A guide to betting on the NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is one of the most popular sports in the United States. It is a league that has 30 teams in total, and it is considered one of the major premier sports leagues on the North American continent. Not only that but it’s also considered the best basketball league anywhere in the world.

The league was founded in New York over 70 years ago and has hosted some of the most dramatic games in the history of American sports. It has spawned countless films, books, television shows and documentaries which feature the game heavily.

It has also produced a number of crossover stars who are prominent figures in American society, including legends such as the late Kobe Bryant and the phenomenal Michael Jordan.

The legendary Chicago Bulls talisman has featured in huge films such as Space Jam and recently had a Netflix documentary about him called The Last Dance, which was released in 2020 to critical acclaim.

This documentary detailed the sensational skill and mentality Michael Jordan displayed in the 1997-98 season, which was his final season with the Chicago Bulls. The league has also been home to characters such as Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James.

Gambling on the NBA has been available for quite some time. Initially, it was something that was more or less exclusive to Las Vegas-based casinos that had sportsbooks dedicated to major professional leagues, including the NFL and NHL as well.

NBA betting is a market that is now available in most countries around the world — the ones that allow gambling on their shores of course. There are several types of markets you can bet on when it comes to Basketball, and today we’re going to explore them in finer detail.

You can place a wager on a whole range of markets, this includes betting on one specific team to win a match, one team to win by a certain number of points or a team to lose by a certain number of points. 

On top of this, you can also gamble on the outcome of the season’s matches. You can bet on who you think will make the playoffs or who will become champions at the end of the season.

The Golden State Warriors are the most formidable team of their generation, and this excellent crop of current players added yet another title to their collection last season. They were favorites for many going in and did not disappoint.

Many analysts and players consider them to be favorites again this season, despite other teams making strong additions to their roster. Only time will tell if the Golden State Warriors can scoop up yet another title, but it is certainly looking promising for them.

Most people consider it a straight shootout between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics, two of the most legendary teams in professional basketball. Some may slightly favor the Celtics, and some people may slightly favor the Golden State Warriors. There is no doubt that it will certainly be an exciting season.

Another type of betting you can explore is parlay betting. This is a relatively new version of gambling markets, and it is very popular in countries such as the United Kingdom, where it is known as an accumulator. When several matches will start at or near the same time, you can combine the outcomes for a larger payout.

This – of course – is a more difficult way to place a bet. It can be hard enough to bet on one team, never mind four or five! However, it can pay dividends as the odds are multiplied together. So, if you have a hunch that a few teams might win, it could be quite the payday.

It is important to note here that you must only gamble what you can afford to lose. If you stop enjoying gambling but continue to do it, despite the negative consequences, you should seek help and stop.

You can also make use of gamble limits or timers to ensure you do not get too carried away on certain gambling sites. This can also help limit you to ensure that you gamble for fun and do not consider it as a source of income.

Handicap betting is a popular form of betting across a range of team sports –  it is also referred to as spread betting. Essentially, it involves giving one team a virtual deficit (a handicap) to overcome at the start of the match. 

When it comes to handicap betting, the higher the handicap, the better the odds usually are. This is true for the vast majority of handicap bets involving NBA teams.

In addition to all the markets we have mentioned, you can also combine the different types of odds. For example, you may place a bet on the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat to both win their games, you could then combine this with a bet for the Celtics to win the Playoffs.

This would be considered a treble bet, but you can usually combine up to about 10 specific selections. You could also look to bet on the outcome of certain playoff games and the final score.

Let’s say, theoretically speaking, that the Boston Celtics were playing the Golden State Warriors in the final. The Playoff final, as we all know, is a best-of-seven matchup. If you thought the Celtics were going to emphatically beat the Warriors, you could bet on them to win 4 games to 2.

You could also bet on other outcomes, such as 3-0 or 4-1. Although the final two are unlikely, this will be reflected in the odds.

Usually, the bulk of NBA betting consists of betting on a handicap. For example, you can gamble on whether a certain team scores over or under a certain number of points. 

You can combine this across the market between different teams, and it means you can get a bit more out of your bet. If you want to combine your bet across a range of different sports, including the NBA, plenty of online bookmakers also offer this option as well.