NBA

The NBA has one of the biggest followings of any professional sports league, and as sports betting has grown, so has the NBA betting market. Many people believe the league has never featured as much talent as it does right now, so the excitement that stems from betting on it is at an all-time high.

Comparing online sportsbooks and their NBA betting markets

Since the NBA has such a big following, betting markets for the sport can be found on all sports betting apps. However, that does not mean that all sportsbooks are ideal for NBA betting. For starters, it is always recommended to create multiple sports betting accounts so bettors can compare lines and prices to find the most value for their bets.

At the most basic level, our experts have found that BetMGM consistently provides some of the best prices for NBA point spreads or point totals. Now, that does not mean they will have the best odds for each and every game or market, which is why line shopping remains the number one thing that new sports bettors should get in the habit of, outside of responsible gaming.

When it comes to NBA promotions, Caesars and DraftKings consistently provide bettors with appealing offers. A good example of this is the “NBA Threesday” promo from DraftKings, which allows bettors to bet a minimum of $10 on a first three-point field goal scorer and receive a one-dollar bonus bet for every three-pointer made in that specific game.

NBA and Daily Fantasy Sports

The interest in betting on the NBA continues to grow by the day, but there is also a large market for participating in DFS contests for the league as well. Over the course of an 82-game season, plus the playoffs, fans can create countless Pick’em entries or enter plenty of daily drafts to compete against their friends or a large group of NBA fanatics.

On an app like Prize Picks or ParlayPlay, fans can create Pick’em entries of varying sizes, depending on how much they are willing to stake or how much of a multiplier they are looking to have. During the regular season, when there is a full slate of games, fans can select the over or under on different stats for a large majority of players who will be in action that night.

For fans looking for a real fantasy draft, they can draft lineups on a nightly basis, either for a full slate of games or just a select few. We’ve found that Underdog Fantasy is one of the best DFS apps when it comes to this style of contest, as customers can easily filter contests to find ones that meet their needs.

What kind of NBA bets can you place?

It seems as if sportsbooks are constantly looking to bring new and creative betting markets to NBA bettors, but at the end of the day, the three most popular wagers for NBA games include point spread, point total, and moneyline bets. Depending on the number of handle or money these bets receive for a given game, they will move in one direction or another, so it is important to compare sportsbooks to make sure you are always getting the best number or price.

All three of the markets mentioned above can also be wagered on for each individual quarter and half of a given game. The ability to bet on a market for each quarter or half also applies to team total bets and race to X amount of point wagers.

Aside from the primary three markets, player prop bets also see a large amount of handle on a nightly basis. With these prop markets, NBA fans have the chance to bet the over/under on a specific player's points, threes, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, turnovers, and more. Other player prop markets include the player to make the first field goal or the player to make the first three-pointer.

Alternate markets have become a popular market amongst bettors as well since they provide the chance to ladder a specific market for a player. For example, if a bettor thinks Tyrese Maxey will have a good shooting night, they can bet a full unit on him to make three threes, a half unit on him to make four threes, a quarter unit on him to make five threes, and so on and so forth.

Team futures

If an NBA bettor happens to feel confident in a given team or down on another, they have the ability to channel that into a futures bet. Starting in the offseason and continuing through the regular season and postseason, bettors have the chance to wager on the NBA Finals winner, the winner of each respective conference, division winners, win totals, and whether or not a team will even make the postseason.

Win totals generally receive a lot of attention and interest from bettors prior to the season. These allow fans to bet on the over/under how many wins a team will have during the regular season. We highly recommend line shopping on this market, as the prices for each team will likely vary by the sports betting app.

Fans also have the option to place wagers on very specific futures markets with the potential for large payouts. These markets include picking the exact two teams to play in the NBA Finals, the exact outcome of the NBA Finals, and the exact winners of both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

NBA Finals Champion

Many arguments over certain NBA players' legacies start and end with how many NBA Finals they’ve been to and won. Well, fans have the option to bet on which team and players they think are next to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy over their heads.

We must issue a buyer beware, though, on higher-seeded teams when it comes to winning the NBA Finals. A team that comes into the NBA playoffs as a 4-seed or higher has not won a championship since 1995 when the Houston Rockets won it as a six-seed.

READ MORE: NBA Finals Betting Odds

Who makes it to the playoffs?

There are 30 teams in the NBA and only 16 of them make it into the playoffs after the Play-In Tournament is completed. With the addition of the Play-In Tournament, more and more teams have gotten stuck between competing for the playoffs and tanking for a draft pick to start a rebuild. With that, whether or not a playoff future is successful for a bettor can be determined by how well they can predict a certain team's plan for the season.

Other team futures & specials

NBA fans may be able to find special futures for a given team or season depending on the shop they use. The pricing and availability of these markets will always vary by the sports betting apps, but an example of a special market could be for a certain team to lead the league in scoring for an entire season or for a team to win five or ten more games than their win total is set at.

Player futures & awards

NBA fans are in constant debate over who should win certain awards, and bettors have the option to wager on all of these awards before and during the season. These awards include the MVP, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and more.

As one could imagine, a lot can happen over the course of an 82-game season, so the odds for these awards are constantly fluctuating in response to certain players struggling, getting injured, or anything else that could happen during the year. With that being the case, fans have the chance to find good prices on players to win certain awards if they happen to bet on them before they fly up the oddsboard.

Prior to the season, fans can also bet on statistical leaders for major stats like points, assists, and rebounds. Some of the big-name players in the league will also get preseason markets for their stats, which allows bettors to make wagers on the over/under for a player's season-long points-per-game average.

NBA MVP & Finals MVP

Over the past few seasons, Nikola Jokic has been a consistent winner of the NBA MVP award. While his dominance will not be slowing down anytime soon, the amount of elite talent in the league is slowly growing, and more players are chomping at the bit to lift their first MVP.

Not only can NBA fans wager on the MVP throughout the season, but once the playoffs roll around, they can begin to place futures on the NBA Finals MVP.

READ MORE: NBA MVP Odds

READ MORE: NBA Finals MVP Odds

Coach of the Year

With all of the big personalities in the NBA, leading a team from the sideline and getting players to buy in is easier said than done. With all of the tanking that takes place in the NBA, turning a franchise around from a rebuild is an impressive feat and a big reason why OKC Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was able to win the award in 2023.

READ MORE: NBA Coach of the Year Odds

Rookie of the Year

Every team is hoping that their next draft pick is the one that changes their franchise, or at least helps it start trending in the right direction. Depending on the draft class, the NBA Rookie of the Year Award can either feature a few clear-cut favorites, or a post-lottery pick darkhorse could find a role on a winning team and thrive.

In the 2023-24 season, Victor Wembanyama entered as one of the most hyped-up rookies in recent history, and he lived up to that hype by winning the Rookie of the Year. Meanwhile, in 2016-17, Malcolm Brogdon was the 36th overall pick but found his groove on the Milwaukee Bucks, which led to him edging out Dario Saric from the award that season.

READ MORE: NBA Rookie of the Year Odds

The Most Improved Player Award

During NBA Draft season, fans will hear the phrase “High upside player” quite often as teams select players they think could develop into vital members of the organization. Not every young player can come in and dominate the league, and with time, we have seen many guys develop their game to become high-level role players.

Current NBA superstar Giannis Anetokounmpo is an excellent example of this. Anetokounmpo went from averaging 12.7 PPG in his second season to 16.9 PPG in his third before he put up 22.9 PPG in his third season, which led to him winning Most Improved Player just two seasons before he won his first MVP award.

READ MORE: NBA Most Improved Player Odds

Defensive Player of the Year

With the number of talented scorers in the NBA, the importance of having a defensive specialist on a roster cannot be overstated. Since the 2014-15 season, only six different players have won the award in that ten-year span. As of recently, Rudy Gobert has dominated the voting, taking home the Defensive Player of the Year in four of the last seven seasons.

READ MORE: NBA Defensive Player of the Year Odds

Sixth Man of the Year

The NBA is a star-centric league, but that does not mean that depth on a roster is not important. In fact, the quality of a team's bench unit can often determine how far they can go in a given season. At the very least, having one player who can carry the scoring while the second unit is in makes a big difference.

During the 2023-24 season, Naz Reid would take home the Sixth Man of the Year Award, and while NBA fans watched him help bring the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals, his 13.5 PPG this season was the lowest average from a 6MOY winner since Mike Miller averaged 13.7 in 2005-06.

READ MORE: NBA Sixth Man of the Year Odds

Next 1st overall draft pick

Betting on the NBA Draft has grown increasingly popular over the years, which has led to sportsbooks opening up more markets for fans to wager on. At the end of the day, though, one of the most popular markets for fans to bet on is who will be selected with the first overall pick.

READ MORE: NBA Draft Betting Odds

Other player specials bets

Much like team futures or specials, player specials markets will vary by sportsbook. Some of the most common player-based futures will be offered during the postseason. Fans can bet on who will lead a given series in points, assists, rebounds, and other statistical categories in a wide range of shops.

In the same vein, bettors may also be able to find markets that allow them to wager on the over/under on a given player's points per game or assists per game totals during a playoff series.