How to Bet on the NBA and Make Money 

Have you been making NBA wagers with little success? Are you frustrated as you see your friends cashing out hundreds of bucks after a few cheeky bets? Well, we can help. 

In this NBA betting guide, we look at some of the best wagers you can place on pro basketball and provide tips for intermediate bettors. If you’re struggling to find betting value, we’ll show you the skills needed to place informed, winning wagers on the NBA. 

Best NBA Bets Today

Understanding NBA Betting

The NBA regular season runs from October to April, with each of the teams playing 82 games for a total of 2,460 games. Out of all US sports, the NBA season is one of the longest, which contributes to its popularity among bettors. 

A study in 2023 showed that out of all the sports in the US, basketball garnered the most interest among bettors, at 52% interest. 

Part of the NBA’s popularity is the fact that the league has so many all-star players and many long-standing rivalries. Even regular-season games can feel as hyped up as playoff matches if they’re between two rival teams. 

Types of NBA Bets

The types of bets you can place on the NBA are pretty standard, including moneyline, point spread, and totals over/unders. Props in the NBA are particularly robust because there are many star players, and many people watch games just to see those people play. 

Let’s take a deeper look at the kinds of wagers you can place on the NBA:

Moneyline

A moneyline wager is a two-way market. All you have to do is place a simple bet on which NBA team will win the game outright. 

Example: Chicago Bulls -135 vs. Golden State Warriors +145

The favorites are marked by negative odds, in the example above, the Bulls are the favored team. This means you wager more than you potentially win. You’d have to wager $135 on the Bulls to win $100. 

On the flip side, positive odds indicate that a team is an underdog. You can expect a higher payout from underdog wagers, but there’s more risk involved. In this case, you can win $145 on the Warriors with a $100 wager ($245 total, the $145 winnings + your original $100 wager). 

Moneyline betting is the most straightforward way to be on NBA games. However, the potential for profit isn’t very high because many of the teams are priced quite low. After all, sportsbooks know that upsets happen frequently in basketball. 

Point Spread

In NBA point spread betting, you’re wagering on the margin of victory, not just the winner. Oddsmakers establish a point spread, assigning a point advantage (positive) or disadvantage (negative) to each team.

• Favorite: Represented by a negative number (e.g., -7). This means the favored team needs to win by more than 7 points for the bet on them to win.
• Underdog: Represented by a positive number (e.g., +7). The underdog can win the game outright or lose by less than 7 points for your bet to win.

You choose whether to bet on the favorite overcoming the spread (winning by more than the assigned points) or the underdog staying within the spread (winning outright or losing by less than the designated points).

Example: Boston Celtics (-110, +5.5) vs Phoenix Suns (-110, -5.5)

In this example, the odds are the same (bet $110 to win $100), but the point spread is different. The Suns are the favorite, so if you bet on them, you win if their final score is 5.5 points more than the Celtics. 

Alternatively, if you bet the Celtics, they can win the game outright or lose by less than 5.5 points for your bet on them to win.

Point spreads add an extra layer of strategy to NBA betting. You can potentially win by backing a strong underdog you believe can keep it close, or by going with a favorite you think will win convincingly.

Teasers

A teaser combines two or more bets (typically point spreads or totals) into a single wager. You get to “tease” the point spread or total in your favor by a set amount of points (e.g., 4.5 points). This means moving the point spread closer to your desired outcome for each bet in the teaser.

The trade-off for this advantage is a lower payout compared to straight point spread or total bets.

Example: Imagine these point spreads for two NBA games:

• Los Angeles Lakers -7 (favored by 7 points)
• Miami Heat +3 (underdog by 3 points)

In a regular point spread bet, you’d pick a side for each game. With a teaser, you can adjust the lines. Let’s say you tease both games by 4.5 points. This would change the lines to:

• Lakers -2.5 (more favorable spread for you)
• Heat +7.5 (more favorable spread for you)

To win the entire teaser bet, all your individual selections within the teaser (both adjusted spreads in this case) need to win. If even one of your selections loses, the entire teaser bet is a loss.

Teasers can be appealing for covering close games or adding security to your picks. However, they offer less reward compared to straight bets. Carefully analyze the adjusted lines and potential payouts before placing a teaser wager.

Totals & Over/Unders

With over/under bets, also called totals, you’re wagering on the combined score of both teams in a game, not which team wins. The over/under is also a popular mechanic used for props, as we’ll discuss later. 

Sportsbooks will predict the total points they expect to be scored in a game or quarter and set a number, say 210.5 points.

You choose whether the final score will be higher (over) or lower (under) than the sportsbook’s number.

If the combined final score is more than the number (e.g., 115-100 for a total of 215 points), your over bet wins. Conversely, if the final score is less (e.g., 105-98 for a total of 203 points), the under bet wins.

Betting on totals is a good way to see action on games you aren’t confident betting the moneyline because it doesn’t matter who wins. 

Props & Futures

NBA props and futures offer a way to gamble on the NBA beyond just picking the winner. Many props and futures are luck-based, meaning there’s very little prep or research needed to place them. However, they’re also riskier wagers for that same reason. 

Futures – You’re placing a wager on something to happen in the future, whether you’re betting one team to go all the way before the season even starts. Some types of futures include:

• Team Performance: These are season-long bets on a team’s success. Examples include which team will win the championship, their conference, or their division.
• Player Awards: Wager on who will win individual accolades like Most Valuable Player (MVP), Rookie of the Year, or Sixth Man of the Year.
• Statistical Feats: These could be bets on a team or player reaching a specific statistical benchmark for the season, like total wins for a team or total points scored by a player.

Props – Props, or proposition bets, are placed on individual players, teams, or games that don’t rely on any one team winning a game. 

• Player Performance: These are bets focused on individual player stats in a specific game. Examples include points scored, rebounds, assists, steals, or three-pointers made.
• Game Events: Here you wager on occurrences during a game that don’t directly affect the winner. Examples include the margin of victory, which team scores first, or whether a certain player records a double-double (10+ points and rebounds).

How to Find NBA Betting Value

Most amateur bettors will see two big teams going head-to-head and think “I should probably bet on that game” without doing much more research. While the gut instinct should never be ignored, intermediate and pro punters pair that instinct with solid research and fact-based reasoning. 

If you’re not sure where to start looking for NBA betting value, here are some core practices you can put into play:

Watch Post-Game Coverage and Read the News

Sometimes just watching the game isn’t enough, you also need to pay attention to pre-and-post-game news coverage. After an upset, the post-coverage recap can provide a lot of context for the team’s future and can give you an edge over people who just watch the final scores on their phones. 

In addition, sign up for some newsletters or email alerts about NBA news. Getting this information right into your inbox is one of the best ways to stay up-to-date. 

Follow Playmakers on Social Media

Reading the news is great, but it’s also a good idea to follow top NBA players on X and Instagram as well. Most celebrities are pretty selective with what they post online, but sometimes the social threads are the first source of truth about injuries or other game-related news. 

One of the most notable situations was when Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies waved a gun around on Instagram Live. For bettors watching the stream live, they had a great opportunity to bet against him and the Grizzlies, since he was later suspended for his behavior. While scandals like Morant’s don’t occur often, it can pay to be tuned into what’s happening to key players. 

Know Team Rivalries and Schedules

One of the best ways to extract value from the NBA regular season is to identify games that aren’t evenly matched because of non-skill factors. 

What do we mean by this? Well, think about conditions that aren’t related to time on the hardwood. For example, has team A been on the road a lot before this game? They might be tired and not play their best. Or, are they facing a team that they have a strong rivalry against? Games like these are a good opportunity to bet on the underdog, as tensions are usually high. 

In addition, consider each team’s playstyle. Is team A fast-paced and offensive while team B has a strong defense? Matchups like this might result in lower-point games, while two offensive teams will likely have higher point totals. 

Subscribe to a Handicapping Service

After staring at stats and records for a while, everything might start to blur together. Don’t struggle to find NBA value on your own!

People make it their careers to find the best wagers sportsbooks have to offer. Handicapping services can give you most of the info you need to make informed wagers, and the price is often worth it, considering your potential returns. 

Biggest NBA Events to Watch Out For

Here are the top 4 NBA events that bettors can take advantage of, considering the variety of betting opportunities and the potential for exciting matchups:

NBA Finals (June): This is the pinnacle of the NBA season, a seven-game series between the champions of the Eastern and Western Conferences. The high stakes, star player performances, and intense atmosphere make it a prime target for bettors. Fans can wager on everything from the winner of the championship to individual game winners, point spreads, totals, and a huge variety of props.

NBA Draft (Late June): The annual draft, where teams select incoming college players, is a feeding frenzy for bettors. Wagers include who will be the number one pick, team draft positions, player prop bets on future performance, and even over/unders on draft position for specific players.

NBA Christmas Day Games (December 25th): Christmas showcases marquee matchups between top teams, attracting a large audience and generating significant betting interest. Sportsbooks often offer a wider range of prop bets for these games, allowing creative wagers beyond the standard ones.

NBA All-Star Weekend (February): This three-day mid-season celebration features the All-Star Game itself, but also offers a wealth of betting opportunities. In addition, to the action-packed game itself, bettors can also wager on skill challenges like three-point contests, dunking, and more. Plus, there’s often a celebrity game featuring celebrities and former NBA players. While betting options might be more limited, it can still be a lighthearted opportunity to place a wager.

NBA Betting Tips

While the above practices should keep your betting muscles spry and ready to rock, these general tips shouldn’t be overlooked. And while you’re at it, make sure to be aware of the these common betting mistakes. 

Shop for Lines at Multiple Sportsbooks

Serious bettors often create accounts at multiple sportsbooks to shop for the best lines. Not all bookies offer the same odds, so once you decide on a wager you want to get action on, the next step is to find the best place to do so. 

In the regulated market, the odds on NBA games are fairly uniform across the board. DraftKings, BetMGM, FanDuel, etc., are all highly competitive markets, so their odds are pretty similar. But offshore sportsbooks like BetUS, Bovada, or BetOnline tend to have some level of variance to their larger competitors. It’s not a bad idea to pick a few sportsbooks and create an account so you can jump on an opportunity when you see it. 

Practice Spending Discipline

The key to success with gambling, no matter if it’s blackjack, poker, or betting on the NBA, is spending discipline. Before you even think about finding value, you should identify how much you’re willing to spend. Are you going to deposit $100? $300? How about $1,000?

Some bettors will deposit a big lump sum at one sportsbook so they don’t have to deposit again all season. That makes it easy to keep track of how much you have left to spend, and won’t tempt you to break out the credit card. 

Additionally, having a set budget can help you determine how much you want to spend on each wager. For example, if you wish to save some of your bankroll for the Finals or the Draft, you should avoid placing high-priced wagers. Keep the amounts low and spread your net wide. 100% returns are still 100% more than you would have had before, whether that’s $5 or $500. 

Keep a Personal Betting Logbook

Keeping a logbook of your NBA wagers might seem like a waste of time, but this tip is perhaps the most valuable one of the lot. Not only can you start to understand yourself as a bettor, you can also identify trends in your own wagers that can point to opportunities in the future. 

For example, if you keep track of the bet type, the odds, the winner, the amount you wagered, and the outcome, you can easily spot trends. Do you frequently win underdog bets on the Lakers? How about the props you’ve won on Kevin Durant? You’ve done the research for these wagers, let them contribute to your future bets by providing insights on what you’ve won, and how. 

Trust the Professionals

The natural progression for many amateurs involves placing a wager, losing, and immediately jumping to read professional picks for the rest of their betting career. And that doesn’t sound like you, does it? 

However, reading predictions or subscribing to a handicapping service isn’t a bad idea. Seeing what other bettors are doing in the market is the best way to start to develop the sense yourself. Don’t take their word as gospel, but instead observe the trend lines they’re betting along, and note where they are seeing success. That’s the sign of an informed, enlightened bettor. 

NBA Betting News

Start Making Money on NBA Bets Today

Betting on the NBA can be incredibly rewarding, and with the wealth of games to get action on, you’re not going to be hurting for value. 

As you start your betting journey, just remember that watching postgame coverage, following important NBA players on X, and shopping for lines are your keys to success. 

If you want to take your NBA betting game to the next level, consider subscribing to a premium handicapping service. At Scores and Stats, our pros always have their noses to the grindstone, milling up great betting opportunities for you. You can see their full roster of bets on the NBA with our premium subscription.