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How to Bet on the NBA

The NBA is the most famous basketball league in the world and it is widely considered to be the best. It is made up of 30 teams, 29 of them from the US and 1 from Canada.

Over the years, some of the most famous players of all time have played in the NBA, such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and LeBron James. The teams that take part, including the LA Lakers, the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls, are household names in much of the world.

The NBA season runs from October to April with each team paying 82 games. The playoffs then take place into June with the ultimate winners collecting the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

Betting on the NBA

There are a number of different ways that you can bet on the NBA. You can bet on each game and you can bet on the league as a whole. Here we will explain some of the most popular types of bets so that you can get started building your betting strategy.

NBA Outrights

These are the bets that relate to the entire league. The most straightforward is a bet on a team to win the championship. However, you can also bet on teams to win each division and conference. These types of bet can be placed at almost any time during the season.

You may also find a number of special bets, such as on players to be the highest point scorer in the season. It is worth taking the time to look at these bets, they are very simple to understand and can be a lot of fun.

Game Winner

When it comes to betting on a game, this is the place to start. It is simply a bet on which team will win the game. As long as your chosen team wins, then you win the bet.

There is also a market called ‘Game Winner 3 Options’ and this gives you the chance to bet on the game ending in a draw.

Game Handicap

This is a way of obtaining better odds on the favourite team. The favourites are given a points handicap that they must overcome for you to win the bet. For example, if the Toronto Raptors are playing the Atlanta Hawks it may look something like this:

Atlanta Hawks -3.5 Toronto Raptors +3.5

If you were to bet on the Hawks, you need them to win the game by at least 4 points for you to win the bet. If you were to bet on the Raptors, then you would win the bet if they win the game or lose by no more than 3 points.

Points Total

This is a bet on the total number of points scored in a game. The bet gives you a number and you bet over or under. For example, if the Brooklyn Nets are playing Milwaukee Bucks, then the market may be Over/Under 223.5. If you think there will be 224 or more points you bet Over, if you think there will be 223 or less, you bet Under.

You will find many markets that work in a similar way. For example, you could bet on the total number of points scored by one of the teams rather than both teams.

Game Winning Margin

This is a bet on how many points a team will win by. For instance, if San Antonio Spurs are playing Miami Heat, you could bet on Miami Heat to win by 1-2 points, 3-6 points, 7-9 points, 10-13 points, and so on.

First Half/Full Time

This bet requires you to predict which team will be winning at halftime and then at full time. For example, in a game between the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks you could bet that the Toronto Raptors will lead at halftime and win the game, you could bet that the Hawks would win the first half but then Toronto would win the entire game, you could bet that there would be a tie at the end of the first half and then the Hawks would win, and so on.

Player/Team Proposition Bets

These are bets on a team or individual players to achieve certain things. For example you could bet on Clint Capela to score more or less than 10.5 points, him to have more or less than 5.5 rebounds, and so on. You bet on all kinds of things, such as rebounds, free throws, steals, blocks and more. These bets are a great way to back your favourite players while trying to win some extra money.

Game Proposition Bets

These bets relate to things that may happen during a game. For example, you can bet on which team will be the first to score 10 points, how many 3-piont shots will be made during a game, which team will win each quarter, the first and last to score, and much more.

Many More Bets

Often there are more than 120 different types of bets available for every NBA game. However, you should now have all the information you need to understand them. For example, many markets use the over/under principle. With a bit of luck, you will soon be placing lots of winning NBA bets.