NBA Odds and Futures

NBA betting odds follow the NFL in terms of popularity. The point spread and totals (over under betting) are preferred forms of wagering and moneyline betting is growing in popularity as well. Here at BettingTrends.com, we monitor NBA odds from numerous top legal US sportsbooks and update those numbers by the hour. So you always have the most current information.

Check out our NBA odds legend and explanations below if you are not sure how to read the data in these tables. Its pretty simple once you get the hang of it. Good luck!

NBA POINT SPREAD – known as a line or spread, it is incorrectly thought of as a predicted margin of victory by one team. Actually, the NBA oddsmaker sets a number where he/she feels an equal number of people will want to bet on the underdog and the favorite. At the end of the game, you simply add the plus value to the underdog or subtract the minus value from gthe underdog. Check the example below.

LA Lakers-6
Milwaukee+6


The negative value -6 indicates the Lakers is favored by 6 points. The positive value +6 shows the Milwaukee Bucks as an underdog by 6 points. Betting on the favored Lakers means they must win by at least seven points to cover the spread. The dog Bucks can lose by five points and still cover the spread. If the score is 30-21 for the Lakers, they won by nine points, which is more than six, so they covered the spread. If the score is 30-27 for the Lakers, they win the game by three points, which is less than six points so they failed to cover the spread.

NBA MONEYLINE – usually seen in low-scoring sports such as baseball and hockey. The team you bet on just to win the game, there is no point spread to worry about. The negative value still indicates the favorite (-180) and the positive value indicates the underdog (+160).

LA Lakers-180
Milwaukee+160


Imagine the number $100 sitting in the middle of these two values and understanding the NBA moneyline is easy. A bet on the Lakers at -180 means you risk $180 in order to win $100. On the underdog Bucks, you would risk $100 and win $160 if the underdog wins. You risk a little more on the favorite for a modest reward. You risk a little less on the underdog for a bigger reward.

NBA TOTALS – also called the over/under is a projected number of combined points that oddsmakers feel will be scored in a game. Take a look at example below.

LA Lakers 
 OV 196.5
Milwaukee Bucks


The total is 196.5, so if the final score is 100-97, that makes 197 combined points and your OVER 196.5 bet would win. If the final score is 100-93, that would be 193 points and UNDER 196.5 points. In OVER-UNDER betting, you don’t care who wins, just how many points are being scored.

NBA FUTURES – You can bet on the upcoming NBA championship at any point during the season, not just the week before the Finals series. These odds change all the time with injuries or signings or hot streaks. Basically, oddsmakers pick the teams they feel are favored to win and those teams which are longshots and updates the list regularly.

For example, Milwaukee may start the season at 7-1 odds. If they win 10 in a row, their odds might go down to 3-1. If Giannis gets hurt however, the odds could go way back up to 25-1. You will see the NBA futures listed as 3-1 odds or +300 (which means a $100 wager would pay $300 profit). A surprise team might be +2000 bet which means a $100 bet pays out a $2,000 profit if they win.