How to Bet on NBA Basketball

As we get closer to the NBA Playoffs. I thought I would write a quick tutorial on how to bet on NBA basketball for all of those that are looking for one.

Betting on the NBA or National Basketball Association is a great way to bet on a specific sport for a long time as the basketball season starts in late October and the Finals start in the early month of July. This gives sports bettors almost 8 months of sports betting action giving you many opportunities to increase your bankroll.

For those who are new to basketball betting, this basketball betting tutorial will help read the sports betting odds and show you how to be on the most three most popular types of basketball bets which are: betting on the point spread, betting on the money line and betting on the totals.  The odds examples in this articles are what you will commonly find in the best sports betting software on the market as they are easy to read and us.

Basketball Betting Tutorial

 How to Bet on an Basketball Point Spread

The most popular method of betting the NBA involves the point spread, which is a handicap the sportsbooks impose on one team to make both teams equal in terms of betting. With the point spread, the team expected to win will be called the favorite, while the team expected to lose will be called the underdog. The team expected to win gives, or lays, points to the team expected to lose for betting purposes. An example of a NBA game involving the point spread would be:

Boston Celtics +7 -110
Miami Heat -7 -110

In the example the Heat are a seven point favorite. If they win by more than seven points, you win your bet. Less than seven points your bet would be a loser. If Miami wins by exactly by seven points the bet would be a tie and wagers would be refunded.

How to bet on the Basketball Money Line

The Moneyline is a type of wager that provides different odds based on who will win the game. Money line wagers, which is a bet on the winner of the game without the point spread. Here is an example of a money line bet:

Boston Celtics +270
Miami Heat -400

If you wager on Miami you would have to put up $400 to win $100. On the other side would be a wager on Boston where you receive $270 for every $100 wagered.

The Moneyline (ML) odds can vary drastically depending on which team will play. When a strong basketball team plays a much weaker opponent, you will usually see a moneyline like this:

Team Moneyline Odds
Warriors +500
Spurs -750


This means that in order to place a bet on the Warriors, you would have to bet $500 in order to win $100. If you wanted to bet on the Spurs, you would risk $100 to win $750.

How to Bet on Basketball Totals

The second most popular method of wagering on basketball is in betting totals, also known as over/unders.

A total wager is the predicted combined score of the two teams playing. A number will be posted and bettors have the option of wagering more than the predicted total points will be scored (over), or less than the predicted total points will be scored (under).

In the example below, the total points were set at 190.5. The line will have a vigorish along with it , most commonly seen being -110.

Team O/U Final Score
Heat 190.5o -105 100
Pistons 190.5u -115 94

So if you bet $100 on the over and the total final score is 194 then you would win $95