Originating in the United States, basketball has become one of the globe’s most popular sports with leagues stretching from continent to continent. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the most significant professional basketball league worldwide in terms of popularity, salaries and talent.

NBA basketball betting is one of the most popular betting markets in South Africa. There are regular games which provide the vigilant punter plenty of NBA betting lines. There are in-season games, the highly anticipated NBA Playoffs, and of course, the NBA Finals where the best of the best go head to head. The best part is, Sportingbet has basketball betting odds for all NBA matches, as well as other international leagues.

History of basketball

The NBA started in 1946 with just 11 teams and has grown to include 30 teams across the North American continent, attracting players from within the country and across borders. Every team in the NBA plays 82 games per season, 41 home and 41 away, all over a seven-month period. In addition to the NBA, there is also college basketball, with thousands of games played every season, offering a host of basketball betting opportunities.

Outside of the NBA, there are a number of other top basketball leagues, including:

The EuroLeague
Spain's Liga ACB
Turkish Basketball Super League
Russia's VTB United League
Germany's Basketball Bundesliga
Italy's Lega Basket Serie A
France's LNB Pro A
Greek A1 League
Australia's National Basketball League
Lithuania's LKL
Chinese Basketball Association

The top clubs from these national leagues qualify for continental championships, with the FIBA Basketball World Cup and Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament the major international events of the sport.

Basketball betting

With so many basketball games taking place constantly, there are non-stop basketball betting opportunities to be explored. These include:

Spread (or line) betting – this is a form of handicap betting for basketball
Basketball underdogs – rather than following the crowd and betting on the basketball favourites, check out the odds on the underdog teams
Basketball totals – the number of points scored at the end of the game will vary depending on the league or tournament

After considering aspects such as strike rate averages, recent performances and venue, it’s time to get betting on basketball with Sportingbet SA. Don’t miss out on any of the action!