NBA Betting & Odds

Welcome to NBA betting at BoyleSports. The action under the hoops is always hot throughout the Regular Season, into the Playoffs and of course the NBA Finals. At BoyleSports you can place futures bets on the NBA, back your chosen team with a money line bet, and even bet In-Play as the players battle it out on the court.  

Join BoyleSports and check out our latest NBA odds. Then place your stake on the NBA.  

How do Odds Work for NBA betting?  

Decimal odds – also called American odds – are the most common format for basketball betting. Take the example of the LA Lakers against the Boston Celtics. If the Lakers are listed at -180, you must bet $180 to win $100. If their opponent, the Boston Celtics, are +160, a successful $100 bet would win you $160. 

The team with the minus odds is the favourite, with the negative number showing that they’re expected to win and the amount you risk to win $100. The underdog has the positive number, and illustrates the amount you win for every $100 bet.  

At BoyleSports, you’ll also see our basketball odds as fractional odds. The easiest way to think of fractional odds is that the lower the odds, the more likely an event is to happen. So if you have low odds on the LA Lakers beating the Boston Celtics – say 4/1 – it means it’s more likely to occur. In this case you have a one in five chance of your bet coming in.  

Popular NBA Betting Types  

Top NBA bets include:  

1. Futures Betting: This is a long-term basketball bet. Examples of futures bets include outright betting on the team to win the NBA Finals and claim the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the season. You can also bet on the winners of the Eastern and Western Conference Championship series, as well as wager on the player to be crowned MVP in either the Regular Season or the NBA Finals.  

2. Money line betting: A simple bet on a specific team to win an NBA game. Say the Brooklyn Nets to beat the New York Knicks.  

3. Wire to wire: A bet on a team to be winning at the end of each quarter of a basketball game – they need to be on top at the end of all four quarters for your bet to come in.  

4. Double result: This is basically two bets: one on the score at half-time and one on the score at full-time. Both bets need to come in for your overall bet to be a winner.  

5. To score 20+ points: You back a certain player – like Steph Curry – to score 20+ points in an NBA game.  

6. Parlay bets: This combines multiple bets (legs) into one wager for a higher payout. For example, the Golden State Warriors to win, the Brooklyn Nets to cover the spread, and the Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns game to go over the total points. All legs need to be successful for your bet to come in.  

7. Proposition bets (player props): These are bets on the statistical performance of players. For example, LeBron James's total points, whether Steph Curry will make over 4.5 three-pointers, or Nikola Jokic's total rebounds + assists. 

8. Live betting (In-Play): With live basketball betting, you bet live during a game. The odds continually fluctuate based on the action on the court after tip-off. Thigs like a team going on a 10-0 scoring run or a star player getting into foul trouble will impact the live odds.  

How do I Bet on the NBA with BoyleSports  

It’s simple to bet on the NBA with BoyleSports.  

1. Navigate to the basketball section on our secure betting platform and select NBA from the list of competitions. 

2. Select your bet type, including outright bets (like NBA Finals winner) or game betting markets.  

3. Browse the available markets and click the odds to add a selection to your bet slip. 

4. Enter your stake, check your potential winnings, and confirm the bet. 

Tips for NBA Betting  

When it comes to betting on the NBA it helps to:  

1. Focus on player proposition bets: Monitor markets for superstar players like Luka Dončić or Jayson Tatum, as their individual performance is critical to their team. 

2. Consider team schedules: With so many games played and distances travelled, fatigue can impact players. Especially when it comes to the second night of a back-to-back or at the end of a long road trip.  

3. Check injury reports: A star player missing out through injury can dramatically impact the result of an NBA encounter.  

4. Pace of play: If you’re betting on the Total Points market consider how playing styles around pace of play can impact points. Two fast-paced teams going head-to-head means plenty of points on the board, while a slower paced team against a fast paced team can reduce the potential points scored.  

Check out our BoyleSports blog for in-depth NBA betting tips throughout the season and in the lead-up to the biggest games.  

What are the Latest Odds on the NBA?  

At BoyleSports, you’ll always find the latest NBA odds for all the games in the Regular Season, the playoffs and the NBA Finals.  

NBA odds can change in a second, sometimes with little to no notice at all. Before a specific match-up, the odds will be impacted by the form of the teams, injuries, form of star players, and more. Betting trends also have an impact too – if more people back a team, the odds can reduce.  

And once an NBA game begins, the live In-Play odds change in line with the action on the court. And as well all know, the ebb and flow of a basketball game can change on a dime – with a big three-pointer, a solid defence or a strong quarter.  

Understanding the NBA Season  

The NBA season is split into the Regular Season, the NBA Cup, the NBA Play-In Tournament, the Playoffs and the NBA Finals. It works like this:  

The NBA Regular Season 

The regular NBA season runs from October to the middle of April of the following year. Each team plays 82 games in the regular season (that’s a huge total of 1,230 matches overall). Top events to bet on include the season openers and the famed matches between the biggest rivals, including the Lakers against the Celtics and the Heat versus the Knicks.  

The NBA Cup 

This is a recent addition to the NBA schedule, as an in-season tournament.  

All 30 teams are involved in the NBA Cup, with four regular season games in November used to select the top-performing eight teams (4 from each conference). A quarter final and semi final is then played, with matches counting as regular season games. The NBA Cup final/championship game is played in Las Vegas in December, and doesn’t count as a regular season match. 

The NBA Play-In tournament 

At the end of the regular season, teams that finished 7th to 10th in their conference (four teams from each conference, eight teams in total), play in a post-regular season tournament called the NBA play-in tournament.  

The play-in tournament has three rounds and picks two teams from each conference to progress to the playoffs. They secure the final two playoff spots in each conference (positions 7 and 8).  

The NBA Playoffs 

At the end of the regular season, eight teams from each conference progress to the playoffs – the top six teams from each conference do so automatically, whilst the 7th and 8th seeded teams are chosen via the NBA play-in tournament.  

The playoffs begin in April, with three rounds played in both conferences. Each game in each round is a best-of-seven series, with the first team reaching four wins progressing to the next round, and the loser eliminated. The NBA doesn’t have byes in the playoffs like some American sports. That means that all eight teams in each conference participate in the first playoff round.  

The final round in the conference playoffs sees two teams face off in either the Eastern or Western Conference Championship series. The winner of each series progresses to the NBA Finals.  

The NBA Finals 

The NBA Finals is played each year in late May/June. The top side from each conference play in another best-of-seven series, with the winning side claiming the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. 

Bet on the NBA at BoyleSports  

Sign in to Boylesports or log-in to your account to bet on the NBA with us. We’ve got futures betting, NBA match betting and live In-Play betting on every game in the NBA.  

BoyleSports is licensed and regulated by The UK Gambling Commission, and we always promote Responsible Gambling to all our players.  

Frequently Asked Questions  

What is NBA betting?  

NBA betting involves placing bets on the NBA. We have a whole host of NBA betting markets at BoyleSports, including futures betting on the winner of the NBA Finals, money line NBA betting and live In-Play betting on the top NBA encounters.  

How do NBA betting odds work?  

At BoyleSports, you’ll see our NBA odds written as fractional odds. Using the example of the New York Knicks to beat the Charlotte Hornets at 4/1, this means you have a 20% chance of a successful bet. Wagering £10 on the Knicks would pay out 4x your stake, so £40. You also get your original £10 stake back.  

What is NBA handicap betting?  

With NBA handicap betting, the favourite is given a virtual disadvantage and the underdog a virtual advantage. If the favourite begins the game at -5.5, they need to win the game by at least six clear points to win the bet.