Betting NBA Player Props

 

How much do you know about betting NBA player props?

Key Points

• NBA player prop bets are increasing in popularity.
• Follow a few key strategies to have success betting NBA player props.

Traditional basketball bettors will stick to betting moneylines, spreads, and totals. But the rise of daily fantasy sports has led to a rise in the popularity of betting NBA player props.

An NBA player prop bet is a wager on a specific player’s performance or a particular outcome. There are a number of these types of bets, some more popular than others. Let’s look at some examples.

Betting NBA Player Props - Points Scored

One of the more popular NBA player prop bets is related to scoring. Bettors can bet on how many points a player will score in a given game. Here’s an example.

                        Stephen Curry Points Scored

                        Over 27.5 (-145)

                        Under 27.5 (+125)

With this bet, we are concerned only about how many points Stephen Curry will score. The wager has nothing to do with the outcome of the game, only Curry’s outcome.

The total, in this case, is 27.5. If we believe Curry will score more than 27.5 points, we can wager on the Over at -145 odds. Likewise, we can be the Under at +125 odds.

Let’s say we wager $100 on the Under and Curry nets 26 points. We win and our $100 bet pays out $125 at your offshore sportsbook. To win on the Over, we would need Curry to score 28 or more and we would need to wager $145 to win $100.

Those are the simple basics of virtually any NBA player prop bet.

MUST READ: CASH-IN ON THE POPULARITY OF BETTING WITH A BOOKIE

Advantages of Betting NBA Player Props

There are some advantages to betting player props as opposed to traditional bets. Basic NBA basketball odds will always make up most recreational bets though. One is simply the number of variables. With a full-game bet, we must account for a variety of factors like coaching style, matchups, and many more.

With a player prop bet, we focus on one player and who might be defending him. We don’t have to worry about the other nine players on the floor.

Another advantage is that some player prop bets can be decided long before the game is over. You can bet on the number of rebounds or assists a player will have. Many times, they hit their number in the first half.

It’s almost that time. Go read about betting Super Bowl props!

NBA Player Prop Strategy

The best strategy for betting player props is simply to do your research. Identify the player you like against the matchup you like. In the example with Curry, if he is playing against a poor defender and an overall poor defense, you would make your bet accordingly.

Another strategy is to pair prop bets together. You might pair an assists bet - a player to go Over a number of assists - with a teammate’s scoring props. The idea is that the teammate will score a number of points off of the assists from his teammate.

If you can find some live player prop odds, you can also consider middling them. Don’t know about middling? Check out our recent article that talked about what is middling in sportsbetting.

Finally, if you see a prop bet that looks too good to be true, it probably is. If Curry averages 27 points per game and the prop bet is for Curry O/U 20, something is probably not right. Do your research to find out why and if that bet is worth making. 

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