By NBA player props, we mean those bets focused on a specific player. You can put your money on how he’s going to perform, whether he’s going to achieve something in the game, and similar. The best example of this would be LeBron James Over 25.5 Points.
With this NBA player prop bet, you’re going to win if King James scores 26 or more points in the game. Sounds pretty straightforward, but there are many basketball prop bets you might not find that easy to understand. This goes especially if you’re a newcomer to the world of betting.
Luckily for you, the FatCatBet is here to help you. We’re now going to discuss all the best NBA player props, explaining in detail how they work. So, let’s start!
NBA Player Props Betting Explained
To be able to bet on NBA player props, you need to find an online sportsbook that works with these sorts of bets. You should know that NBA proposition betting is something you might not be able to find in every single sportsbook, especially not all the time.
The good news is that there are some sportsbooks that do a great job when it comes to player props NBA. You just need to look harder to find them. Once you do, a great reward awaits you in the form of a long list of available NBA player props.
Some types of NBA player props you should expect to find include player points O/U, rebounds O/U, assists O/U, triple-double bets, and more. We’re now going to examine all of those!
Points Over/Under
How these NBA player props work is that the sportsbook comes up with a margin which is represented as a number and a half, e.g., 30.5. Yours is to guess whether the total number of points scored by the player is going to be over or under that number.
In this particular example, every number up to and including 30 would be “under.” Everything starting 31 would be “over.” The margin depends on the player, but is usually up to 40. The reason is that NBA players tend not to score that many points.
In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain set the all-time record for the highest number of points scored in an NBA game. He scored exactly 100 points. No other player has come anywhere near that number, especially not in recent times. For instance, in the 2019-20 NBA season, 61 points was the highest number scored by one player. The man in question is Damian Lillard.
Rebounds Over/Under
Similarly to points betting, you can also put your money on how many rebounds a player is going to make in a game. Unlike points betting, the margin for this prop bet is usually represented with a one-digit number. The reason is that most players make only a couple of rebounds per game.
Of course, there are some exceptions. Wilt Chamberlain is once again the man who holds the record. In 1960, while playing for the Philadelphia Warriors, Chamberlain snagged 55 rebounds against the Boston Celtics.
However, in the recent couple of years, we haven’t seen as many rebounds per game. In the 2019-20 season, Jonas Valanciunas of the Memphis Grizzlies was the man with the most rebounds in a game, with 25 rebounds against the Sacramento Kings.
Assists Over/Under
Another very popular type of NBA player props is the one focused on the assists. Your job is to guess whether the number of assists made by a certain player in a game is going to be higher or lower than the margin set up by the bookmakers.
How high the margin number is going to be is something that depends on the player and their previous stats. Generally speaking, that number tends to be around 10. In fact, knowing that in the 2019-20 season, 19 assists was the record shared by LeBron James and Luka Doncic, it’s not a big surprise that the margin rarely goes over 15.5.
Still, the NBA did see some players making many more assists than that. Scott Skiles is the record holder. He made 30 assists on December 30, 1990, when his team the Orlando Magic beat the Denver Nuggets by 155-116.
Double-Double & Triple-Double
In basketball lingo, the Triple-Double refers to the case in which a player scores/makes at least 10 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. When it comes to the Double-Double, it’s a scenario in which a player scores/makes over 10 of two out of the three aforementioned categories (assists, points, rebounds).
These things do not happen that often, for which Triple-Double odds, as well as Double-Double odds are usually pretty long. In fact, most players tend to achieve only a couple of Double-Double performances in a season.
When it comes to Triple-Double performances, they happen very rarely. In fact, only a couple of players get them. However, with the help of experts like us, you should be able to spot when someone is about to make such a fantastic performance. Last season, we guessed correctly that Nikola Jokic was going to score a Triple-Double in the Clippers vs Nuggets game.
3-Pointer Betting
When it comes to NBA bets focused on players, we mustn’t forget the 3-pointer betting. How it works is that you get to guess how many 3-point field goals a certain player is going to score in a game.
Some sportsbooks will come up with a margin on their own. For example, you might have to guess whether Klay Thompson is going to score more or fewer than 5.5 three-pointers in a game.
Speaking of Klay Thompson, he’s the man who currently holds the record for the most threes in a single game. In 2018, Thompson set up the record by scoring 14 3-pointers in the Golden State Warriors’ win over the Chicago Bulls. Previously, the record was hold by Thompson’s teammate, Steph Curry.
Player Matchups
There are some online sportsbooks that offer Player Matchups, in which you’re supposed to guess which player of the two is going to score more points. Apart from points, sportsbooks also sometimes create matchups based on assists and/or rebounds.
The main advantage of these sorts of NBA player props is that the odds tend to be pretty attractive. The thing is that sportsbooks do their best in trying to pick two players of similar quality. As a result, the Player Matchup is a prop bet that can easily go either way, hence, the odds are usually even (-110 on each outcome).
Apart from having attractive odds, these NBA player props are attractive for another reason – they can be really interesting!
Speaking of interesting bets, some sportsbooks might even decide to go with Crossover Matchups. With these wagers, one of the players is playing in the NBA, while the other one is competing in a whole different sport. For instance, you may come across bets like “Serge Ibaka Assists vs Aaron Rodgers TD Passes.”
Frequently Asked Questions About NBA Player Props
What are NBA player prop bets?
NBA player props focus on the performances of a specific player in a specific game. What we’re talking about is the number of points scored, rebounds, triple-doubles, and so on.
How do NBA player prop bets work?
Some online sportsbooks have their own NBA player props sections, where they put their own propositions. Yours is just to pick a prop bet and put your money on it. Other sportsbooks let you come up with your own NBA prop ideas. If they like it, they’re going to propose the wager.
Where to look for NBA player prop bets?
Our website, theFatCatBet.com is the place where you should go to look for NBA player props today! Apart from providing you with picks and suggestions for NBA player-based bets, we cover many other things – MMA props, NFL props, NFL futures, and so on.