Top NBA Betting Sites & Sportsbooks Playoffs May 2025

Get constantly updated NBA odds to help you in your NBA betting decisions.

A team’s fortunes – and odds – can change on a dime, so stay on top of the latest NBA futures markets.

The NBA regular season will start in October and we recommend the best NBA betting sites like BetMGM, FanDuel, Caesars, Barstool, and DraftKings to make NBA bets.

Best NBA Betting Sites 2025

NBA Betting 2025

The NBA is great to bet on and sports fans can bet on props and any game for it. Look for the top-ranking NBA betting sites like Ceasers, FanDuel, and BetMGM to offer NBA league lines, NBA team odds, and player props.

Live Odds

Injuries, players resting … NBA odds can change in a hurry and you want to maximize your chances at success on the top NBA betting sites. Stay up to date on the latest live NBA playoff odds from the top NBA sportsbooks, compare their offerings and promos and find you best options.

NBA Expert Picks

It’s tough for those on the East Coast to catch all that great West Coast NBA action, so our experts do the heavy lifting, sorting through trends, statistics and matchups to offer their NBA picks, both for games and futures markets.

NBA Betting Insights

On Bookies.com, NBA bettors will find a wealth of the data, including up-to-date ATS and Over/Under Trends, and tools to track odds movements – whether they shorten or drift – and where the NBA consensus is. Put that all together and make a more informed decision when placing bets on the top NBA betting sites.

Live Betting Action Guide

NBA action moves fast, and having the ability to compare live betting odds from multiple of the best NBA betting sites makes a huge difference. With the ability to see line movements in real time and compare the statistics and data, bettors can pounce at the right moment.

Find the Best NY Betting Apps to bet on all your favorite sports and events from New York

Why Bet On NBA Playoff Games?

Betting on NBA playoff games is as good as it gets for basketball junkies. There’s also plenty of value for sports bettors who pay close attention to the ebbs and flows of an 82-game NBA season. With so much basketball action every night, the NBA betting lines aren’t quite as tight as betting on NFL games each Sunday.

It’s a superstar-driven league packed with big names and drama. Watching LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo go at it is must-see TV. Betting on the Lakers to cover the spread against the Celtics or vice versa adds even more excitement. The NBA owns social media and you’ll often find NBA best bets discussions on Twitter or Reddit in the hours leading up to a game. Bettors can also follow all the action from their phones and won’t have any trouble finding NBA highlights.

Let’s not forget these are the best basketball players in the world. Betting on college basketball and March Madness is a blast, no doubt. But you’re watching kids with inferior skills play the game at a slower pace. If you love betting and basketball, the NBA is tough to top.

What To Look For When Picking An NBA Betting Site

We only recommend the best NBA betting sites like BetMGM, Barstool, and DraftKings that are legal and great user experiences. Our betting site ranking system is based on a variety of factors, all graded on first-hand experience, to provide the best NBA online betting experience.

Safe NBA Betting Sites

We recommend the bestNBA betting sites, they are completely legal and licensed to operate in states where sports betting is allowed. Sports bettors unfamiliar with offshore sportsbook practices should know they can be risky. These are operations not licensed or regulated in the US. And let’s say something goes wrong. A winning NBA bet you made gets taken off the board, or you’re having trouble withdrawing money. There’s no legal recourse. Bettors using legitimate online sportsbooks won’t have those problems.

NBA Playoff Bonus Offers

Basketball bettors should always look around to compare bonuses and new signup incentives at the NBA betting sites. All of the best NBA betting sites and sportsbooks offer something the first time, whether it’s matching an initial deposit or offering boosted point spreads. Make sure to check our recommended list for the best options, such as the ESPN Bet promo code offer. Don’t leave any money on the table.

NBA Betting Sites With The Best User Experience

Some NBA betting sites are extremely user-friendly and easy to navigate, others take some getting used to. We’ve used all these sports betting apps so we know how they work from the first deposit, to betting on NBA games, to withdrawing funds. The best NBA online betting sites offer the smoothest overall experience.

Payment Flexibility

Sportsbooks should be offering multiple payment options. Betting on NBA games is much easier with sites that accept PayPal, Play+, credit/debit cards, etc. It’s all the same money and bettors shouldn’t have to jump through hoops just to make their first deposit. With our list, they won’t have to.

NBA Odds And Wager Options

All the best NBA betting sites offer standard point spread bets, moneyline and totals wagering. Some consistently offer better prices or fairer odds. Some of the NBA betting sites also have more prop bets (such will Giannis Antetokounmpo have over/under 13.5 rebounds against the Indiana Pacers). And others have better NBA futures odds, like the Milwaukee Bucks to win the Eastern Conference or the Sacramento Kings to make the NBA playoffs. Make sure to shop around and find the best NBA odds, along with the wager types you’re most likely to bet on.

Strategies & Tips For NBA Betting

Bankroll Management

This should be the first step for NBA bettors regardless of bankroll size. Decide how much you’re willing to risk on NBA betting, come up with a plan for standard unit (bet size) and stick to it. This is the only way to get profit if you’re consistently making smart bets. Otherwise, the bankroll can get away in a hurry and even savvy bettors can crash and burn wagering too much on one NBA game. Use our odds calculator to see if the risk of the bet is worth the potential reward!

Injuries & Load Management

Superstars in the NBA move point spreads way more than players in other sports. Trae Young averages around 30 points per night for the Atlanta Hawks. His absence has a big impact on point spread and total for any Hawks game. Teams are cautious in an 82-game season and will often sit players as a precaution. Make sure you check all the injury reports before placing an NBA bet as betting lines can move.

Load management is another issue. This one is relatively new, with playoff teams resting star players to keep them fresh for the NBA Playoffs. It’s important for bettors to stay on top of lineups, which are released hours before tipoff. And there’s a lot of value betting an underdog against a favorite resting stars in a given game before it’s widely known.

Travel Schedules

NBA travel can be hectic and varies from team-to-team. For example, the Bucks could play at the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, at Miami Monday and home Wednesday before flying to Los Angeles to play the Clippers on Friday. Meanwhile, the Clippers haven’t traveled at all that week. They’re the more rested team and should theoretically have a big advantage in the fourth quarter. Recognize these scheduling mismatches and take advantage.

Fade The Public

This is an easy one when it comes to betting tips. Say the Indiana Pacers are playing the Philadelphia 76ers. Our NBA consensus page shows the percentage breakdown between Pacers and 76ers bettors. The theory is that most public bettors don’t have a firm grasp of point spreads or injuries. Sportsbooks set betting odds accordingly and clean up with public bettors backing the wrong side. If the majority of people are betting on the Pacers, you can fade the public by betting the 76ers. NBA bettors might be surprised to see how often this works.

Second-Half Lines

Basketball is a game of runs. Especially in the NBA, and especially during the regular season. Teams come back from down 15-20 points all the time. But people see a halftime score and think the game will keep playing out the same way. If a home favorite is down by 10-12 points at halftime, this is a great opportunity to bet the second-half line. Great teams can turn it on in crunch time.

The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors did this all the time during their 73-win season. They were down 23 points to the Clippers at halftime of an early-season game and outscored them 70-49 in the second half to move to 14-0. This happened a lot with the Warriors, and it’s still happening a lot with upper-tier NBA teams. 

NBA Betting Tools To Help Your Decision

Our daily NBA odds and point spreads show the best available odds for every game, regardless of who you like. Use this to get the best price/value on every NBA bet. Same goes for NBA totals, which can move around 4-5 points throughout the day.

You can check out ahead of time the NBA over/under record for every team, as well NBA teams against the spread.

Our NBA betting consensus page shows you how the public is wagering each day. That can be incredibly useful information and is necessary for some strategies like fading the public.

Free NBA picks from our handicapping experts are also posted daily on the NBA picks page. They follow the money and numbers each day to make informed decisions on the best possible NBA bets to make throughout the regular season and NBA playoffs., all the way through to the NBA Finals.

CHECK OUT: Use our Parlay Calculator to see how much you can win when connecting two or more bets.

Which States Allow Legal NBA Betting?

It is completely legal to bet on NBA games in the following states, some of which are retail-only but expected to add online betting soon: Arizona, Indiana, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Delaware, Montana, New Jersey, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oregon, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Michigan, West Virginia, Colorado and Nevada. Note that while sports gambling is legal in all these states, some have yet to take their first legal bet. You can bet on the MLB, NFL, and many other sports in these states as well.

NBA Betting In Canada

The NBA’s popularity in Canada continues to grow, especially in the wake of the Toronto Raptors’ NBA championship victory in 2019. Canadian sports betting sites see regular action with the NBA and will see even more now that single-game betting has launched.

From NBA odds on the latest games to NBA futures markets, there is robust interest in the league from Canadian bettors. Ontario sports betting fans are excited to be backing their Raptors next season. Ontario’s government is moving quickest to implement single-game betting, but the other provinces are expected to follow. That would bring legal single-game markets to Alberta sports betting fans, British Columbia sports betting fans, as well as Alberta sports betting fans and Manitoba sports betting fans.

The NBA’s Stance on Sports Betting

Commissioner Adam Silver changed the course of NBA betting with a 2014 New York Times op-ed titled “Legalize and Regulate Sports Betting.”He was the first commissioner to openly endorse legalized sports gambling and the NBA got out in front if it as a result. The NBA has since established betting partnerships with Caesars, FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, theScore and others.

Why Bet on the NBA with Bookies?

Bookies.com is the perfect one-stop shop for NBA betting. First, bettors can have 100% trust that the NBA betting sites we recommend are completely legit and legal. We don’t deal with any offshore sportsbooks for a variety of reasons. They’re illegal and can be highly unreliable from a customer service standpoint. No guarantees you’re getting that deposit back if the authorities shut it down.

Our NBA odds page is updated daily and shows you the best point spread and totals lines from all the best NBA betting sites for whichever game you want to bet on. Our NBA betting experts are also elite veteran handicappers and gamblers. They offer their insights and NBA best bets every day of the NBA season.