Basketball Betting Markets

Basketball, a sport that has surged in popularity among bettors in recent years offers many opportunities to turn a profit. Whether it’s the NBA or the Euroleague, elite competitions are a goldmine for the savvy bettor.

Understanding the various Βasketball betting markets, the different wagering options, and, most importantly, the strategic timing of your investments can significantly enhance your chances of success.

The primary advice is to follow our guides as an explainer if you are a newbie bettor or a good resource if you have rich experience. In both cases, you will boost your knowledge by understanding all the options and learning what to bet or avoid in Βasketball betting.

Basketball Betting Markets For Pre-Match & Live Bets

The fast-paced nature of the sport allows you to place a wide range of bets, from Moneylines and Handicaps to Props, like players’ total points and assists. Do you want to learn how to bet on Basketball and win?

Let’s take an example from the NBA Final between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics. Besides the main options (e.g., Winner, Handicap, Total Points), you can find Players’ and Teams’ Specials, Quarter and Half markets.

Furthermore, more risky picks, like the way of the first and last points, which team will win the jump ball, and whether the game will end with a winning buzzer-beater, improve the offering.

Our Basketball betting markets explained section will show you how to place winning pre-match and live bets and avoid the common mistakes a bettor makes.

Main Basketball Betting Markets Explained

Before you build your Basketball betting strategy, it’s critical to understand how to use all the basic types of bets. Bookmakers offer numerous options on Ηandicaps and Τotals alongside the most straightforward Μoneyline 2-way and 3-way Βasketball betting markets. These are the most popular bets on a quarter, half-time, and regular duration.

Moneyline

So, what is Moneyline when it comes to Basketball? It’s the most straightforward market, compared to other options like the Any Team To Lead By 22, and you just have to predict the winner of the game.

The odds for each opponent are affected by their strength, current form, and injury reports. It’s common to deal with lower odds on the favoured team and higher prices on the underdog.

For example, if you back JL Bourg beating Besiktas BC at home, you can bet on 1.43 (43/100) odds while the Turkish side pays 2.90 (19/10). These prices refer to the final result, including overtime.

You can also bet on the final result after the regular time only, where the draw creates a 3-way Moneyline market. The game’s odds are now adjusted: JL Bourg to Win at 1.47 (47/100), Draw at 10.75 (39/4), and Besiktas BC to Win at 3.10 (21/10).

Handicapping

A Handicap or Spread is a 2-way market in which a virtual advantage is added to the underdog. If the two teams are more or less equal, the Handicap will be low, like 0,5 or 1,5 points.

If there is a difference in quality, motivation, or form, you will see a higher Spead imposed on the favourite, like 15,5 points. The strongest team has to win with 16 points or more to confirm the winning odds.

The main advantage of Basketball handicap betting is the equal odds in most cases. However, the disadvantage is the probability of the favourite team winning without overwhelming the bookie’s Ηandicap.

Most bookmakers offer various alternatives for one of the primary Basketball betting markets. You can have the option to back a team’s win on -10,5 points at 1.90 odds; you can also choose a more minor of -5,5 points at 1.50 odds. On the flip side, there’s the option to bet on the same team by risking a higher -15,5 at 2.40 odds.

Totals

Basketball betting on the total points, rebounds, or assists for teams and players gives you plenty of options. All the above stats create 2-way markets.

Bookies set specific points (e.g., 153,5), and you must predict whether the number will be Over or Under the line. In most cases, the odds are equal for each leg.

Note that if you choose an alternative line, that decision will affect the prices. Let’s say the main line on totals for an NBA game stands at 220,5 points.

The odds for both Over and Under are 1.90 (9/10). If you choose the 209,5 points handicap, the odds you will get are 1,55 (11/20) if you back the Over and 2,25 (5/4) for the Under bet.

Secondary Basketball Betting Markets

After choosing a league and game, you must clearly know what you want to bet on. Other factors, such as the number of possible outcomes, affect the odds of secondary Basketball betting markets. Let’s see which of the most popular alternatives are.

Points Range

So, you don’t want to delve deeper into Any Team To Lead By 17 in Basketball meaning, preferring more accessible markets.

Let’s say you intend to place a bet on the winning difference of the team you back; there are specific point margins you can choose among the best bookies for Basketball. Four main points’ ranges exist:

• 1
  3-way: You have three options: Team A wins by X+, Neither Team wins by X+, and Team B wins by X+, where X is the points’ digit that the bookie sets.
• 2
  7-way: This is an extended option with seven possible winning margins: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30, and 31+. The favourite you back must cover the selected point range.
• 3
  12-way: In that point-range market, you can choose among twelve options, six for Team A and B: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, and 26+.
• 4
  14-way: This is the most challenging point range market in Basketball because the winning margins are too tight. You can choose among fourteen options, seven for Team A and Team B: 1-2, 3-6, 7-9, 10-13, 14-16, 17-20, 21+.

Similar Basketball betting markets exist for points scored, where you can choose from eleven possible margins depending on the league.

In most cases, for the NBA games, these options are <151, 151-160, 161-170, 171-180, 181-190, 191-200, 201-210, 211-220, 221-230, 231-240, 241+.

Any Team To Lead By 22 Points

It’s quite a challenging market, but it’s becoming more popular. You should accurately predict which team will lead by 22 points at any given time during a game, regardless of the final score.

For example, if you want to wager on the Baskonia vs Alba Berling Euroleague clash, you can find, among other options, the Any Team To Lead By 22 Points market. If you believe Baskonia will achieve the point difference during the game, you can back the option at high prices.

Race to X Points

The Race to 10/20/30 Points market allows you to bet on the team that will reach 10, 20, or 30 points in the game. A profitable way to predict which teams can start better than the other is to delve deeper into specific stats categories.

You can find how many points a team scores or allows in the first quarter, risking on underdogs that can make a temporary lead.

The Race to X Points Basketball betting market doesn’t connect with the final winner, and there’s no time limitation. Your bet wins if you back the Los Angeles Lakers to reach the 30 points first against the Los Angeles Clippers and take a 31-28 lead in the 2nd quarter.

Odd/Even Points

Betting on points offers plenty of alternatives. There’s no need to fully understand the Any Team To Lead By 17 in Basketball meaning.

You must predict whether the sum of the total points will add up to an odd or even number. That market considers the total points of either both teams or those of a single team. Usually, the odds are equal at Odd/Even bets and will only move as the match ends.

The final result depends on 2-pointers, 3-pointers, and free throws, so it’s not easy to bet on Odd/Even total points using stats.

Half-Time/Full-Time Result

This online basketball betting market is commonly associated with Football, where the odds are usually higher. If you want to augment the prices of the team you back, you can bet to win from half-time through the match ends.

Suppose you expect a dominant game for the favourite against the underdog. You can back your team from half-time and receive more enormous odds. For instance, the Moneyline odds for Boston to beat Dallas on the road are 1.55 (11/20).

If the Boston Celtics win from half-time, the odds will be 1.88 (9/10). Pay attention to the fact that there can be three possible outcomes at half-time (i.e., Team A, Draw, Team B) and full-time (i.e., 40 or 48-minute regular time).

Quarter Bets

Almost all the bookies offer Total Points odds on each period. For example, you can predict the total points of each quarter and pick the winning side, either with or without a Handicap.

There’s also a specific option about the highest-scoring period, which can offer high prices, although risky. Take a deeper look at the 3rd-period markets where there’s a lot of value in Basketball betting.

For more experienced bettors who can apply a live betting Basketball strategy, the third period often shows the final winner.

Prop Bets

Proposition bets are related only to teams’ and athletes’ stats. The most popular Props refer to Over/Under, Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, and Blocks for teams or individuals.

You can also find Basketball betting markets for 3-pointers, double-doubles, or triple-doubles. A simple example comes from a star player's total points.

Let’s say Jayson Tatum scores 42 points in an NBA game with an individual line of 38,5 points; the over wins.

Futures

Besides the Basketball betting markets on specific games, you can also find longer-term options. There’s a way to predict the winner of an elite tournament, like the NBA, or the Champions of a European domestic league, such as the Spanish ACB.

Every bettor can place a Future before a league/tournament starts, throughout the regular season, or even during the playoffs. Outrights create an extensive range of Basketball bets; you can predict the first scorer of a top tournament, such as the Olympic Games or the Euroleague.

Also, most bookies release odds for the MVP, the player with the most assists, rebounds, or blocks, and the teams that will take 2nd or 3rd place or be relegated.

Which leagues offer the most basketball markets

Plenty of factors influence each league’s popularity and profitability. Elite tournaments, like the NBA and Euroleague, are undoubtedly more competitive than some European domestic leagues.

In every case, the fixtures are scheduled differently. The format is also unique, so you should consider other variables depending on where you want to invest money. So, let’s delve deeper into the three most familiar leagues for top Basketball betting markets, where you can find the highest odds.

NBA: This league has numerous star athletes, so you can adjust your bets based on their performance. Our NBA betting guide suggests analyzing these players’ offensive and defensive stats to measure their ability in all the main statistical categories. You can then create archetypes for props on points, rebounds, steals, blocks, etc.

Euroleague: The best teams in Europe eye the most valuable trophy in continental Basketball. Due to several participants from Spain, Turkey, and Greece, there are plenty of rivalries, which means tight games where handicapping seems a profitable option.

Our betting guide indicates how to monitor the movement of the lines and the odds changes among the Euroleague bookmakers, suggesting when is the perfect time to bet.

EuroCup: The second tier of European Βasketball in one of the best leagues in the world to bet on Τotals. Providing a high average number of points for each game, above 160 specifically, offers you the option to bet on Over for fixtures and teams separately. Our section for EuroCup Basketball predictions analyzes all the types of bets you can use to make money.

Best Bookmakers for Basketball Betting