Popular Basketball Betting Markets
Regardless of the league or special basketball event that you are placing wagers on, there will almost always be a range of betting types and special betting markets such as;
- Most Points – Bet on which player or team will score the most points.
- Points Spread – is also an extremely popular way of enjoying basketball betting. For example, this involves giving one side a head start (+3.5) or a handicap (-3.5).
- Moneyline – A straight out win or loss bet at set odds.
- Triple/Double – A triple double doesn’t happen every game but you can wager on whether a player can achieve the rare feat.
- Over/Under – Wager on whether the combined point totals of the two teams is over or under the number offered by the sportsbook.
- Points per quarter – Bettors can either make this bet by team, or a combined effort of the two teams
- First Points – Place a wager on which player will score the first basket of the game.
- Parlay – An accumulated number of bets taken over a set series of games, usually at great odds!
Most Popular Leagues/Tournaments/ Events to Bet On
There are several events throughout the calendar year that are extremely popular occasions for gamblers to bet on, and they usually come with a range of additional markets, props and side bets;
- NBA regular season – 82 matches per team for each of the 30 NBA teams, per regular season of the best basketball betting
- WNBA – Place wagers on the best regular season professional Women’s team competition being played for in the World today, America’s own WNBA.
- College Basketball (Men’s & Women’s) – the best in NCAA Basketball between the best college teams in the U.S including the season’s culmination, the iconic March Madness tournament decided in Final Four format is an annual favorite of online sports betting aficionados.
- NBA Draft Lottery– The Draft lottery is based on the previous seasons record, (i.e. the worse a team’s record, the better their odds are of winning a high draft pick). Betting on the draft is an exciting annual tradition.
- NBA All Star Game– The NBA’s biggest stars teaming up and playing against each other in a ‘West vs East’ exhibition match. Usually there’s little defense, so markets like an over/under or which players will score 30+ points are fun ways to win a few bucks.
- NBA Play-in - The play-in tournament determines the final 2 teams from each conference (East & West) out of the four that finished in 7-10 places at the end of the regular season.
- NBA Playoffs & NBA Finals– The NBA playoffs are like a mini season in itself, with 8 teams in each conference playing for the right to play in NBA Finals. There are three rounds in the NBA playoffs with each round comprising a best of 7 series, making for 8 weeks of exhilarating online wagering.
Most Popular International Competitions to Bet On
- FIBA World Championships & Olympics – Bet on the best international teams (men’s and women’s) battling it out for national pride and the Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.
- Euroleague – The best club teams in Europe battle it out for the title of the continent’s best club team. The Euroleague title is decided by a ‘March Madness’ style Final Four format each year.
- Australian NBL – Bet on the best potential NBA talent playing in the world’s second strongest league before they graduate and enter the NBA draft. Will their performance get them drafted to a better franchise in higher round? Place your wagers!
How to bet / Best betting strategies - what to take into consideration?
If you’re like most online basketball bettors, you’re always trying to get ahead of the sportsbooks and pick an unlikely winner at crazy, good odds.
However, with so many games and betting markets available, it’s always good to try and get the edge on the sportsbooks wherever and whenever possible.
It means doing a little homework. At USALegalBetting, we highly recommend checking out;
- Game day tips that are usually available through the best unbiased and independent basketball betting review sites.
- Check out how the teams playing have been trending over the past 10 games and how have they done against the spread?
- How are both teams affected by player injuries or player trades?
- Is there any history of a grudge or extreme rivalry between the two teams? Upsets abound when underdog teams are highly motivated.
Picking winners is more complex than examining league standings or power rankings and simply betting on the team with a better record.
