In this article, we look at basketball betting tips for this beautiful game, the associated markets, the leagues where one can get the highest value, and applicable betting strategies for one to maximize their profit potential.
Basketball was invented in the US in 1891, and in the present-day context, it ranks among the top 10 most popular sports games worldwide and South Africa is no exception! The game is quite fast-paced and scintillating with many twists and turns along the way. This no doubt makes it more interesting for punters who are particularly in love with this game as it may present some opportunities of placing high value bets.
Best Basketball Leagues to Bet on
As with any other sport where bets are placed, a player needs to carefully select the leagues, and must therefore know a lot of information concerning that league if they would want to increase their chances of winning. We’ve listed a few of the most consistent basketball league to bet on below;
NBA Betting
Founded in 1949, the NBA is by far the most popular league of basketball to place bets on, with all the big names in basketball playing in this league. Important to note is that this league runs from October to June when the final playoffs are conducted to establish the overall winner of the league. Between then, there is a mouthful of action with matches coming think and fast almost every day.
Careful consideration and planning should be done when placing bets as this choice may result in poor selection of bets. For fans of live betting, they will unfortunately, have to set their alarms to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to follow the live game action.
The league is comprised of a total of 30 teams (29 from the USA and 1 from Canada) which are broadly divided into two – the Eastern and the Western Conferences due to geographical location.
Euroleague Basketball Betting
This is a basketball league consisting of the top teams from the local European leagues, and to some extent can be viewed as a cousin to the Champions League in football. There is a total of 16 teams that battle it out, with matches being played during the week to accommodate for local weekend fixtures.
The teams are from Europe’s best leagues and in terms of entertainment value and betting potential, it only comes second after the NBA league. The league runs from October to April of each year.
Liga ACB Betting
This is the Spanish league of basketball, and consists of a total of 17 teams battling it between the period of October to May. The league is also known for producing some players who may as well end up in the NBA and is often considered the best league in Europe.
Basketball Betting Tips to Succeed
There are several factors punters need to take into account when planning their basketball bets, theses vary from odds to bankroll management and more. We’ll be discussing these in more detail below, including some of the best markets for punters to place their bets on.
Basketball Betting Markets
Just like soccer, basketball also has several betting markets that are quite popular with punters. These include the following:
- Money line – In this bet, players make a prediction on who is ultimately going to in the match, and normally includes any match overtime unless particularly stated in the bookie rules. This is a very simple bet, but care should be taken when placing this bet as favorite teams normally have low odds when playing underdogs. Money line bets can also be placed in each quarter and this can be a value bet for some teams that are strong in some quarters.
- Handicap/spread markets – In this market, the bookies seek to equalize the teams, and the favorite team is normally given negative spreads. This proves to be a value bet especially when one intends to place bets on unevenly matched teams.
- Totals/Overs/Unders – Another popular market is to place bets on over or under on totals for the match, the half or for the quarter. The punter places a bet on the totals as over or under a certain range, and is quite an attractive market especially in high scoring matches such as those in the NBA and the CBA.
- Player Props – This is a relatively new market that involves placing bets on either the total points scored by a player, the number of rebounds, assists or blocks, or a combination of any of the above. Good news is some bookies such as Sportingbet in South Africa also now offer this market which often yields high results for players such as Russel Westbrook, Lebron James, and Giannis Antenkoumpu depending on their opponents.
- Outrights/futures – another market where one can place bets on is the futures or outright markets in which one can predict the outright championship winner, conference or division winner, or the MVP player in the case of the NBA league. Take note though that these bets take long to be settled depending on when they were settled as these outcomes mostly become certain towards the end of the season.
Some international bookies also now offer the option of building a bet by making use of various markets to come up with higher odds for a single match. We find this to provide higher value betting odds.
Basketball Betting Strategies
As with any other sport, a punter must apply some set of strategies if they want to realise any meaningful chances of making a win. The strategies that may be employed include the following
- Bankroll management – The first important step is to know how to manage one’s bankroll, and therefore a staking plan for use during placing bets. Under no circumstance should one place any lump bets, and neither should they increase their stakes to chases some losses. Be careful, even the most obvious popular bet may result in a very big upset!
- Research – the other important step is to follow the incoming team news as these are very important in giving a guideline on the match outcome. Care should be taken to find out about injuries, suspensions, transfer news, number of fixtures, the type of referee or any other significant part of the news that may have a significant impact on the game.A good example is the impact of the absence of the Splash Brothers in Golden State Warriors, which was also coupled by the departure of Kevin Durant. During the research phase, one should analyse important statistics such as points for/against, shooting percentage, rebounds, points per possession and player performance.
- Select Overs/Under markets, and player props bets – There is more value when placing bets on overs and under bets. For high scoring matches, one can select a lower alternative total that has lower odds and better chances of winning.
- Live betting – Where possible, mostly live bets should be placed as one has an opportunity to establish the game flow and the applicable strategies. This allows one to analyse the statistics such as the conversion of free-throws, point shooting, and others to establish what bet can be placed. Unfortunately for the NBA, one must wake up early to place bets.
- Open multiple accounts with bookies- The markets provided by some bookmakers vary from bookie to bookie, and at times one must shop around to get the bookie offering the desired market as favourable odds. It is recommended to have 2 or 3 accounts that can be utilised for this purpose.
Where to Bet on Basketball
There are several South African bookmakers who offers live basketball betting, as well as the usual prematch odds. We recommend the following bookmakers because they have the best markets, odds and payment options in South Africa.
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You can view our comprehensive list of betting sites if non of the above bookies meet your needs.
Bet on Basketball Today
Basketball is a very interesting match for placing bets on, with a sizable number of market options for punters to enjoy. Several leagues across the world offer high-value markets and players can make use of these to increase the chances of making profit.
Of all these, the NBA still proves to be very popular and the most entertaining. Punters can place bets on a various number of markets that suit their risk appetite including options such as moneyline, over/under, player props and handicaps.
A few strategies such as managing the bankroll, live betting, thorough research and betting on selected markets can increase the chances of ultimately making a profit whilst having fun in this game. We hope you learnt more about how to be successful when betting on basketball, if you’d like to know more about sports betting please visit the Best Sports Betting homepage.