Your Guide to NBA Prop Betting

If you want to prepare for the upcoming NBA season for betting purposes, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to learn about NBA prop betting.

What Are NBA Prop Bets?

Prop bets differ from other betting forms offered in the United States sports betting sector. Most bets focus on a sporting event’s outcome.

In contrast, prop betting focuses on events that happen during a game. It offers a unique style of betting.

NBA prop bets were once a small market but have grown thanks to the popularity of the betting method.

NBA Prop Betting Options

Individual sportsbooks offer different NBA prop betting options. There are betting standards in most sportsbooks. Some prop bets are added randomly depending on the game.

Prop bets are great wagers to consider if you have free NBA picks.

These are some of the popular NBA prop betting markets you will find in most sportsbooks:

NBA Draft Props

Before the NBA season begins, the NBA draft takes place. This year, the draft took place on June 23, 2022.

The NBA draft is a great time to make a prop betting wager. Although this event has passed, we will discuss some of the common prop betting options on this night for future use.

All options for the NBA draft are considered prop bets. You might see these options on sportsbooks:

• Who will be the first player drafted overall?
• Which conference will have the most first-round picks?
• Will the first player drafted be an international prospect or from the United States?

The 2023 NBA draft class is loaded with talent. It’s never too early to start researching prop bets for the next draft.

Team Prop Bets

Team prop bets are similar to player prop bets which we will get into later in this guide.

Sportbooks put teams against each other to come up with a prop bet. These are some examples of team prop bets you might see:

• Will the Dallas Mavericks lead wire-to-wire?
• Will the Chicago Bulls or the Detroit Pistons have more dunks in the game?
• Will there be over/under 1.5 technical fouls for the Golden State Warriors?

Wire-to-wire refers to maintaining the lead throughout the game. This and other sports betting terms are often used in prop bets.

Full-Season Proposition Bets

Full-season prop bets are newer. In traditional sports betting, futures bets are similar to full-season prop bets.

Most of these bets lock when the regular season begins. The final results of these bets aren’t revealed until the end of the regular season. There is a lot of patience required for making this type of bet.

These are potential examples of a full-season NBA prop bet:

• Will a center win the NBA MVP Award?
• Over/Under 1.5 sub-.500 teams that make it to the NBA playoffs
• Will any NBA team win at least 70 games in the regular season?

The regular NBA 2022-23 season is scheduled to begin on October 18, 2022, and end on April 9, 2023. If you want to make a full-season prop bet, you have a few months to do so!

NBA All-Star Game Weekend Prop Bets

NBA All-Star weekend is full of festivities that sportsbooks have taken note of. The weekend provides many opportunities for sports bettors to make money.

The All-Star game is a big draw, but you can also bet on the Three-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Content.

There is a long list of NBA prop betting options to choose from. Here are some that you could see:

• Who will win the MVP Award for the NBA All-Star Game?
• Which participant will win the Slam Dunk Contest?
• Over/Under 28.5 points as the highest score in the three-point contest

The 2023 NBA All-Star Game is scheduled to be played on February 19, 2023, in Salt Lake City.

Player Prop Bets

By far the most common type of NBA prop betting is NBA player props. These individual prop bets are wagers placed on a certain statistic for an NBA player.

NBA player prop betting options are vast in any sportsbook. The best players are often featured in prop bets, but you can find options for bench players as well.

The most popular NBA player prop bets are:

• Points scored
• Rebounds
• Assists
• Blocks
• Steals
• Combination

We’ll go into detail about each of them now.

Points Scored

Betting on how many points a player will score is popular with prop betting. NBA player prop bets can be over/unders on how many points a player will score.

For example, if you were to bet on LeBron James, his game line might look something like this:

• Over 29.5 points
• Under 29.5 points

Bettors select whether or not LeBron James will score a higher or lower point total than the number provided.

If James scores at least 30 points, bettors who took the over win. If he scores under 30 points, the under wins.

Here is the example from my NBA betting model:

Rebounds

Similar to points, you can bet on how many rebounds a player will get. These are combined offensive and defensive rebounds for the player in question.

Let’s use Giannis Antetokounmpo as an example. His rebound line could look something like this:

• Over 9.5 rebounds
• Under 9.5 rebounds

During a game, if Antetokounmpo has 10 rebounds, the over wins. The under wins if he has less than 10 rebounds in that game.

Assists

If you are catching onto the trend here, you might have an idea of how assist prop betting works. Player assists are popular NBA player prop bets, especially for point guards.

Luka Dončić averaged 8.7 assists last season so his assists line could look something like this:

• Over 8.5 assists
• Under 8.5 assists

Dončić would need nine assists for the over to win or less than nine assists for the under to cash out.

Blocks

Blocks are trickier to bet on unless you are betting on a center. Centers are the safest prop bet for blocks. Positionless forwards can also be thrown into the mix.

However, if you are betting on a guard to hit an over in blocks, you are making a risky wager.

Centers like Rudy Gobert are commonly used in block prop bets. These over/unders are generally smaller so you might come across wagers like this:

• Over 2.5 blocks
• Under 2.5 blocks

Gobert needs three blocks in the game for the over to hit and less than three blocks for the under to win.

Steals

Guards are used in prop bets that involve steals. This over/under bets on how many steals a player gets during a game.

Like guards aren’t best for blocks, forwards and centers aren’t smart bets for steals.

Combination

There are prop bets that combine the aforementioned props. The bet will involve a player and an over/under of a combined number of points/rebounds/assists.

Nikola Jokić’s combination line could look something like this:

• Over 40.5 combined points/rebounds/assists
• Under 40.5 combined points/rebounds/assists

Jokić would need a combined number of points, rebounds, and assists of over 40 to hit the over. The combination sum would need to be under 40 for the under to win.

Combination prop bets don’t always have to be points/rebounds/assists. You’ll find different combinations of the props, such as:

• Points/rebounds
• Rebounds/assists
• Points/steals
• Rebounds/blocks

The combinations are vast and vary by the sportsbook that you choose.

Fun Prop Bets

Fun prop bets encourage non-sports fans to bet on the NBA. This type of prop bet doesn’t require knowledge of the NBA market. Instead, these wagers focus on events that happen off of the court.

These are examples of fun prop bets you might come across:

• Will a certain celebrity be sitting courtside for this NBA game?
• Will the NBA Championship coach have Gatorade poured on his head?
• Will there be a Bud Light commercial during the first quarter?

Even if you do make skill prop bets, fun prop bets are light-hearted options that make sports betting even more enjoyable.

NBA Prop Betting Tips

Having knowledge of the NBA market will provide you with a better chance of winning prop betting wagers. Before you start making prop bets, it’s important to look at some tips and strategies even if you follow the NBA religiously.

First, consider load management. Load management can have a huge impact on NBA prop betting. This term refers to resting start players in an effort to keep them healthy for the postseason.

Teams generally sit players when they are playing an easy-to-beat team, or if their record no longer matters.

When top players sit out, the betting options will change. If you bet on a player that doesn’t end up playing, some sportsbooks will refund your money.

Additionally, when making player props for NBA, wager on the biggest stars. These are the players that see the most time on the court and will have the most information available about their game.

Reserve players are riskier bets so always research trends when making a decision.

You can build a simple basketball predictions betting model through this sports betting masterclass to benefit your strategy.

Start Researching the Upcoming NBA Season!

The upcoming 2022-23 NBA season is only a few months away. Now is the best time to get your affairs in order to prepare for betting on the NBA market.

By understanding NBA prop betting, you’ll have a better chance of winning wagers. Enroll in this free online course to increase your knowledge and odds!