NBA Odds

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in America and wagering on NBA odds is enjoyed by countless US sports fans. The NBA regular season presents hundreds of games every season, so plenty of opportunities to bet, and US sportsbooks offer odds with endless betting markets for every game.

In this article, we'll help you understand how NBA odds work and the types of odds you'll find available on sportsbooks and betting websites for NBA games.

• NBA Straight Bet Odds
• NBA Point Spread
• NBA Moneyline Explained
• NBA Total Odds - Over-Under Betting Explained
• NBA Parlay Odds
• NBA Futures Odds
• NBA Prop Bet
• Which US Sportsbook Has the Best NBA Odds?

NBA Straight Bet Odds

The straight bet is the most common type of NBA bet, where you simply decide who you think will win and place a bet accordingly. Bettors can wager on NBA odds against the spread or bet the moneyline odds straight-up. You just need to correctly pick the team that you think wins the match or cover the points spread odds.

Online sportsbooks will set a line for every NBA fixture to create a more equal playing field between teams of different standards. A more superior team will be the odds-on favorite and betting on them to win straight-up will not offer much value.

The oddsmakers get that people like to bet for enjoyment and will spread the points to even out the match-up – which makes it more interesting to gamble on with more appealing betting odds.

NBA Point Spread

Basketball fans will know it’s the highest scoring sport in North America and NBA games can provide lots of action and hundreds of points scored. The elite teams are a lot better than the worst which means when they go head-to-head the point spread will be large. In contrast when two equally matched top of the league heavyweights’ face-off the point spread is minimal.

An in-form home team might be a 5-point favorite win, which means when you bet points spread odds on the favorite they need to win by 5 plus points for your wager to win. The moneyline is the plus or minus figure right next to point spread e.g (-110 /+100). The money line odds show how much you will win per $100 staked.

When you wager on NBA odds against the spread then you are in the game until the end. The back and forth between two teams battling keeps your bet alive and you on the edge of your seat, often right up to the final seconds.

Here’s an example of NBA betting odds line:

LA Lakers +4 (-110)

LA Clippers -4 (+110)

Placing a bet on the Lakers against the spread will return $100 for every $110 risked. Placing a bet against the spread means the Clippers need to lose by less than 5 to win $110 for your $100 wager. When the favorite wins by exactly 5 the bet is a draw and you get your stake back.

NBA Moneyline Explained

If you don't want to place a bet on the point spreads or can’t work out how many points a team will win by, you can bet on the final outcome of the game by picking moneyline odds.

The moneyline is similar to the plus and minus seen in a point spread. However, the moneyline odds will be much higher or lower based on the strength of each team. A hot favorite might be listed as -250, which means you will need to bet $250 to make $100 profit. The underdog could be priced at odds of +330 and you will win profit $330 from every $100 bet.

NBA Total Odds - Over-Under Betting Explained

Placing a bet on the total score or over-under odds lines is another popular NBA betting market. You are wagering on the total score of both teams combined at the end of the game.

If you want to place a bet, but don't like the moneyline odds or points spread you can sit back, relax and root for the final score. US sportsbooks also provide an option to bet total points of one team or points scored by a certain player in a match.

The sportsbook will publish an odds line for the total score and you wager on the total score being under (lower) or over (higher) the sportsbooks line. If the over-under odds line between the Lakers and Clippers is 215.5 and you wager on the over, you need a total score of at least 216 points to win.

NBA Parlay Odds

An NBA parlay is when you combine multiple selections together into a single bet to get higher odds than a single bet. A sportsbook will multiply the odds of every selection into a much larger wager. The reason placing a parlay is great fun is because you follow the outcome of multiple bets at once and you’re looking at a huge payday if they all come in.

When placing an NBA parlay you need every selection to win and if one pick fails it’s game over for your bet. You should always shop around at different US sportsbooks for a parlay free bet or insurance - so if one pick loses you will be rewarded with a free loyalty bet.

NBA Futures Odds

A futures bet is a long-term bet that will be settled in the future. People like to place an NBA futures bet when they want to back their hunch on a season-long outcome, such as a championship.

There’s value to be found when betting on NBA futures odds, because you can wager higher odds on a team before the oddmakers know how well a team will perform in a new NBA season.

NBA Prop Bet

A prop bet provides odds on pretty much everything else not mentioned above that can happen in an NBA game. The US Leagues Betting team likes to place prop bets every now and again when we don’t have much interest in who wins a particular match, but still want to get in on the action for fun.

Which US Sportsbook Has the Best NBA Odds?

Setting odds for the NBA is pretty important amongst US sportsbooks and the lines are set accurately by pro oddsmakers. Check out our Top US Sportsbooks reviews page to find the very best out there, with the best sign-up offers, odds and more.

However, the bookies are all competing and have different views when it comes to setting odds, so check-out our odds comparison tool to quickly compare and convert odds!