The shortened 2020-21 NBA season is underway. The season is expected to run from December until May, with each team playing 72 games. The Raptors will be playing their home games in Tampa, Florida due to the issues around travelling between countries during the pandemic. There will once again be play-in games involving the 7th to 10th seeds to determine the final 8 teams from each Conference to compete in the playoffs tournament.

The NBA is basically back to normal this season, with the main difference being a shortened season of 10 fewer games. The NBA will be a popular sport to bet on over the winter months, and the playoffs will begin just one month later than normal, with the NBA Champion expected to be crowned in July.

On this page I will look at the current NBA Championship odds, breakdown some of the popular bets you can make on an NBA game and also give you a simple 3 step guide to follow when you’re ready to place your first NBA bet.

What are the NBA Finals Odds for 2020. The NBA Final at the moment show the Golden State Warriors in the lead. This is at the halfway make of the NBA regular season and it looks like the Warriors and Cleveland are the clear teams to be on the NBA Futures. Golden State is a -130 betting favourite to win the NBA Championship. Betting on the NBA Championship is the peak of NBA sports betting. Those who are taking action on the NBA Finals can wager as early as the start of the season. Current odds have the LA Lakers with the shortest odds to win the title, followed up with the Brooklyn Nets whose odds shortened after trading for superstar guard James Harden.

2021 NBA Championship Betting Odds

Here is a screenshot from SportsInteraction.com of the current NBA Championship odds a few games into the season (taken on January 6th):

The Raptors are 25-1 here after a slow start to the season, but you can also get them at 40-1 at BetOnline.ag. Because SIA is a Canadian betting site their odds on the Raptors may be shorter than other books.

As you can see the Lakers, Bucks, Nets and Clippers are the four favourites, by a significant margin. That said, I would not count out the Raptors, Heat, Celtics, Sixers or Nuggets this season.

Popular NBA Betting Options

The three most popular bets in a basketball game are the point spread, money line and over/under bets. Let’s look at a quick example of each using a screenshot from Sports Interaction for a game between Toronto and Phoenix.

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Point Spread

In this example there is a 3 point spread in this game in favour of Phoenix. This is indicated by the (-3) beside Phoenix and the (+3) beside Toronto. A spread bet on Phoenix wins if the Suns win the game by 4 or more points, while a spread bet on the Raptors wins if Toronto either wins the game outright or loses by 2 or fewer. If the Suns win by exactly 3 then the bet is returned and graded as a “push”.

Money Line

The money line bet is a straight up wager on which team will win the game. The odds vary depending on if the team is the favourite or the underdog. In this example, we already knew that Phoenix was 3 point favourites, so it’s no surprise that there money line odds are just 1.72. This means that any bet amount can be multiplied by 1.72 to find the payout of a Suns win. For example, a $100 bet on the Suns would payout $172 for winnings of $72 if they won the game. On the flip side a $100 bet on the Raptors would payout $216 for winnings of $116 if the Raptors pulled off the upset.

Over/Under

The over/under is a wager on the total number of points to be scored in the game by both teams combined. The over/under for this game is set at 218.5. If 219 or more points are scored then the over bets would payout, while if 218 or fewer points are scored in the game then the under bets would payout.

Check out our basketball betting page for a more detailed breakdown of each of these wagers.

3 Step Guide To Place an NBA Bet From Canada

Are you ready to make your first NBA wager online? If so, follow this simple 3 step guide to have your wager placed in minutes.

Step 1. Open an Online Betting Account

SportsInteraction.com is our top rated betting site for Canadians. The screenshots above were taken from their site.

Sports Interaction is completely focused on the Canadian marketplace and providing the best possible platform for Canadians to wager on sports online.

We have an exclusive deal with Sports Interaction where new sign ups from HowToBet.ca receive a 100% up to $200 bonus on your first deposit.

Bet On Nba Games Online

I suggest opening accounts at more than one betting site to allow yourself to compare odds and ensure you get the best return on every bet. Not to mention the free sign up bonus money available! Click here to check out the reviews of our 3 recommended betting sites for Canadians.

Step 2. Deposit

Sports Interaction accepts Visa, MasterCard, Interac, iDebit, paysafecard and more. They have made it very easy for Canadians to get money into and out of their site.

I do suggest taking full advantage of the $200 sign up bonus. It’s easy to clear if you’re planning on betting on the NBA throughout the season.

Step 3. Place Your NBA Bets

To find the NBA betting lines at SportsInteraction.com, click on ‘Sports’ in the top navigation bar and then select ‘Basketball’ -> ‘USA’ -> ‘NBA Games’ in the drop down menus. Here’s a screenshot of what it will look like:

On the NBA page you will see all of the games that you can wager on for that evening. When you select your bet it will show up in your ‘Bet Card’ on the right side of the screen. After you enter your bet amount you will see the ‘Bet Payout’ show up, which shows how much will be returned to your account if your bet wins. If everything looks good, select ‘Place Bet’ and your wager is confirmed.

Check out our basketball betting section for more information about wager on basketball online. And if you have any questions regarding betting on NBA games do not hesitate to contact me.

Ready to bet? Click here to visit SportsInteraction.com

How To Bet On The NBA • NBA betting • NBA Championship Odds • NBA odds