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When it comes to NBA futures odds, win total over/unders are among the most popular bets in the sportsbook. This over/under bet is based completely on a specific team’s season-long wins and losses.

Win Totals odds are easy to understand: you pick whether an NBA team will complete the regular season with more or fewer wins than predicted by your sportsbook. 

Below, take a closer look at NBA regular-season win totals betting along with current NBA Win Totals lines posted at the best online sports betting sites.

NBA Win Totals Odds

See current NBA win total over/unders as posted at the best NBA betting sites. Click on any odds to claim your new bettor bonus and start betting.

 

How NBA win totals work

In the NBA, win totals are a huge draw—especially right before the regular season begins. The win totals bet is an over/under wager focused on the number of wins and losses a team is expected to hit during the regular season. 

As the bettor, your job is to determine whether the team will earn more wins than predicted by the online sportsbook or fall short of that goal. 

Let’s use the Dallas Mavericks as an example. A fictional listing in a sportsbook might look something like this: 

  • Dallas Mavericks Over 45.5 (+100)
  • Dallas Mavericks Under 45.5 (-110)

In this example, oddsmakers predict the Mavericks’ regular-season wins to land at 45.5. For a winning wager, you must correctly choose if they will have more than 45.5 wins (46 or more) or fewer (45 wins or fewer). 

Typically, betting sites release lines for NBA regular-season win totals following the conclusion of the NBA free agency and the NBA Draft. The odds are typically most favorable for the bettor right after release, and they will become tighter as the season approaches and the games begin.

3 tips for betting on NBA win totals

To help develop your strategy, we have three tips we believe every bettor should take into account for NBA win totals. 

  • Previous performances: How did the team do the year before? Seasons before that? What were the win-loss records? Does the team hit cold streaks at certain points in the season? Keep tabs on the returning players, trades, retirements, and coaching changes. Teams rarely come out of nowhere to have outstanding seasons, so some research can help you determine how a team might do this year.
  • Offseason activity: Find out what changes were made in the offseason, like newly acquired talent through the NBA Draft or free agency. If a player left the team, determine what kind of impact they had the previous season to weigh how the change will affect the team’s outlook. 
  • Shop for the best lines: This tip we recommend for every bet type. By comparing lines at multiple sportsbooks, you can find the best odds for NBA regular-season win totals. Just because one sportsbook has odds set at a certain point doesn’t mean you can’t find better odds elsewhere. Use multiple sportsbooks to compare and get the largest possible return on your wager. 

When is the best time to bet on NBA win totals? 

Determining the “best” time to bet on NBA win totals comes down to the individual bettor and their comfort with risk versus reward. 

Betting when the lines are first released gives you the benefit of the best possible odds. The downside is you don’t have all the information you need to make an educated decision. 

However, the longer you wait as you gather data, the more likely you will see the odds tighten as oddsmakers gather their information. 

As a bettor, you must determine the risk you’re willing to take. Do you place your bet without all the team news and information from the early part of the season and try to maximize your potential return? Or do you wait until you can make a more informed decision even though it means your profit will not be as significant as it could have been?

It’s up to you. These are the decisions inherent to all futures markets. 

Who sets NBA win totals? 

Professionals known as oddsmakers are employed by online sportsbooks to determine the odds and lines for NBA regular-season win totals and other NBA prop bets or NBA futures bets.

These oddsmakers use various data sources—historical performances, current team information, team injuries, and even off-court events—to forecast each team's most probable win-loss records. 

As a bettor, you are tasked with determining whether you believe the real number will fall over or under the oddsmakers’ projection.

The odds may look confusing at first glance, but they are easy to understand once you get into them. American odds (the standard format for betting on the NBA at US sportsbooks) have either negative (-) or positive (+) symbols in front of them.

The negative symbols show how much you need to wager to win $100 in profit. The positive symbols, on the other hand, show how much you stand to win for every $100 you wager.

For example, if you were to bet $145 on -145 odds, you could profit $100. On the other hand, a bet of $100 on a +220 line would pay out $220 in profit (plus your stake back).

You don’t have to bet that much or that little. Your winnings are based on your initial bet and the odds when you finalized your bet slip. 

More NBA futures odds

NBA regular-season win totals are not the only futures betting you can enjoy. Legal online sportsbooks have a variety of NBA futures odds, including: 

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Author(s)
Sam Eggleston Photo

Sam Eggleston has worked in digital media since 2007 and has been involved in sports writing and journalism since 2000. He has worked for multiple daily newspapers and online publications, including Vox Media’s SB Nation and Issue Media Group.