110
Under 225.5 points: -110

Now let’s break the numbers down:

If you bet $100 on the Over and both teams combined score 226 points or more, you win. If the total score is 225 or less, you lose.
If you bet $100 on the Under and both teams score 225 points or fewer, you win. If the total score is 226 or more, you lose.

The odds are -110 for both scenarios (pretty common in Totals). So, if you put down $100 bucks and win, you’ll get $190.91 total (your $100 bet back plus $90.91 profit).

Pros of Over/Under Bets:

Doesn’t matter who wins: You’re focused only on the total score. Each offensive or defensive play gets you closer to a win.
Great for fast-paced games: When you expect a high-scoring game, it’s a fun bet to make.

Cons of Over/Under Bets:

Nail-biter until the end: You’re watching every basket, especially in the final minutes.
Hard to predict: It’s tough to guess whether teams will have a hot shooting night or a defensive battle. So you gotta do your homework!

Prop Bets in the NBA

Prop bets in the NBA are also called proposition bets and can be divided into:

Player props: bets on player performance (e.g., LeBron James to score over 25 points).
Game props: bets on team or game-related events (e.g., the total number of three-pointers swished in the game).

Here’s how a player prop would unfold in a Rockets vs Trail Blazers game. Let’s say you want to bet on Alperen Şengün because he’s been killing it lately, so you place a prop bet on his total points + rebounds for the game.

The sportsbook sets the line at 29.5 points + rebounds, and here are the odds:

Over 29.5: -115
Under 29.5: -105

Now, if you bet $100 on the Over (meaning you think Şengün will combine for at least 30 points and rebounds), and he ends the game with, say, 20 points and 10 rebounds (totaling 30), you get a nice payout.

For the Over bet at -115 odds, you’ll get a total payout of $186.96 (your $100 bet back plus $86.96 profit).

If you bet the Under and he finishes with, let’s say, 15 points and 10 rebounds (totaling 25), you win that bet instead. With -105 odds, you’d get a fat payout of $195.24 (your $100 bet back plus $95.24 profit).

Pros of Prop Bets:

Exciting and personal: You get to focus on one player’s performance or a specific event, which can be fun to watch.
Variety: props can get super niche depending on the sportsbook, so there’s a lot of money to be made here.

Cons of Prop Bets:

Harder to predict: Betting on one player’s stats can be trickier than betting on the outcome of the game. There’s more information to contextualize here.
Lower limits: Sportsbooks often cap how much you can bet on props compared to other bets. Sucks, but it is what it is.

Parlay Bets in the NBA

Parlay Bets in the NBA take a bunch of individual bets and roll em up in a single monster bet. Each individual leg is called a “leg”, and the odds feed off each other to create an equally monstrous payout for you.

The catch? If one leg fails, the whole bet loses. That’s right, if a single individual bet falls through, then the rest of the bet is cooked.

Let’s see how an NBA parlay bet would look like for our example match between the Rockets and Blazers. You decide to build a 3-leg parlay with the following bets:

Rockets to win on the moneyline (-150).
Over 225.5 total points (-110) for the game.
Alperen Şengün to score 20+ points (+120).

So, you’re betting the Rockets will win, the game will be high-scoring, and Şengün will put up at least 20 points.

Calculating the Parlay Odds:

To get the parlay odds, you multiply the odds of each leg together:

Rockets ML (-150) = 1.67 (in decimal odds)
Over 225.5 (-110) = 1.91
Şengün 20+ points (+120) = 2.20

Now, multiply them:

1.67 x 1.91 x 2.20 = 7.02

So, the total parlay odds are +602. If you place a $100 bet, your potential payout would be $702 (your $100 bet back plus $602 in profit). Not bad, right?

But remember, all three legs must win for you to cash that bet. If the Rockets win, the game goes over, but Şengün only scores 18 points—you lose.

Pros of Parlay Bets:

Big payouts: You can turn a small bet into a large win by combining multiple legs. Even if you bet on multiple favorites, the payouts are nice.
Excitement: Following multiple bets in one game or across different games can make watching more fun.

Cons of Parlay Bets:

High risk: One wrong pick, and the whole bet is busted.
Hard to win: The more legs you add, the tougher it gets to win, even if the individual odds seem favorable. Not good for greedy players that like to play 4+ legs at a time.

Future Bets in the NBA

Future Bets in the NBA are long-term bets that you think will happen way down the line. Could be stuff like which team will take the NBA Championship, or which player will get the MVP award. These are really difficult to predict, so they tend to have big odds, especially early in the season.

Let’s say you’re feeling an unreasonable amount of faith for the Houston Rockets, and bet on them to win the next NBA Finals. Since they’re not the top favorites, you might get odds like:

Houston Rockets to win the 2024 NBA Finals: +4000

This means that if you bet $100 on the Rockets at +4000, and they actually go on to win the Finals, you’d get a total payout of $4100—your $100 bet back plus $4000 in profit.

Pros of Future Bets:

Huge payouts: If you pick an underdog early and they win, the profit can be massive.
Long-term excitement: You get to follow your bet over the course of the season, keeping things interesting. Just imagine the thrill if they make it to that final game.

Cons of Future Bets:

Tied-up money: Your bet money is locked in for months with no guarantee of return.
Unpredictable: Injuries, trades, and team dynamics can change a lot over a season, making these bets risky. Seeing a team run out of gas at the end of the season is heartbreaking, I tell ya.

Live Betting in the NBA

Live betting in the NBA is unlike any other type of bets we’ve seen so far, it’s pretty much its own genre. We’ve made a whole piece dedicated to NBA Live Betting because the odds and line shift all the time, so you gotta be quick on your decisions and have a really strong game sense.

Let’s see what our mockup match between the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers might look like in a live environment.

Before the game starts, the Rockets are the favorites with a -6 point spread. But once the game tips off, things can change fast.

Imagine this:

The Rockets start off strong and go up by 10 points early in the first quarter. The live betting line might shift to something like Rockets -12.5. So now, if you think the Rockets will keep dominating, you could bet on them to win by 13 or more points. On the flip side, if the Blazers start making a comeback and cut the lead to 2 points by halftime, the line might swing to Rockets -3 or even make the Blazers the slight favorite.

Basketball is a momentum-based game, and it’s super streaky. A key turnover or a massive defensive play can make a team rally and pretty much roll the rival.

Anyway, let’s say you place a $100 live bet on the Rockets to cover -3 at halftime (meaning they need to win by 4 or more). If the Rockets pull away in the fourth quarter and win by 6 points, you win your bet. For live bets, odds usually stay close to -110, so a $100 bet would get you a $190.91 payout (your $100 back plus $90.91 in profit).

Pros of NBA Live Betting:

Real-time action: You can adjust your bets based on how the game is going.
Better value: If a favorite starts slow, you might get better odds mid-game.

Cons of NBA Live Betting:

Fast-paced: You’ve got to make quick decisions, and it’s easy to miss a good line.
Emotion-driven: Watching a game live can make you bet impulsively, which isn’t always a good strategy.

How to Make Money with NBA Betting

Remember what I said at the start of this NBA betting guide? If you want to make money with NBA betting, you need to be able to distinguish good bets from bad bets. Good odds, from crappy odds. Let’s start with that.

Design Your NBA Betting Strategy

Designing your very own NBA betting strategy sounds pretty daunting, but here’s the good news: you can take our NBA betting strategy and adapt it to your needs!

Here are some of the key factors our NBA betting strategy focuses on:

Understanding NBA Odds and Lines

You’ll want an NBA betting strategy that takes a look at odds and lines and makes sense of them. Our strategy teaches you about timing your bets to get maximum returns.

Analyzing NBA Teams and Matchups

You’ll also want to analyze team traveling schedules and how they impact individual player performance and other team statistics. This is essential for spotting good underdog bets, which our NBA betting strategy excels at.

Betting Trends and Historical Data

Finding patterns in historical data, betting trends and past performance will give you that superior insight that you’ll need before placing a bet. Anything from home advantage to team performance after a loss or on the second night of a back-to-back. We also touch on that over there.

Use Advanced NBA Stats for Better Analysis

I sincerely believe that player stats and advanced statistics have a room in serious betting analysis, but people can go overboard over the smallest of things and lose the big picture. It doesn’t matter if a player has one of the highest Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%) in the division, it matters if they can keep it after enduring a tough traveling schedule and coming from a loss. Our NBA betting strategy also encourages you to contextualize all this data.

Impeccable Money Management

No NBA Betting guide is complete without mentioning Bankroll management. It doesn’t matter if you have a 290-30 positive record if you can’t set and enforce your own rules when it comes to gambling. You’ll end up losing all your hard-earned green, and we don’t want that.

Introduce a unit system that actively helps you manage your bankroll, with each unit representing a fixed percentage of your total bankroll, which you use to determine the size of each bet. This method helps you stay disciplined and manage your risk.

I’d recommend that each unit represents 1% of your bankroll, and that you never commit more than 5% of your bankroll per bet. This can vary on confidence level, since sometimes you really need to take advantage of a favorable line. But typically, you want to stick to this 1-5 unit limit.

If you can reinvest your winnings in a very organized fashion, then you’re way ahead of the game. You can even make a career out of this, but it does require an iron will and tremendous game sense.

A Quick but Important Tip:

With an NBA Betting Guide, not every bet has to be high-risk. There are safer plays, but always stick to what you can afford. Betting should be about enjoying the game, not chasing losses and risking your finances!

FAQs About NBA Betting

What are the best NBA betting strategies?

The best NBA betting strategies focus on using data, understanding odds, and managing your bankroll wisely. Our strategy includes:

Shopping for the best lines across different sportsbooks.
Fading the public to find value in underdog bets.
Using advanced stats and trends to analyze matchups
Managing your bankroll with a unit system to minimize risk.

How do I bet on NBA games online?

To bet on NBA games online, follow these simple steps:

Choose a reputable sportsbook that offers NBA betting markets.
Create an account and deposit funds.
Browse available NBA games and markets, including moneyline, point spread, and totals bets.
Place your bet and confirm the wager.

What is the most popular NBA bet type?

The most popular bet type in NBA betting is the point spread. The sportsbook set a spread to balance the odds between favorite and underdog, which turns regular matches into legitimate nailbiters.

How do NBA odds work?

Typically, you’ll find NBA odds in American format, and these reflect the chances of an outcome happening.

Negative odds (e.g., -150) indicate the favorite and show how much you need to bet to win $100.
Positive odds (e.g., +200) indicate the underdog and show how much you would win on a $100 bet.