Basketball is one of the world’s most popular and entertaining sports. The chief league of the sport is the NBA.
Just like in many other sports, in basketball there are unique kinds of bets that you can place that relate to the way the game is played.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at how the NBA works, before taking a look at the different types of basketball bets that you can place, as well as giving you some tips on getting bonuses and deals.
How Does The NBA Work?
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the elite basketball league in the US. It’s made up of 30 teams that are split evenly by geographic location – East and West conferences.
Each season, the teams battle it out to qualify for the playoffs. The top 8 teams in each conference qualify.
The playoffs see the format shift to a knockout system, with the top 8 teams battling it out to get to the conference finals. The winner of each conference final qualifies for the NBA Finals.
In the 2022 season, the Golden State Warriors qualified from the Western Conference, and the Boston Celtics qualified from the Eastern.
The Best Types Of Basketball Bets
There are many types of bets that you can place when it comes to basketball. Some are simple and straightforward, others are more tailored to the sport.
Below, we’ll also take a look at some bonuses and potential free bet offers to help you pursue a more risk free bet strategy.
Accumulators
A popular type of bet in basketball is the accumulator. The idea behind this is simple – you bet on the outcome of a number of matches. To win, you have to have called all of them correctly.
So for example, you may bet that Boston, the Detroit Pistons, and the New Orleans Pelicans will all win away from home. If that outcome materializes, you win your bet.
Accumulators can have as few as two teams, with no maximum number. However, the more teams you back, the harder it is to call. That does mean however, that the odds are greater.
Some betting sites also allow you to cash out of your accumulator bets. So, if you’ve called all but one game right and that match is still to play, you may find that you’ll receive a good cash-out offer. It wouldn’t be close to what you’d get if you won, but it’s a less risky approach to take.
Win/Lose
Win/lose bets are the simplest ones you can place in basketball. It’s simply making a choice between two teams, of who will be victorious.
Sometimes, the odds for win/lose bets might not be great, especially if an in-form or top team is playing at home.
Handicaps
In basketball, it’s possible to place a handicap bet, which relates to the number of points a team finishes with.
Handicap bets can be riskier, but they bring higher odds. A bet of this kind may come in the form of a positive or negative figure, for example, +1.5 or -4.5. If you backed a team to win with -4.5, this simply means that you have to deduct their final score by 4.5.
So, if you backed the Milwaukee Bucks to win with a -4.5 handicap and they beat the Atlanta Hawks 128-126, you’d lose your bet. So essentially, you’re betting on the Bucks to win by a margin greater than 4.5.
Welcome Bonuses, Enhanced Odds, And Special Offers
When it comes to betting on any sport, you should try to take advantage of every offer and bonus available to you.
Failing to do so could see you miss out on opportunities that you may only get once.
For example, many betting sites offer to match your first bet or first deposit up to $2,000. This means that if you place your first bet on the Brooklyn Nets to beat the Houston Rockets with a stake of $500, the betting site will match it, meaning your stake is actually $1,000. If you win, you get to keep all of the winnings.
Most betting sites only make these types of bets available to new players, and they can usually only be cashed in once.
Some sportsbooks also offer more regular deals and bonuses, like enhanced odds. With so much competition between betting sites, many of them frequently boost their odds, especially for big games like the NBA Finals.