NBA Odds & Betting Lines

The NBA is the dominant professional basketball league in the world and features 29 teams from the USA and one from Canada. They play in two conferences with the winner of each facing one another in the NBA Finals that traditionally take place in the summer.

All the latest odds will appear below when available...

Popular NBA Bet Types

There’s plenty of variety to be found at betting sites with NBA odds. Here’s a look at some of the different markets:

• NBA Moneyline Betting – The simplest wager you can make, this is a bet on the team to win the match. 
• NBA Point Spread Bets – Here, the underdog is given a virtual advantage known as the point spread. If you back them, they need to lose within the spread or win the game outright, while the favorite must cover the spread for a bet on them to win.
• NBA Over/Under (Total) Bets – Totals bets revolve around specific game statistics. The most popular option is whether the combined scores of both teams will be over or under a set threshold. 
• NBA Parlay Bets – A more complicated type of wager, parlays let you combine up to 15 legs into one bet. This can lead to some huge potential payouts, but all legs must win which isn’t an easy feat!
• NBA Prop Bets – Props or proposition bets are placed on a certain event occurring within the game, rather than the outcome itself. You might bet on one team to score a certain number of three-pointers, for example.
• NBA Player Props – If you want to get specific, why not bet on a specific player? Maybe you think Durant will score over 28.5 points in an upcoming game, or Jokic to make over 12.5 rebounds. 
• NBA Futures Odds – Looking to the horizon, NBA futures concern themselves with things like championship, conference, or division winner, as well as player awards like MVP and Rookie of the Year.

How to Read NBA Odds

Before you bet on the NBA, you’ll need to understand how to read NBA odds. They’ll be displayed in several formats which can usually be changed in your account preferences.

American Odds

Most likely you’ll encounter American odds at US betting sites. These are represented with +/- symbols. The ‘-’ represents the amount you need to bet in order to win $100, typically denoting the favorite or most likely outcome. Odds with a ‘+’ in front represent how much you’ll win from a successful $100 bet and usually indicate the underdog.

Take the following game as an example:

• Denver Nuggets -170 (favorite)
• Orlando Magic +150 (underdog)

Bet $174 on the Nuggets and you’ll win $100 if they go on to claim victory. Conversely, bet $100 on the Magic and you’ll win $146 should they succeed.

Fractional (British) Odds

Fractional odds display the market prices as a fraction instead. Using the same example as above, you’d see the following:

• Denver Nuggets 10/17
• Orlando Magic 6/4

The number on the left, the numerator, signifies the amount you’ll win from a stake equal to the number on the right, the denominator. So a winning bet of $17 on the Denver Nuggets would yield $10 in profit (a total return of $27).

Decimal (European) Odds

Decimal odds are even simpler than fractional and moneyline odds. They look like this:

• Denver Nuggets 1.59
• Orlando Magic 2.5

Here, you can calculate your total return (stake plus profit) by multiplying the decimal odds by your stake. So, a winning bet of $10 on the Orlando Magic would return $25 in total (your $10 stake plus $15 profit). 

Biggest NBA Betting Events

There’s no shortage of choice when it comes to betting on the NBA. The season is split up into a number of different stages which we’ve explained below. 

Preseason

You can think of the NBA preseason as a bit of warm-up for the main event. It’s a way for teams to prepare for the upcoming regular season, acting as an opportunity for coaches to try out different lineups and plays while getting a sense for how the players synergize with one another. 

The results of the preseason don’t count towards the regular season or playoffs, and team performance doesn’t necessarily translate to those stages either. Typically, the preseason lasts 2–3 weeks with teams playing 4–6 matches each. It may include a few international games as well. 

Regular Season

The NBA regular season gets underway in the last week of October. The 30 participating teams are divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences, with three divisions of five teams within each. Each team plays 82 games during the regular season — 41 at home and 41 away — against a mixture of their own division, the rest of their conference, and the other conference. The result? A whopping 1,230 games in total.

In-Season Tournament

Starting with the 2023–24 season, the NBA announced a new in-season tournament, with each conference divided into three groups of five. Four designated regular season games count towards the group stage standings, followed by a single-elimination knockout stage. The final doesn’t count towards the regular season, but the winning team receives the new NBA Cup. 

NBA All-Star Game

Come February, the regular season is put on hold for the NBA All-Star Game, an exhibition match where fans vote for the starting lineups of each team. While the All-Star Game rosters have been conference-agnostic since 2018, the 2024 event will return to the old format pitting East players vs West. 

Playoffs

Once the regular season concludes in April, the playoffs begin. The top eight teams from each conference proceed to this stage, seeded by regular season standings regardless of division. Each round is best of seven, with losing teams knocked out. 

NBA Finals

The culmination of the playoffs, the NBA Finals bring together the two remaining teams from the playoffs in a fierce battle for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The game typically takes place in June and is one of the biggest events in the American sporting calendar. 

NBA Awards

Each season of the NBA sees a number of awards presented to players, teams, and coaches in recognition of their achievements. This includes conference and division trophies, as well as the Maurice Podoloff Trophy awarded to the team with the best regular season record. Other popular markets we feature NBA odds for include things like Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year, and Rookie of the Year among others.

Popular NBA Odds and Markets

While the NBA odds on this page are focused on individual matches throughout the season, we have plenty of other options for you at BettingOdds. Discover them below and simply click through.

• NBA Futures Odds – Get NBA odds on long-term markets like championship, conference, and division winners.
• NBA MVP Odds – Who’ll receive the prestigious and newly named Michael Jordan Trophy? It’s down to a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters to decide. 
• NBA Sixth Man of the Year Odds – The John Havlicek Trophy goes to the best performing player coming off the bench as a sub, as decided by a panel.
• NBA Defensive Player of the Year Odds – The recently renamed Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy goes to the top defensive player of the regular season. 
• NBA Coach of the Year Odds – The top coach will pick up the Red Auerbach Trophy, once again decided by a panel.
• NBA Rookie of the Year Odds – Which newbie will land the coveted Wilt Chamberlain Trophy? 
• NBA Most Improved Player Odds – Awarded to an up-and-comer whose performance has improved dramatically since the season prior, the Most Improved Player will take home the George Mikan Trophy.

NBA Live Betting

With NBA live betting odds, you’ll be able to place wagers once the game is underway. Many of the standard pre-match markets will be available as in-plays, so you can get a sense of how the teams are performing before you commit. You might also find additional markets that are only available with live betting, such as the next player to score. Of course, the odds will change as the action unfolds — getting a good price is all about timing! 

On top, some sportsbooks with NBA odds additionally provide live streams of matches, or supplementary content and commentary such as FanDuel TV. On the whole, live betting can be a thrilling and more engaging way to bet on your favorite NBA games. 

NBA Odds Frequently FAQs