What Are The Best NBA Betting Sites?

Published: September 10, 2019
Author: Josh Stewart
Last Updated: March 3, 2023

The NBA is without doubt the leading Basketball league in the world. One of the USA’s major sports alongside Baseball, American Football and Ice Hockey, it has proven a popular sports to bet on. The betting popularity is of course aided by the sports international appeal, but also the high scoring nature of the sport and the fact it is an out and out match bet. 

Sports Betting Opportunities are rife and teams play with serious regularity. There are in fact 82-regular season games as well as the much anticipated playoff schedule to get stuck into. Below we have a guide on NBA Betting and also a choice of some amazing betting sites for you to make the most of all the promos and markets on offer!

Best Betting Sites

The first stage of the process is to open an online betting account that offers a Sportsbook. Whilst we have a list of our recommended NBA Betting Sites below, here is what we look for: 

Range Of Markets – What bets can you place? 

Welcome Offers, Free Bets, Bonus Codes & Promotions – Are you rewarded with regular free bets and enticing promotions? 

Desktop Site & Mobile App – Is the website user-friendly and do they have an app downloadable to both Android and Apple devices? 

Payment Options – Are there a wide range of deposit options which you are not charged for? Are withdrawals are fast? 

Reputation – Do customers speak positively of the brand? 

Customer Service – Are there a wide range of contact options for the customer service team? Ideally this will include Live Chat 

How Do You Bet On The NBA?  

There are various ways to bet on the NBA and of course the names of the market will differ somewhat to those that are found in Europe or other parts of the world. Here is a list of the main ones: 

Whats Is Money line NBA? 

This is quite simply a match bet and a prediction of which team will win. This is the most popular method of betting and bettors often place these into an accumulator bet to increase the odds. You will have a favourite and an outsider and this will of course be reflective of the teams form and how they have gotten on against the opposition in recent times. In terms of US Odds, favourites are indicated by a + sign before their odds, outside will have a -. An example of this is Charlotte Hornets +150 and Boston Celtics -120.  

Point Spread 

The Point Spread is another extremely popular bet in the NBA and is essentially a handicap bet. The bookmakers will give a team a points advantage (whilst the other team will have a disadvantage. Essentially it is a reflection of how many points they believe the favorites will win by. An example of this is Miami Heat +3.5 points versus San Antonio Spurs -3.5 points. Both of the prices for these two will be set at around double your money although there may well be wider ranging point spreads at bigger odds. If you were to place your bet on Miami Heat and they win by four or more points the bet will win. If they win by 3 points or less of were to lose the match your bet would lose. When betting San Antonio if they lost by 3 or less points or won the game your bet would again be successful.  

This bet proves very popular if the match is deemed somewhat of a mismatch and it is difficult to back the favourites on the Moneyline. 

Totals (Over/Under) 

This bet is a prediction of the total amount of points scored in the match and you then decide if you think it will be Over/Under this amount. Points scoring has risen markedly in NBA matches in meaning the amount set by the bookies is distinctly higher than in recent years. 

It is worth noting that if the points are set at 200 and there are exactly 200 scored it is considered a PUSH and all bets on this market are refunded. In some instances bookmakers will set the market at 199.5 so that no PUSH can occur. 

Does Over Under Include OverTime NBA? 

 As a general move with most bookmakers, over time is not included in these bets.  

Teasers 

Similar to a Parlay bet with regards to the fact that all bets must be correct in order to be paid out. In this bet you can adjust the points spread to either increase potential winnings. Of course the chances of winning the bet are considered less likely that the initial Point Spread. 

Live Betting 

As is the case with most major sports, you can now place bets once the game has begun. All bets will shift, reflective of the current scoreline. Bettors often like Live Betting as a favourite may start a game poorly, seeing their odds drift severely before making a comeback. 

Props  

These are sometimes call ‘Specials’ and are a newer way of placing an NBA Bet. These involve very specific markets which may involve an individual player or team. Total points scored by LeBron James in the fourth quarter would be a simple example. The bet could also involved rebounds. 

Futures 

Also known as Antepost best, this is placing a bet on something further in the future as opposed to the upcoming NBA fixtures. This may be who is going to win the 2020 NBA Championship? The further out from the event that you place the bet would normally mean higher odds. However, the odds could still get higher if the team start their campaign poorly. 

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About Josh Stewart

Josh lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and works as a website editor. He has previously worked for several prominent online sites and, as a former professional golfer, specialises in sports and iGaming. Josh has almost a decade of experience as a freelancer and has received excellent reviews from current and previous clients.