NBA Betting Guide 2024 | Top Sportsbooks, Winning Tips, & More!

Are you an interested NBA bettor looking for the best strategies to maximize your winnings? Here we have a complete guide to NBA betting ranging from trends, top sportsbooks, betting strategy, and more!

This guide contains everything you need to know about NBA betting, including the best betting tips you can find. Starting with the basics, what betting lines are, and how they are set.

Key Takeaways

Understand the types of NBA betting lines and what they mean.
View top NBA betting sites and their perks.
Read top tips and strategies for successful NBA betting.

NBA Betting Lines

Betting lines come in different forms, including moneyline, point spread, and totals (over/under). They are created using several factors, including team records and performance, player performances, injuries, head-to-head history, rest/location, and more.

Moneyline

Betting on a team to win outright, no matter the score.
Generally, the money line is the safer bet by limiting the risk from relying on multiple teams or on a team winning or losing but a certain number of points.

Point Spread

Betting on a team to win or lose by a certain number of points. Point spreads attempt to predict by how much a team should win or lose. With this betting line, you are betting on the margin of victory.
Understanding team dynamics and player performances is important here because point spreads can be more difficult to predict.

Total (Over/Under)

Totals attempt to predict the number of points scored in a game by both teams.
You can bet on game totals (two teams) or team totals (one team).
Totals are also used for props which is betting on player performances such as player point, assists, rebounds, etc.

NBA Odds

Betting odds refer to the likelihood of a bet winning or losing and are used to calculate payouts. There are several types of NBA betting odds, including American (+/-), decimal, and fractional.

American Odds

As the name suggests, American odds are typically used in the United States, and are expressed as either positive or negative numbers.

Positive Odds (+): Show how much profit you would make on a $100 bet.
- Example: +110 means you would win $110 on a $100 bet.
Negative Odds (-): Show how much you need to bet to win $100.
- Example: -250 means you need to bet $250 to win $100.

Team	American Odds	Bet Amount	Payout (Includes Bet)
Knicks	+150	$100	$250
Mavericks	-200	$200	$300

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds are commonly used in Europe and Australia. They represent the total payout (including the original bet) per unit. The formula for calculating total payout:

Formula: Total Payout = Bet Amount × Decimal Odds

Team	Decimal Odds	Bet Amount	Payout (Includes Bet)
Knicks	2.50	$100	$250
Mavericks	1.50	$100	$150

Fractional Odds

Fractional odds are traditionally used in the UK. They are presented as a fraction, showing the profit relative to the bet.

Formula: Profit = (Bet × Fraction)

5/2 means you win $5 for every $2 bet.
1/3 means you win $1 for every $3 bet.

Team	Fractional Odds	Bet Amount	Payout (Includes Bet)
Knicks	5/2	$100	$350
Mavericks	1/3	$100	$133

NBA Picks

Many bettors use expert picks to help make their own NBA picks. You can either “tail” experts and make the same picks they do, or find ways they target picks and use that in your betting routine.

Identifying expert picks can be difficult, but there are some methods to find the most trustworthy:

See if experts track their betting success, where bettors can see their record, and if it is profitable. Experts can do this using apps such as Action Network or Betstamp.
Test out expert picks with free trials. Some experts have subscription-based models, meaning bettors pay for picks to bet on. If an expert has a free trial or a subscription discount, you can gauge whether they are trustworthy and help you find the best fit.
Ask yourself if experts publish an explanation for their picks. Does this matter to you? Some experts share their research for picks and reasons why their pick should win. Would that make you more comfortable as a bettor?

Top NBA Betting Sites and Apps: Our Recommendations

Take a look at five of the best NBA betting sites and apps you can use in your betting journey.

FanDuel Sportsbook

Welcome offer: Bet $5, get MLB.TV free
Minimum deposit: $10
Maximum withdrawal: $10,000

FanDuel is one of the best sites for users because of its interactive website and mobile app. Their numerous promotions keep bettors engaged and their low minimum bet (as low as 9 cents) gives bettors of all ranges an opportunity.

ESPN Bet Sportsbook

Welcome offer: First bet reset: Receive up to $1,000 on bonus bets if your first bet loses
Minimum deposit: $10
Maximum withdrawal: $10,000 per transaction

The worldwide leader in sports, ESPN Bet recently opened a sportsbook and combines that with the network’s elite coverage of sports to provide first-class content in the betting space.

BetMGM Sportsbook

Welcome offer: First Bet Offer: Receive up to $1500 in bonus bets if your first bet loses
Minimum deposit: $10
Maximum withdrawal: There is no explicit amount

BetMGM is a leader in the industry with some of the best odds in the market along with interesting promotions. They offer numerous sports for major sport and niche sports fans. Their easy-to-use website gives users a great experience for making bets each day.

DraftKings Sportsbook

Welcome offer: New users can bet $5 and get $150 of bonus bets
Minimum deposit: $5
Maximum withdrawal: No specified limit

DraftKings is one of the best sportsbooks for live betting and daily fantasy sports. They offer low bet minimums for users to have fun with parlays and long-shot bets. Their welcome offer is second to none and gives new users a safety net for their first bets with DraftKings.

Caesars Sportsbook

Welcome offer: Bonus bets up to $1000
Minimum deposit: $10
Maximum withdrawal: Up to $10,000

Caesars is a giant in the industry with high-standard service and products both in retail locations and online. Their odds boosts and promotions make betting interesting for users, and the variety of options available gives bettors of all sports an opportunity to use Caesars to make their bets.

NBA Betting Tips for Beginners

Here are 10 easy-to-follow NBA betting tips for beginners:

Manage your bankroll: Mastering bankroll management is crucial in sports betting, and it all starts with setting a budget. Never bet more than you’re willing to lose and stick to unit betting where you bet the same amount on every bet.
Research before betting: Most experts rely on research to make their bets, meaning you should too. Understanding NBA statistics such as shooting percentages and player performances can inform you on what bets are the best to make.
Understand betting dynamics: There is a lot of data used to create betting lines and odds. Learning how sports books create odds can give you an edge to take advantage of.
Avoid chasing losses: Losing bets is inevitable, but the response is what matters. Chasing bets to make your money back will only put you in a deeper hole.
Create a process: Find a routine that best fits you. This will create a process that you can trust and not defer from at any time no matter the results of your bets.
Stay disciplined: This is hard to do but the sooner you rely on your process and research rather than emotional hunches the better. Eliminating biases as a sports fan will also help you in your betting journey.
Shop for the best odds: Finding the best odds for your bets will increase your profits and limit your losses. Would you rather bet on -120 odds or -115 odds?
Watch Your Sport Intently: If you bet on NBA, the more you watch NBA games the more understanding you will have of player performances and team performances. You can also have reasonable knowledge of how certain teams and players perform in certain situations.
Have a short memory: Whether your bets win or lose, quickly forgetting the result will push you to make your next bets with as much energy and focus as possible. Don’t get too high and don’t get too low.
Have fun: At the end of the day, having fun while betting on sports is just as important. Sports betting should not add too much negative stress to your life and affect other parts of it. Make sure you’re having fun.

NBA Betting Trends

Analyzing betting trends and using them to make informed betting decisions involves several steps. Here are some examples of analyzing betting trends:

Public Betting Percentages: This shows the percentage of bets placed on each side of a bet.
Line Movement: This indicates changes in the betting odds, which can reflect where the money is going.
Contrarian Betting: This involves betting against the majority. If a significant percentage of the public is on one side, it might be profitable to bet on the other side, especially if the line hasn’t moved much.
Sharp Money: Professional bettors (sharps) often bet large amounts, causing line movements. Following these movements can give insights into where the smart money is going.
Reverse Line Movement: When the betting line moves in the opposite direction of the public betting percentages, it can indicate sharp money on the less popular side.

Tools and Resources

Websites: Use sites like Odds Shark, Sports Insights, and Action Network for betting trends and analysis.
Software: Employ tools like Excel or specialized betting software to analyze data and run simulations.

Utilizing NBA Betting Splits

NBA betting splits are the distribution of bets and money on any NBA game.

Bet Count: The percentage of bets indicates the proportion of total bets placed on each side of a particular wager.
- Example: If 70% of bets are on Team A and 30% are on Team B, those are the bet percentages.
Bet Handle: Percentage of money shows the proportion of the total money wagered on each side.
Example: If 60% of the total money is on Team A and 40% is on Team B, those are the money percentages.
Consensus Betting: It is when high percentages of bets and money on one side indicate strong public consensus, which can influence line movement. This can create value on a particular line or set of odds because the public is incorrectly favoring one side.

When there is a heavy skew in public betting (e.g., 80% of bets on one side), betting against the public (contrarian betting) can be a profitable strategy. Contrarian betting banks on behavioral bias and bettors making bets with their emotions, something the best bettors eliminate.

Websites like Action Network provide detailed betting percentages, money splits, line movement, and expert analysis. Offers tools for tracking sharp action and public betting trends.

Odds Shark provides public betting percentages and trends for various sports. Offers comprehensive betting guides, odds comparison, and expert picks.

NBA Finals Betting: Strategies and Tips

Betting on the NBA finals is a different animal from the regular season and the playoffs. The stakes could not be higher, and the margin for error is minuscule, meaning any small advantage is important.

Researching historical betting data is crucial to determining your betting strategy for the NBA finals. Some key statistics to look at are:

Seed records
Point totals
Team matchups
Public betting

Public betting is a special indicator in this situation because of the magnitude of the NBA finals. There is more public betting since the finals are the last games of the NBA season.

Here are some numbers of public betting history in the NBA finals:

Teams with 51%+ of bet tickets cover the spread 42% of the time since 2005.
Public betting of 60%+ covers the spread 34% of the time since 2005.
Public underdogs are 21-32 against the spread since 2005

Another important part of betting on the finals is a deep understanding of the players on each team. The matchups are vital in the finals, and identifying the weaknesses of each team can help determine their performances and better predict the outcomes. Player injuries and recent performances tell a stronger story than in the regular season.

NBA Playoffs Betting

NBA playoff betting is a completely different game than the regular season, as the stakes rise, player performances are put under the microscope, and it is where legends are made.

The intensity of the games notoriously rises to a new level with increased attention to detail, effort, and particularly defensive effort. The pace slows down as teams try to execute their game plans, and defenses ratchet up their play.

Just this past season, the average scoring of games in the regular season versus playoffs was 8.6, from 114.2 points per game (per team) to 105.6. That is a stark drop-off that demonstrates the style of play in the playoffs.

From a betting perspective, this forces bettors to change their outlook and retool their betting strategy. One type of bet to target is point totals, with the under being favorable at times due to the change in pace and scoring.

If sportsbooks do not adjust accordingly, value can be on the table for bettors to take advantage of.

Another part of the playoffs that is different is teams’ rotations, as coaches shorten their bench and rely on a smaller number of players to take on big minutes and produce. This can change the player prop landscape, and create more likelihood for teams’ best players to be involved even more in scoring, rebounding, etc.

NBA Draft Betting

Betting on the NBA draft is all about predictions and studying the upcoming draft class. The sports media industry does a lot of work talking about the draft, team needs, player fits, and more. However, it is difficult to predict what teams will do on draft night, as their scouting is not part of the information made available to the public.

Different draft bets include:

Over/under when a player is picked
Who is the first overall pick
Betting a player to be selected by a certain team, and more.

Some top NBA draft analysts are:

Jonathan Givony: Founder of DraftExpress and a prominent NBA draft analyst for ESPN. He is well-known for his in-depth scouting reports and mock drafts.
Mike Schmitz: Also with ESPN, Mike Schmitz collaborates closely with Jonathan Givony and provides detailed analysis and video breakdowns of draft prospects.

Live Betting on NBA Games

Live betting allows bettors to bet on an NBA game while it is in progress. Unlike traditional pre-game betting, live betting adjusts odds and betting lines dynamically based on the unfolding events of the game.

How It Works

Real-Time Odds: Sportsbooks update odds and lines in real-time, reflecting the current state of the game, such as the score, time remaining, and player performance.
Variety of Bets: Bettors can place various types of wagers, including point spreads, moneylines, over/under totals, and player props, throughout the game.

Benefits

Increased Engagement: Live betting enhances the viewing experience by keeping bettors engaged throughout the game.
Opportunities for Value: Sharp bettors can capitalize on favorable odds swings, particularly if they have insights into the teams’ tendencies and game flow.

Strategies for Success

Preparation: Research team statistics, player performance trends, and game conditions beforehand to make informed in-game decisions.
Focus on Key Moments: Look for critical junctures in the game, such as timeouts, injuries, or foul trouble, that can impact the outcome.

NBA Betting Strategy

To develop a consistent and effective NBA betting strategy, focus on comprehensive analysis and situational factors:

Advanced Metrics: Use advanced metrics like Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%), True Shooting Percentage (TS%), and Player Efficiency Rating (PER). These provide a more nuanced view of players and team efficiency.
Pace and Tempo: Understand the pace at which teams play. High-tempo teams generate more scoring opportunities, impacting total betting.
Defensive and Offensive Trends: Evaluate teams’ recent defensive and offensive performances. Trends such as a team improving defensively over the last five games can be critical.
Form and Momentum: Consider the current form of teams. A team on a winning streak might have higher morale and confidence, influencing their performance.
Data Visualization: Use data visualization tools to identify trends and patterns that are not immediately obvious from raw data.

Understand the NBA Before Starting to Bet

As mentioned before, understanding the NBA landscape is a good foundation for NBA betting, so let’s review some of the best players and teams in the NBA.

Best NBA Players

Starting at the center position, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is arguably the most valuable player in the league. His facilitation of the offense led Denver to a championship in 2023 and his three MVP awards in the last four seasons showcase his dominance of the NBA.

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks is the living embodiment of the Hulk. He attacks the rim with such ferocity, scoring at an exceptional level in addition to his ball handling, passing, and defensive versatility. He just finished the best season of his career as the first player in NBA history to score 30+ points per game while shooting 60% or better.

Jaylen Brown rose to elite status among wing players his season, averaging 23 points per game and earning an NBA finals MVP award with his 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game. He led the Celtics to their first title since 2009. 2009.

Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves took a massive step this season, finding playoff success by advancing to the Western Conference finals by defeating Jokic and the Nuggets. Edwards earned a spot on the USA Olympic team as the sky is the limit for this ultra-athletic scorer.

Capping off the list is none other than Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic led the Mavericks to the NBA finals with other-worldly scoring ability and clutch playmaking. He carries so much gravity with the ball in his hands. He finished third in MVP voting this season while leading the league in points per game at 33.9.

NBA Teams

Last season, the Celtics were head and shoulders better than everyone else and proved that in the playoffs on the way to winning it all. For now, they will begin the season at the top of my list until proven otherwise.

After Boston, I believe the Timberwolves will once again contend for a championship. The additions of Rob Dillingham and Terrance Shannon Jr. in the draft add hyper-speed scoring and depth of the bench, allowing Edwards to burden less of the scoring necessary to win games.

Next, the New York Knicks fully returned to elite form last season, but unfortunately limped through the playoffs and lost in the second round to the Indiana Pacers. Point guard Jalen Brunson signed a team friendly contract extension, and they traded for Mikal Bridges.

If the Knicks stay healthy when the playoffs roll around, Brunson and others are proven performers when it matters most.

So, Will You Bet on the NBA Tonight?

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of NBA betting which can immediately apply to your betting routine/strategy/experience, etc. You can start by signing up with one of the sportsbooks I mentioned and take advantage of their offers and promotions.

Are you interested in learning more about NBA betting bonuses? Check out our dedicated page!