The best NBA betting sites have more NBA odds options than a high pick-and-roll. You can bet on everything from NBA game lines and rebound prop bets to futures like MVP or ROY.
Below we’ll show you the best NBA betting sites and explain how to bet on the NBA online.
Best Betting Sites for NBA
FanDuel Sportsbook for NBA odds
Similar to DraftKings with all the major game lines for every game and only a slightly smaller list of futures, FanDuel is a decent sport for your NBA action because:
- FanDuel lets you build your own NBA parlay each night, where you can put together a team of players you think will all top 20 points.
- In addition to the usual moneyline and point spread options, FanDuel allows you to bet on who will score the first basket, and just how that will be scored? A dunk, a free throw, a lay-up?
- FanDuel also has a unique 3×2 bet that gives you an over/under figure on the number of threes that will be made within the first two minutes of game time.
BetMGM Sportsbook for NBA betting
Spreads, moneylines and totals are standard, as are the typical season-long team and player futures. BetMGM is also on the NBA bettors’ radar for:
- An icon on the top of the screen directs you straight to the NBA games of the night. For each game, you can bet the spread on the half and the first quarter.
- There’s also the Race to 5 through 50. You can stack some bets on which team will be the first to five points and then subsequently in increments of five all the way up to 50. There are lots of player props, including double-doubles, and which half will have more points scored?
- You’ll also like the media tab on the right that shows you the last five meetings between the two teams.
Caesars Sportsbook for NBA odds
Similar to BetMGM, Caesars won’t blow your doors off with an infinite list of creative NBA prop bets but all the standards are there with competitive lines.
- The refined Caesars has a deep reservoir of NBA betting options. It has some unique props, like a Tri-State performance bet, connected to the performances of the teams in Philly and New York. There are player props based on his performance per quarter.
- You can also bet on the exact margin of victory, and speaking of exact, Caesars offers an NBA Finals “Exacta” where you can pick the winning team in the NBA finals and the losing team.
DraftKings Sportsbook for NBA betting
Besides a full set of game lines (moneylines, spreads, totals) for every game on the schedule and a wide range of NBA team and player futures (NBA Finals winner, Team to Make the Playoffs, MVP winner, 6th Man, DPOY, ROY, etc), you’ll want to check out DraftKings for NBA for:
- On the NBA sportsbook, DraftKings gets you to the game parlays quickly. Will your team win and will a star player get a double-double (at least 10 points and 10 rebounds)? That’s a parlay if you bet them on the same ticket.
- DraftKings promos include a nightly special where you pick the team you think will score the most out of any team in the NBA that night. You can also pick two players to go head-to-head and see who comes out on top.
- The first place you want to stop when you get to DraftKings online or on your phone is the Lobby. There are daily fantasy contests where you draft a team for the night (keeping it under the salary cap assigned by DraftKings) and you can win up to $150,000 if your team finishes as the high scorers for the night.
Best NBA odds boosts and promos
Each season and each week, and practically each day, online sportsbooks in the US will offer odds boosts, bonuses & promos to sweeten the pot for NBA bettors. There’s a difference between a promo and a boost:
- A promo is for a new user to sign up. FanDuel promos include a “no sweat bet” up to $1,000 which you could get back in bonus bets if that first bet lost. Caesars’ sign-up promo goes further, offering up to $1,250 in bet credit. You don’t get that full amount if you only bet $20. Just the amount you bet up to what the sportsbook says.
- Odds boosts are a fun way to tweak your bets for the night. FanDuel combines player performances with a team’s result as an odds boost. One of the more interesting odds boosts is when a sportsbook mixes sports, like creating an added profit if the New York Giants win and Daniel Jones throws a touchdown pass along with a Brooklyn Nets win and Mikal Bridges has 30 points or more on the same day.
How to bet on the NBA online
It’s easy to get started betting on basketball online. The process is the same whether you’re on your desktop computer or downloading the sportsbook app to your phone.
All you have to do is:
- Click through any of the links above to create an account.
- Enter any bonus code required to access your welcome bonus or bonus bets
- It will ask you for a username (you provide) an address and the last four digits of your social security number (for safety).
- You also pick a password and a pin number.
Once you create your account, deposit funds through any convenient method and navigate over to the betting screen. The games are laid out in chronological order, with big boxes for you to note what your bet is.
You’ll get to review everything you’ve added to your betslip before confirming the bet goes through. If you’re a winner, your funds will be deposited into your account a few minutes after the final whistle.
How to download an NBA betting app
You don’t need to be inside a regulated casino or sportsbook in person to make an official bet. Each of the major sportsbooks has an app you can download onto your phone or a tablet so you can bet from anywhere within the state.
All you need to do is log in to your new account on the online sportsbook on your phone and you’re ready to roll. Find the “Download App” button and install the app. You see the full betting menu on the home screen whenever you open the app.
It’s smart to check the early odds on an NBA game before it starts, because maybe you can find an early line that you like. With so many games, lines can and will fluctuate up until tip-off.
But even after tip-off, you can still use your app to bet on the night’s NBA game. This is called live betting, and sportsbook apps are perfect for it as you can tap and bet on new odds quickly.
How to bet on NBA spreads, moneylines and over-unders
There are three main bets on an NBA game based on the outcome.
- The simplest is the moneyline. You pick the team you believe will win the game. The favorite will have smaller odds and pay much less than the underdog.
- A point spread is created for each game to balance the scales and promote betting on either side. It’s usually a number with a .5 attached (to prevent ties). If you bet the favorite and the point spread, that means you only win if the team wins by more than the spread. If you bet the underdog, then you can still win if they lose the game but not by more than the spread.
- Over-Unders are the third main bet. This is a figure set by the sportsbooks of the total number of points expected to be scored in the game. You can bet whether the combined points will be under or over that figure.
Best NBA props & futures
Prop is short for proposition, which can be any bet related to the NBA game. You can bet on whether a game will have overtime. That’s a proposition.
Standard prop bets are usually based on a player’s performance and not connected to the game’s outcome. This is usually an over-under point scored by a player, or rebounds gained, or assists dished out. There are also game props like:
- Which team is ahead at the end of the first quarter or halftime
- The total number of threes made in the game
- etc.
A futures bet is typically on a season outcome or an award at the end of the year. You can bet who will win the NBA title before the season starts and up through the playoffs. Other popular NBA futures markets are:
- Rookie of the Year odds
- NBA MVP odds
- Defensive Player of the Year odds
- Sixth Man of the Year odds
- Most Improved Player odds
NBA alternate lines
The sportsbooks set a line, another term for point spread, but it’s not locked in. You can actually change the line, setting what is called an alternate line.
You can slide the number one way or the other. Perhaps you think the Knicks will win by a blowout and more than the sportsbook-set line, or maybe you think the spread is too high, and you think it will be close.
Be cautious though because as you adjust the line, you will also impact the potential payout either way. But it’s like you’re the point guard. You can control the action.
How to find the best NBA lines
NBA lines don’t change as much as lines do on NFL and college football games because there’s usually only a short window of time in between when they’re posted and when the game begins. Typically, the line on a night’s NBA game appears in the morning, or maybe the night before if both teams have off.
Still, there are always some differences between the NBA lines from one sportsbook to another. A half-point may not sound like much now, but it can be the difference between a winning night and a losing one. Smart bettors always shop around the various sportsbooks before dropping an NBA bet.
NBA in-game betting
One of the most interesting developments in the sports betting industry the past few seasons has been the rise of in-game betting. Just about all the major sportsbooks offer this type of activity.
Once a game starts, the betting line on the sportsbook will begin to fluctuate, reflecting what’s happened in the game. If a team gets off to a big lead, it will suddenly be favored by more.
This can put your basketball instincts to the test. If you’re watching the game and sense there’s about to be a comeback, you can log into the sportsbook and put money down on the team currently losing, or perhaps there’s been an injury to a star player, again, you can use that real-time information to make an informed in-game bet.
What makes basketball betting special?
What makes betting on the NBA exciting is the fact that there are great games played every night. The NBA doesn’t take a break from October to June, so there is always something to play. With an 82-game regular season, NBA teams also get hot, or get cold, and it can be fun to ride a team on a winning streak.
The NFL is still largely a once-a-week game on Sundays and MLB games don’t have the same zip as an exciting NBA game.
The other advantage of betting on the NBA is that the teams meet each other more than once a season; sometimes, they even play back-to-back nights. You can get a good read on how one NBA team matches up with the other throughout the season.
NBA betting rules at online sportsbooks
NBA betting rules are straightforward, but some unique situations can pop up that you should be aware of.
The biggest thing might be a venue change for an NBA game, because of maybe a hockey playoff game, or an unforeseen weather event (blizzard). A venue change will not cancel your bet unless the home and visiting team switch roles. Cancellations or postponements will usually cancel your bet entirely.
Sportsbooks are also not perfect. They can make mistakes, sometimes on prop bets, maybe a rebound or an assist gets incorrectly counted. If that happens, sportsbooks will go by whatever is deemed the official statistic by the NBA.
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