Bet on NBA Games in Canada

There are three main ways to show the NBA odds with each being used in different countries around the world. On most sports betting sites in Canada, bettors will be able to change how the NBA odds are displayed to them, with these worth knowing.

Decimal NBA odds

The easiest NBA odds to understand as they included the stake back with your bet online. If you place $1 on a selection at odds of 11.0, you will win $11 back if the bet on NBA is successful. These are the best way for a novice NBA bettor to start as it is the clearest way of displaying what will be returned.

American NBA odds

These are the NBA odds that you will find at American sports betting sites which are denoted by a – or a +. The lower the number, the more favoured the team with the NBA odds denoted to a $100 stake, though that does not mean you have to stake that much. -1000 would mean you have to put on $1000 to win $100 while +1000 would mean a $100 stake would win you $1000 plus your $100 stake back.

Fractional NBA odds

You will not come across these NBA odds very often in Canada as they are used more in Europe for horse racing betting. With more and more UK-based betting sites entering the North American market, it could be that these NBA odds are seen a little more but even in the UK they are starting to be replaced by decimal odds.

They are made up of a numerator (top number) which denotes the return for the denominator (bottom number) which denotes the stake. So NBA odds of 10/1 would return $10 for every $1 staked, plus your stake back.

What bet markets are available for NBA odds?

When placing a bet on NBA, you’ll encounter a diverse range of betting markets to place your wagers. While this isn’t an exhaustive compilation, these are some of the most sought-after options where you’ll discover NBA odds in Canada.

Moneyline odds

This is the best place to start your online betting with NBA odds. With moneyline bets, there are only two outcomes available, either Team A wins or Team B wins the NBA game. This simplicity and ease of understanding NBA odds make it perfect for a novice bettor who is only tasked with finding the winner of a game to land a return.

Point spread odds

The next step up from NBA odds on predicting which team is going to win the game is the point spread odds as you can try to predict how much a team will win or lose a game by. This is a NBA bet market where an imaginary handicap is placed on the favoured team to give the underdog more of a chance. As a general rule, the NBA odds will be equal on both sides of the ledger.

Take the Toronto Raptors on the road at the Denver Nuggets for example. The Nuggets might have a -10 handicap to start the game which means that bettors placing a bet on this would need the Nuggets to win by 11 or more points for the NBA bet to be a winner. On the other side, Raptors backers at +10 could still have a winning NBA bet even if the Raptors lose by nine points.

Over/under odds

This is NBA odds for a bet market based on the total number of points in a game. Depending on the two teams that are playing, most NBA games have a line in the 210-250 area. If the line is 230 and you feel that there will be 231 or more points scored in the game you would place your NBA bet on the over side while if you think that there will be 229 or fewer points you would place your NBA bet on the under.

These lines can move a little bit as money comes for one side or the other as the sports betting sites in Canada look to keep the NBA odds for each of the two outcomes around the 1.91 mark as decimal odds. Different betting sites can have slightly different totals on each game so find the one the NBA odds that best reflects your opinion on the game. 

NBA prop bets

A prop bet is simply betting on NBA for something to happen within the game. It does not require the game to end for the bet to land so can be a good NBA bet for those who only have time to watch a small portion as you can bet on teams to win the first quarter or for the first team to reach 20 points.

You will be able to find a lot of NBA prop bets on individual players, so if Player X has always produced huge numbers when taking on the Sacramento Kings then you can have a NBA bet on that person scoring 30+ points. You can bet on a player to score the first basket of a game if you want, the NBA odds are normally high on this bet market but you only get a single shot at a winner so it is a risky one to play. 

There is a huge amount of opportunities on every game when it comes to NBA prop bets so they are well worth digging into, especially if you know a certain team very well. In that case, you should be able to spot NBA odds that are wrong on the team or a player doing something specific in the game. 

NBA parlays

A NBA parlay bet is sometimes known as an accumulator as it is made up of an accumulation of selections (most sports betting sites will accept up to 20) that all need to win for the NBA bet to be a successful one. If there is every NBA team in action on one day there will be 15 different games. Picking the winner of each game could make up a 15-team parlay bet on NBA. Winning this type of bet is very difficult as there are so many predictions to get correct all at the same time but these NBA odds are high so the return is even higher which always makes it a popular choice in Canada.

It is not just the moneyline market that can be placed as a bet on NBA when it comes to parlays, you will be able to do a NBA parlay on the point spread and the over/under betting markets as well or for those who really want to pick and choose, most sports betting sites in Canada will allow you to make a NBA parlay made up of a combination of them all as long as there is not more than one selection in a game. For example, you could not combine the Raptors to win on the moneyline and the Raptors on the point spread in the same NBA parlay.

There are NBA odds available on many markets these days away from just the day-to-day action and the NBA MVP odds are a popular one with sports betting sites in Canada. There are only a handful of players who are capable of being named NBA MVP of the year at any one time which narrows the field down.

It is not an easy award to win, Michael Jordan won five MVP and LeBron James won four MVP despite being the most dominant players of their generation. Center’s Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid have won MVP odds in recent years, Jokic becoming the first at that position since Shaquille O’Neill won the NBA MVP odds in the 1999-2000 season. 

As a general rule, the winning player will need to be on a team that wins at least 50 games in the regular NBA season and appears in 65+ games while being on the court for 20+ minutes on average. This is an NBA MVP award that not only rewards exceptional play but also a player who has seen plenty of action over the course of the season. Check out the latest NBA MVP odds at one of our top Canadian betting sites mentioned above.

Most big sports are a 365-day betting prospect now, even in the offseason. You will be able to find NBA Championship odds from the second the net stops moving from the winning shot one NBA season for the next year.

While not every online betting site in Canada will be so quick to put the NBA Championship odds up, a lot of betting sites will make sure that they have the Championship odds up nice and early as they know that NBA futures betting is hugely popular. You can get some of the best NBA Championship odds on offer if you get involved as early as that but beware that you do have to sit and wait a long time for a potential return so NBA futures are not for everyone.  

During the season, the NBA Championship odds will fluctuate on a regular basis as teams win and lose. If you retain faith in the team that you think will lift the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy after a losing streak, this can be a good point during the season to place a bet on NBA with them to win the title as the NBA Championship odds will be lengthening.

You will have no problem finding NBA picks if you want them, put NBA picks today into your web browser and you will get a string of results from tipsters trying to get you to follow them. There are always a lot available but it is important to be able to find the right one to follow into a bet on NBA odds. 

First and foremost, you should always do your own study, betting on NBA blind is not a smart move so having an understanding of the teams, players and rules is going to be a big help to you when it comes to finding the right NBA picks today. 

Use tipsters’ NBA picks as a sounding board for your own bet ideas. If you feel the Knicks will beat the Nets and every NBA picks today you look at agrees with you, then it is probably a good bet on NBA to make. If everyone else puts up the Nets as their picks, read why and understand why they are thinking a different way to you. It does not mean that you are wrong but it helps to understand how others think.

The best NBA picks today will be found from reputable tipping sites where they put up their win and loss record or better still, their return from previous bets on NBA to a level stake.

The phrase ‘any given day’ is made for sports, it can be massively unpredictable. There is not a single bettor that enjoys a losing bet on NBA and giving money to the sports betting sites in Canada but every opportunity like this is a lesson to be learnt. Why did the NBA bet lose? Those who take accountability and use it as a learning experience will be more successful than those who blame players and referees.

Do not chase your losses, this is one of the most important tips to make the most out of your NBA betting and on any other sport. There will be days that end with a loss and you need to sit back, take a deep breath and avoid the temptation to try and win that money back with a bigger bet on the next game. Betting when frustrated only leads to further losses so know when to take a loss and move on.

Always look around for the biggest NBA odds possible on the NBA bet that you want to make. Bettors who have a wide range of accounts at online betting sites in Canada are able to squeeze every last drop out of the odds and are all the better for it in the long run. You will be amazed at how quickly it adds up, backing winners at 2.10 rather than 2.05 might not seem like very much but finding the best possible NBA odds is key.

The most important tip is to never bet more than you can afford to lose. NBA betting is meant to be fun and to add some excitement to watching a game live. Keep it fun by staying in control of your bet on NBA and gamble responsibly.