Basketball Betting Options – Decide Where To Put Your Money

Basketball, particularly the National Basketball Association (NBA), is a major sports betting market with plenty of basketball betting options.

Futures betting involves wagering on long-term outcomes, i.e., NBA Finals or NBA MVP. While live betting presents an opportunity for bettors to make money on a range of in-game events, such as next basket, player props, and over/under.

The standard, most popular bets, like in most sports, are pre-game bets on the moneyline (ML), total (over/under), and against the spread (ATS).

Learn Even More About Basketball Betting Options

When looking for good-value ML, over/under, and ATS betting options, it’s best to look at the NBA betting board with no preconceived ideas. Don’t decide to make a ML bet just because you have a good feeling about it.

Look at the odds for all three betting options and see if there’s any bets that are particularly enticing. This is the basics when looking at basketball betting options. NBA betting strategies don’t have to be complicated.

There are several stats and other factors you can look up to determine how to find best-value bets. Many websites even create game day previews that might include these and other stats. Here’s a look at everything you should know before selecting an NBA bet.

Home and Away Splits – Basketball Betting Options

The easiest and most logical thing to look up is both teams’ home and away records.

The home team is usually favored if both teams are relatively equal in terms of talent and in the standings, but can be an underdog if playing against a much better team. Yet, some teams also play better on the road than others.

If a road team is the underdog, for instance, but you notice they have one of the better road records in the league then you might be able to find good value in either the ML or ATS bet. Home and away, splits, however, is just basic research. Basketball betting options can be calculated based on many theories.

Record as Favorites/Underdog

Beyond looking at the win-loss record of both teams on the court, you can actually check out what their records are as betting favorites and underdogs. This gives a good indication as to how well oddsmakers have a handle on these teams. It will also help you eliminate some basketball betting options. Sometimes the bet you DON’T make is the best play you can make.

If a team is 20-40 as a favorite, for example, there’s a good chance you can find better betting value in the underdog the next time that team is listed as the favorite.

That same team might perform better as an underdog, which indicates they play better against higher competition and have trouble beating weaker teams.

It’s worth noting, however, that oddsmakers typically have a strong record in ML favorites. As of March 27, only three teams – Utah Jazz (17-17), Orlando Magic (6-8), and Houston Rockets (2-3) – had a .500 or worse win percentage as favorites in the 2022-23 NBA season.

Basketball Betting Options – ATS Record

It’s important to know the ATS records of both teams before even considering betting the spread. Betting against the spread is one of the most popular basketball betting options.

Again, this is another indicator as to how well oddsmakers handicap the teams involved in a game. It’s possible that the worst team in the league could have the league’s best ATS record because they’re constantly being given too big of a window to cover by the bookmakers.

The Magic (32-43) had the third-best ATS record (42-32-1) in the NBA at the time of writing. Oklahoma City Thunder (37-38) had ranked first in record ATS (44-30-1). In this case, you may be able to find good betting value in games where the Thunder are being given multiple points ATS. 

ATS Home/Away Splits

For a deeper dive into ATS betting, you can also check out how each team fares ATS as the home or road team. This just adds another layer of research to your decision-making process. For instance, the Thunder were more likely to cover at home than on the road, and it’s the opposite for some teams. 

O/U Home/Away Splits

For deciding whether you want to make an over/under bet, you can also check out each team’s over/under records and their home and away splits. High-scoring teams with relatively poor defenses, naturally, are more likely to hit the over, while teams known for their defense are more likely to hit the under, depending on how well bookmakers handicap their odds.

Again, the Thunder had the highest percentage of games to hit the over as of the time of this writing. The over hit in 43 of the team’s 75 games, which is a 57.3 percent success rate. Regardless of the number for the total, you’d know that the Thunder have a 57.3 percent chance of hitting the over based on recent data. 

Recent ATS and O/U Trends

Yet, it’s not exactly enough to just look at the entire season and how well teams have fared in each betting scenario. Momentum is a real thing in sports and can determine which of the many basketball betting options to bet on.

Teams go through hot and cold stretches all the time, as do oddsmakers. This means you may be able to find value in instances where a team is playing well and outperforming the expectations of bookmakers.

Look up recent trends for the two teams in a search engine, and you should be able to find plenty of data. This is important too, as a team might have a poor ATS record, but be 4-1 ATS in their last five games or 5-0 ATS in their last five road games, etc. The same is true for betting on the over/under.

Player Injuries & Your Basketball Betting Options

While this is likely already reflected in the odds for every bet, it’s worth keeping an eye on the health of players involved on both teams. Especially if there’s a game-time decision. The absence of a star player, for instance, could shift the ML favorite from one team to the other and heavily impact the spread and total.

When looking at your basketball betting options, an injury or player rest can change the line quickly!

For additional work, you can look up the team’s record without that star player. It’s not uncommon that a team will play better and with more intensity without its top player.