NBA Finals Over/Under

If you want to learn how to bet on the NBA Finals, you need to familiarize yourself with NBA Over/Under bets. These are normally concerned with the total number of points that will be scored in an NBA game. That said, an NBA Finals Over/Under market works a little bit differently. In this case, the focus is on the total number of games that an NBA Finals series will go to.

Let’s use the 2020 matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat to explain this bet:

Lakers to Win in...	Heat to Win in...
4 Games	4 Games
5 Games	5 Games
6 Games	6 Games
7 Games	7 Games

NBA Finals Over/Under Example

Sportsbooks will set the odds for each of the results listed above. Not only will you have to correctly pick the winner of the NBA Finals, but you also have to pick how many games it will take.

NBA Finals Prop Bets

Prop betting might have started with the Super Bowl, but it has now spilled over into other sports as well. Sportsbooks will offer plenty of NBA Finals prop bets, and these bets are on things other than the final score or winner of a game.

Here are a few examples of NBA Finals prop bets:

The color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach.
How many technicals will be given.
Who will make the most three-point field goals.
How long the National Anthem will be (any game).

As you can see, there is plenty of humour to be found in NBA Finals prop betting markets. Adding one or two modest 'fun wagers' alongside your more serious bets can increase your enjoyment of the series as a whole.

How to Bet on NBA Games

Besides the unique betting opportunities that can be found in the NBA Finals, you can also bet on each game of the series. If you know how to bet on the NBA in general then you know how to bet on each game of the NBA Finals.

Choose the betting market that works best for you, and that you are most comfortable with. Here is an explanation of all three betting market types, using our matchup between the Suns and the Clippers.

NBA Moneylines

A moneyline bet is the easiest betting market to understand, but it’s not the most common when it comes to betting on NBA Finals games. A moneyline bet simply requires you to pick the winner of each game. The sportsbooks will set betting odds based on their opinion of the most likely outcome.

For example:

Pheonix Suns	-118
LA Clippers	-102

NBA Finals Moneyline Example

The odds here have the two sides as difficult to split. These odds are very similar and it is more of a 'pick'em' bet. Suns are favourites by a small margin at UniBet.

NBA Over/Under

We have already discussed how NBA Finals Over/Under bets work for the entire series, but there are also Over/Under bets available for each game. This is sometimes referred to as a total bet because it deals with the total number of points scored in a game.

Here is an example:

Phoenix Suns vs. LA Clippers

Over	221.5 Points	-111
Under	221.5 Points	-109

NBA Finals Over/Under

It’s important to note that most sportsbooks will offer the same odds for both sides of an Over/Under bet, meaning that it will take a $111/109 bet to win $100. In this example, all you have to decide is whether or not the total number of points scored by the two teams will be more or less than 221.5.

It is worth noting that regular-season games are usually more high scoring than NBA Finals games.

NBA Spread

If you have ever heard someone refer to betting against the spread, they are talking about spread betting. Sportsbooks will set the odds for spread betting based on the probability of a certain outcome occurring.

The bettor has to not only pick the winner of each game but also predict how big the winning margin will be. Here is an example:

Pheonix Suns	-1
LA Clippers	+1

NBA Finals Spread Example

Something to note is that the Suns are the favourites, but only marginally. It is set to bet a very close match-up. Spreads that are around 1-3 are usually difficult to predict as the teams are so close in quality.

NBA Futures

A future bet is one that is placed on something that will happen at the conclusion of an event. In this case, it is predicting what will happen at the conclusion of the NBA Finals. The two most common NBA Finals future bets are:

Which team will win the NBA Finals.
Who will be names the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

The future bet asking which team will win the NBA Finals is available throughout the regular season. If you want to bet on who will be named the Most Valuable Player, you will usually need to wait until the NBA Finals matchup is set.

NBA In-Play Betting

Live or in-play betting has become extremely popular, especially on big events such as the NBA Finals. Sportsbooks will offer live bets for each game of the NBA Finals, and all of the betting types that we mentioned above will be offered.

Live betting is done quickly, which won't give you much time to conduct any research. However, it does give you a chance to 'hedge' your bets, or make up for losses that you have incurred previously in each game.

How to Bet NBA Finals Online

Sports betting continues to grow in the United States, and online betting is becoming increasingly available. If you understand how to bet on the NBA Finals, then you know how to bet on the NBA Finals online. The markets and principles involved are exactly the same.

In order to be able to bet on the NBA Finals online, you will have to be in a state where online sports betting is legal. If you are, you can enjoy the convenience of making an NBA Finals bet from the comfort of your couch. DraftKings, FanDuel, and PointsBet are three of the top online sportsbooks that will have bets on the NBA Finals.