NBA Betting | The Ultimate Guide

NBA is one of the most popular basketball leagues on the planet. Thousands of people rush to buy tickets before the season kicks in, and countless more people watch on their tellies. If you count yourself among these people, here is an opportunity for you – make some cash while enjoying your favorite spot.

This is an easy-to-follow guide that will help you get acquainted with the NBA and NBA betting. I’ve broken the guide into the following sections to make it easier for you to jump to the points that interest you the most:

Watching all those professional basketball players achieving triple-doubles like its nothing may get you thinking that NBA has some special rules. In essence, the NBA is still a basketball league. It is perhaps the most famous league of them all, but it uses universal basketball rules.

If you are familiar with international competitions, including the Olympics, or Greek Basketball League, and Liga ACB, you can skip the following section.

Since you are here, you are pretty much new to the basketball and NBA betting overall. Getting accustomed to the following rules will help you understand the game and make smarter betting decisions.

In an NBA basketball game, two teams compete on a standard NBA court, which is slightly larger than the standard court in Europe (28.7×15.2m in NBA, and 28x15m in FIBA). Each team consists of 5 players, and they are competing to outscore each other on the court.

The game has two aspects – offense and defense. The offense is when one team tries to make a shot by passing and dribbling their way up the court. The defense is quite the opposite. It encompasses all actions to dispossess an opponent or block their scoring attempts.

To score points, players have to shoot the ball through a hoop. The hoop in the NBA is 46cm wide and raised 3.05m off the ground. Points can be scored via field goals or free throws.

To score two points, players have to be within the three-point line. Three points are reserved for the most precise players able to score outside the three-point line.

Free throws are awarded to a player after a referee riles a violation. Each free throws is worth one point. The players are awarded one additional free throw after an opposing player makes a foul as he scores the points.

Two free throws are awarded if the shoot doesn’t end with a score, and three free throws are awarded after an opposing player makes a foul while the other was shooting outside the three-point line.

The game is split into quarters, where two quarters make a half. After halftime, the teams go on a longer break. Each quarter lasts for 12 minutes. The game in the NBA can not end in a draw. If it is a draw at the end, the overtime applies, and teams continue to play until one wins.

Now, off to the teams and the NBA league. There are two conferences in the NBA league, and each conference has three divisions. There are 30 teams in total, and every team has to play 82 games throughout the regular season. 41 of those are played at the team’s home court, and 41 are played away.

The best eight teams from both conferences end up in the knockout format known as the Playoffs each year. The best win-loss ratio is the factor that qualifies teams for NBA Playoffs. The best out of these 16 teams wins the prestigious title of the NBA Championship.

It is legal to place bets on sports events in the NBA league if you live in Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, and Mississippi. Even NBA officials promote it. How come? Last year, we had the chance to witness the first gambling partnership between NBA and 3rd party companies.

In fact, the NBA entered a partnership with MGM Resorts International – a prominent sportsbook provider on the market. While the partnership raised a lot of dust, my honest opinion is that it is good news for the USA economy because everyone in the US placed bets in the past through offshore bookmakers.

To help you make a smart decision, I decided to categorize NBA bet types into two categories. The first category contains more basic bet types suited for brand new or fewer experiences players. The second, however, is where things get exciting. It is generally suited for more experienced people.

The most basic bet type in the majority of sports events is Money Line. This term is used for betting on who wins the game. It’s simple as that. There is nothing more about it. Choose a team, place a wager on it, and if it wins the game, the cash is yours.

A Handicap is where things start to get a bit more complex, which is not hard given the low standards set by Money Line. Each team in an NBA game has a positive or negative point handicap. The handicap is set to counter the teams’ perceived differences in abilities.

It quite logical then why a heavy favorite has a negative handicap that you, as a bettor, will have to overcome. On the other hand, the underdog team has a positive handicap.

The handicap number is displayed as a – or + value, and it is valued into the final score, meaning that the handicap result is often different from the actual result.

Let’s say Team A has a +8, and Team B has a -8 handicap. And let’s say Team B wins with a score of 100:95. Since Team B started with -8 points, the score would be 92:95. This changes the match outcome in Team A’s favor. To win the handicap bets, a team has to “cover the handicap.”

As a last bet type in the basic category, I decided to put Totals. Totals are an engaging mini betting game to play, especially if neither of the teams competing is your favorite. With Totals, you are basically betting on the total number of points scored by both sides. You place the wager, whether it will be above or below the figure set by the bookmaker.

Once you feel comfy in basic NBA bet waters, the time has come to try out advanced NBA bet types.

The first on the list is Quarter and Half Betting. You don’t have to place a wager on the entire game. Instead, you can bet on the first quarter or the first half of the game.

This bet type provides you with more opportunities to win cash, especially for teams known to deliver outstanding performance at the start of the matches but tend to start slacking towards the end. All basic bet types work in the Quarter and Half betting scenario.

We have Outright Markets as the next advanced NBA bet type. All bet types we covered so far are focused on individual games. Outright Markets increase the stakes but also boost the rewards. These bets cover long periods of time.

One could place a wager on something that will remain unknown for the next couple of months.

For instance, you can bet who will be the next NBA champion, who is going to be the Western or Eastern Conference winner. The most popular Outright Markets wagers are definitely the winner of the MVP (most valuable player) award.

Getting an edge in NBA betting is an ongoing process. Getting familiar with the game rules and players is a way to do it. But there are still other factors to consider when placing NBA bets. Here are the most important factors to think about at all times before placing a bet:

There are three things you should always consider when choosing an online NBA betting site. Well, it is 3, but one of them consists of several others. Let’s start with the first one – reputation.

Sportsbooks with impeccable and longstanding reputations and those that are publicly traded companies have a lot to lose if the media catches them with a hand in the cookie jar.

I always go with reputable establishments. Although, I have to admit that those attractive first deposit bonuses on newly opened bookmakers’ websites get me thinking from time to time.

The next thing you should be looking at are banking methods. The more deposit and withdrawal options there are, the better.

For instance, credit card deposits and withdrawals are instant. You know what works for you, so choose a bookmaker that has what you need. Access to plenty of methods also leaves you with other options if something changes.

And, we have come to that third thing that encompasses several “things” – online NBA betting website features. Features are game-changers; at least they are for me. Very often, I base my decision, whether I’m going to play on a particular website or not, on the number of features they offer:

As one of the most popular basketball leagues, the NBA offers plenty of high-quality betting opportunities. 82 teams, 2 conferences, and NBA Playoffs will keep you going for almost an entire year. The thing about NBA betting is that you don’t have to be pro to make money. In fact, it provides equal opportunities for both beginners and experienced punters.

So, why not make the games more interesting by placing a wager or two. Now that you know all the rules and types of NBA bets, you can start applying your knowledge. I hope you will have fun and that you will win some big payouts.