National Basketball League is home to the world’s best basketball players. Athletes from various countries compete in this league and it is, therefore, the most popular basketball league in the world. Athletes not only participate but also earn a huge amount of money and stardom from the NBA.

Just like them, you can also earn money from NBA without even actually playing basketball. NBA betting is the key. You can do it easily once you understand the basic terminology.

NBA betting is fun to those who understand the basic terms associated with it. You can be one of them by only understanding – NBA odds and NBA lines.

Different types of NBA odds?

The main NBA betting odds that you need to understand:

1. Point Spread

Every NBA game has some kind of margin associated with it and that predicted margin by the bookmaker is known as the point spread. Before moving forward with the point spread let us understand two terms:

• ● Favourite: In every match, the team listed with a negative number is the favourite.
• ● Underdog: It is the opposite of Favourite that is the team listed with a positive number.

Let us understand the spread bet with an example:

In the above table, Phoenix Suns is an underdog while Orlando Magic is a favourite. It means that if you bet on Orlando Magic it must win with 3 points whereas if you bet on Suns then it must win the game or lose within 3 points.

The amount usually stays the same for both the clubs -110 or in its multiples. That simply means if you bet $110 you will receive $100 if your bet wins.

2. Moneylines

When you don’t want to get into a point spread bet then there is something straightforward for you. The Moneyline bet is simple and clear – which team will win at the end. Consider the above table again. Check for the Moneyline column. You can see that the favoured team has a negative odd whereas the underdog has a positive odd. These odds are nothing but the amount you will get if you place a $100 bet.

If you place a $100 bet on Suns and they win, then you will get a profit of $200. To win a profit of $100 while betting on Magic you have to place a bet of $250.

3. Under/Over Total

Another option for NBA betting is predicting the total score of teams and game. Over/Under is the projection of the total number of points scored by both teams. You can place a bet over or under the projected score.

If you believe that the sum of scores of both the teams will be more than the projected score then you can place a bet on ‘Over Total’ whereas if you believe the opposite that the overall score would be less than the projected score then you can place an ‘Under Total’ bet.

• ● You can also find under/over bet for separate teams where you can bet on the score of a single team rather than the total score.
• ● Moreover, there is also a type where you can bet on over/under scores of a single quarter or half.

4. Odd/Even Score

Another kind of NBA betting which is not so common on all betting platforms is Odd/Even. In this, you can bet on the number generated by the total number of points scored in a game. If you believe that the total score will be an odd number i.e., 1,3,5,… then you can place a bet on ‘Odd Score’ whereas if you believe that the total score will be an even number i.e., 2,4,6… then you can place a bet on ‘Even Score’.

5. Proposition Betting

Some platforms allow you to place a bet on the happening and non-happening of an event in near future, such bets are known as Props Betting.

Props Bets can be placed on the following:

• ● The number of assists one player will have in a game.
• ● The number of points a team will score in the first quarter.
• ● The number of points a team will score in the first quarter.

6. Future Betting: Long Term

Just like the Props betting you will deal with the happening or non-happening of an event here. But the significant difference is that now you will be dealing with the long-term future, not just a game but the whole league. All bets are for future events but Futures are just weeks and months in advance.

Look at the following examples of Future Betting:

• ● Who will be winning the NBA MVP trophy?
• ● Total Wins in a regular season by a team.
• ● Will a team make it to the playoffs?
• ● Which team will pick the first draft of the NBA?
• ● Which team will have a maximum score or rebounds or blocks in the season?

The odds for future bets are released before the season begins.

7. Parlay Bets

An option where you can place multiple bets on a single ticket. Parlay bets allows you to bundle two or more bets in a single betting slip. A parlay bet is a combination of individual bets and in order to secure a win, you have to win all of the individual bets.

“Where there is more risk, there is a greater return.” Just like the quote suggests you can win more with parlay bets yet they are the most difficult sports bets. The best thing is that if you understand every type of bet written above then Parley Bets are no big deal for you.

Types of Parlay Bets

• ● Straight Parlay Bets
  
  

  When anyone terms Parlay Bet then it is simply a straight parley bet. In which you will choose a combination of bets and win after the successful completion of every bet. The money that you can win with parlay bets is huge and easy to understand.

  Let’s understand it with the help of a chart:

  Number of Bets	Parlay Odds	Money Bet	Winning Amount
  2	2.64/1	$100	$264.00
  3	6/1	$100	$600.00
  4	12.28/1	$100	$1228.00
  5	23.45/1	$100	$2345.00

  
  

  The odds can be slightly different on different platforms but the calculation will be the same.

  For example, you can bet on Moneyline from one game, totals from another and maybe on spreads on other game. The most important thing to notice here is that each condition must be met for a win. If you win on one/two out of the three bets only then it will be considered as a loss only.

• ● Progressive Parlays
  
  

  A progressive parlay bet is different from a regular parlay. In this kind of bet, you have the liberty to lose some of the bets of your bundle. There are a specific set of rules of every platform regarding the same.

  We can understand progressive parlay bets simply by undertaking this example, If you want to fill out a progressive parlay of 7 bets. Let’s assume that you are making a progressive parlay bet on a platform that requires at least 3 success out of 7. It simply means that in your progressive parlay of 7 bets, if you win 3 bets then your payout will increase with each successive bet win. Whereas, if you fail to win at least 3 out of 7 then it will be considered as a loss and you will lose all your betting amount.

• ● Multi-Chance Parlay
  
  

  Multi-Chance parlay is the same as the progressive parlay but the major difference here is that the winning amount will not increase with the successive wins. You can understand with this fact that in multi-chance parlay the incentives are less than the progressive parlay.