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How To Bet On NBA Games Online: Complete Guide

LeoVegas offers hundreds of pre-game and in-play markets regarding NBA sports betting! If you have a hunch before the game begins, enjoy a variety of markets including the below Moneyline bets, our Point Spread bets, or place a couple of selections together and make it a parlay!

Table of Content:

How to Bet on NBA games: Step by Step

You can also get closer to the action with our in-game selections. Enjoy our selection of in-game odds if you notice a trend in the game or just want to add some excitement to the action.

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NBA Betting Lines

There’s plenty of ways to enjoy NBA betting with LeoVegas. Whether it’s simply betting on the winner of a matchup with the full Moneyline odds, or selecting who you believe will win the NBA championship with our NBA futures markets - we have it all!

We also have some points-based markets to enjoy while NBA betting. The most popular is the Point Spread. A Point Spread creates a virtual handicap between the two teams playing the basketball games, for example, if the Milwaukee Bucks are -3 favourites, they’d have to win the game by four or more points to cover the spread. However, if they were +3 underdogs, they’d just have to win the game or not lose by four points.

You can also place a bet on the total points in the match. If you believe that a game will surpass the points total set by us - select the over! This side spread bet works the same if you believe the teams will combine for fewer points than our set total - this is the under.

Prop bets, short for proposition bets, are a sort of bet in which you wager on certain outcomes or events that may happen during an NBA game. These bets are different from standard bets such as point spreads or money lines, which are based on the overall outcome of the game.

How to Bet on NBA Draft

Before the excitement of the NBA regular season, the NBA draft is where the fun starts. Enjoy NBA betting on the draft by wagering on who you believe will go number one overall on the night or who your team will draft!

How to Bet on NBA MVP

LeoVegas also offers player-specific outrights for the upcoming NBA season. You can wager on who you believe will be the NBA MVP on either desktop or mobile by finding the player you believe will win the award. We offer markets on over 70 possible MVP winners so the choice is yours!

Special NBA Bets

It isn’t just the NBA MVP award that you can bet on! LeoVegas has numerous specials on the NBA, including betting on who will be the NBA rookie of the year or the NBA coach of the year. We offer additional player award markets such as the NBA most improved player and who will win the defensive player of the year award in the NBA.

NBA Betting Odds

NBA odds are placed next to the selection you want to make. With LeoVegas, betting odds are shown via decimal points. This means, if you are wagering on an outcome that is 2.5, a $10 bet would return $25. These odds can vary throughout the week depending on how the line is moving, so make sure you are getting the best odds!

NBA Live Betting

LeoVegas Online Sportsbook also provides a great opportunity to try live sports betting out. Be sure to take part in some NBA action by placing in-play bets.

How many teams play in the NBA?

The NBA is made up of thirty teams in total. These teams are split evenly between both the Western and Eastern conference - 15 teams in both sections. All thirty teams play 82 regular season games.

NBA Teams

There’s a couple of NBA teams to keep an eye on for the upcoming season. Most notably, the reigning NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors. Boasting superstar Steph Curry, the Warriors are looking to defend their title crown from the 2021-22 season. Other teams from the Western Conference to look out for are the Phoenix Suns, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Utah Jazz.

On the Eastern side, the Miami Heat were the standouts during the 2021-22 regular season. The Heat finished as the one-seed in the East and they’ll look to go one better in the upcoming season. Also watch out for the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern conference.

Canadian NBA Teams

Canada has a sole representative in the NBA - the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors entered the league back in 1995 and they’ve had a lot of success since joining the ranks of the NBA. They’ve won seven division titles (including three-straight between 2014-2016 and 2018-2020). Alongside their division success, they went all the way and won the NBA Championship in 2019.

NBA Top Players

Like most sports leagues, the NBA has a few superstars in its league. Last season’s NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors, relied on Steph Curry to carry them to another title. Curry won the NBA finals MVP award after dominating the league's best defence in the 2021-22 finals.

Another man dominating the NBA is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis was the 2021 NBA MVP and led the Bucks to a Championship. His team wasn’t as successful in 2021-22, but the man known as ‘The Greek Freak’ continues to dominate the paint.

Canadian NBA Players

Arguably the current best Canadian NBA player is Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins was a part of the Golden State Warriors championship team and he achieved a career-high in three point percentage last season.

Jamal Murray is another Canadian star in the NBA. Unfortunately, Murray suffered a torn ACL last year, but he returned in the 2022-23 season, he’s sure to pick up where he left off and impress once again.

While he plays for a struggling team, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a Canadian player to watch. Alexander only played 56 games last season, but when he sees the paint, he has the potential to be a gamechanger for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

NBA Regular Season

The NBA regular season consists of 82-games and lasts from mid-October until mid-April before the playoffs begin. Each team plays four games against their division opponents (16 games), four games against the six out-of-division teams (24 games), three games against the four remaining out-of-division opposition (12 games), and two games against the 15 teams from the opposing conference (30 games)

NBA Playoffs

After the regular season is concluded, the playoffs begin. The playoffs begin with the recently added Play-in Tournament. The Play-in involves the teams seeded 7th - 10th, while the top-six seeded teams from both conferences advance to the playoffs as normal.

The 7th seed plays the 8th seed with the winner advancing to the playoffs. Whereas the 9th and 10th seed face each other for the right to face the loser of the other game. Therefore, the loser of the 7th v 8th seed game plays the winner of the 9th v 10th seed game to decide who progresses.

The playoffs get much simpler from this point. The remaining postseason games are best-of-seven series before one team is left from either conference. The NBA final is contested between one team from the Western Conference and one from the Eastern Conference.

NBA All-Star

The NBA All-Star game highlights the best 24 players from the NBA as they face off in an exhibition game. 12 players are selected from each conference, five by media, fan, and players votes, while the seven reserves are selected by head coaches.

From 2018, whichever player leads the league in votes for the All-Star game has been able to draft their team from the pool of players. These players also get to play the game for a charity of their choice.

What is the National Basketball Association (NBA)?

The NBA is the biggest league in the world when it comes to Basketball betting. It began over seventy years ago, but the NBA has consistently grown in popularity, and it is now a global juggernaut.

The league is made up of thirty teams that are split evenly into two conferences - Eastern and Western. These conferences host three divisions. Each team plays a total of 82 games over the season, and ten teams from each will make the postseason.

The postseason contains numerous stages. The first stage is the play-in tournament between the teams seeded 7th - 10th, this is followed by the first round, the conference semifinals and final, concluding with the NBA finals. All games are best of seven from the first round onwards.

NBA Game Rules

In its simplest form, Basketball is a 5v5 game where the team which scores the most points wins the game. However, scores can vary in value between two and three points depending on where the shot is taken from. Shots from inside the arc (known as the three-point line) are worth two points and any shot from behind this arc is worth three. Teams have 24 seconds to take a shot after gaining possession.

On the defensive side, teams must try to block or steal the ball away without causing penalties to occur. Each team is allocated five fouls per quarter - Basketball has four quarters with 12 minutes in each.

NBA Betting FAQ

How does betting on NBA games work?

You can bet on NBA games with LeoVegas before the game or while the game happens with our in-play options. Wager on who you believe will win the game with the Moneyline or focus on point-specific bets with the Point Spread.

What types of bets can you place on NBA games?

There are several types of bets you can place on NBA games, including moneyline bets, point spread bets, totals (over/under) bets, and prop bets.

How are NBA betting lines determined?

NBA betting lines are determined by the oddsmaker and they are usually influenced by various factors. This could include form, home field advantage or injuries.

What do NBA betting lines mean?

NBA betting lines indicate who are the favourites and who are the underdogs for the matchups. These are indicated by + and - signs depending on which outcome is more likely.

How does live betting work in NBA?

While NBA betting with LeoVegas, you can make a wager during the game and this is known as live betting. Select on who will win the game at halftime or bet on who’ll be the next scorer in the game. Hundreds of in-play markets are available with LeoVegas.

What is spread in NBA betting?

The spread creates a virtual handicap for the game. The team that is favoured will have a - symbol for the spread, for example, the Utah Jazz might be -5 on the spread. The Jazz would have to win the game by six to cover the spread. Their opponent will be indicated with a +5 and they’d have to lose by five or less to cover the spread.

How do you read NBA betting odds?

NBA betting odds are displayed with decimal point odds. If the odds for a certain outcome are 5.5, this means that a $10 bet will return $55. The closer the odds are to 1.0, the more likely the outcome.

What does over and under mean in NBA betting?

Over/Under markets are when you place a bet on whether something will total above or below the number set by the bookmakers. For example, if the total points for an NBA game is set at 200, you’d wager whether the game will have more or less points than this.

What does +1.5 mean in NBA betting?

+1.5 will usually be used to indicate the spread. In this instance, a +1.5 spread means it is expected to be a close game, and the team at +1.5 has to win the game or lose by one.

What should I look for when betting in the NBA?

Look for the market that best suits you when NBA betting. If you want to keep it simple and focus on results, seek out the Money Line markets. Similarly, keep an eye out on the betting lines to get the best odds throughout the week as the basketball betting lines can drift due to many factors.

What does double result mean in NBA betting?

Betting on a double result is when you wager on two outcomes for the game. An example of this is betting on who will be leading in the first-half and who will be leading at the end of the second-half, both legs need to hit to be successful.

What is the best way to bet on NBA games?

Here are some tips for NBA sports bettors:

  • Do the research
  • Manage your bankroll
  • Focus on specific markets
  • Check the odds

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