NBA 2025-26 Basketball Betting Odds, Tips & Free Live Stream Online
Featuring the biggest basketball superstars and the highest level of competition, the NBA is the most exciting league to bet basketball on at Stake Sportsbook. The NBA is the best professional basketball league in the world, on top of being among the “big 4” professional sports leagues alongside the NFL, MLB, and NHL.
Sports betting fans love using Stake's betting platform for a variety of reasons. But before you start, get a full lowdown on NBA betting by reading our sports betting guide. You can also check out our regularly updated expert NBA picks and predictions for the season ahead.
What is the NBA?
Being the most prestigious basketball league with the highest level of play, the NBA consists of some of the most popular sports teams in the world, like the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and many more teams across the United States and Canada.
With a wide array of franchise players and all-stars populating the league, the NBA is a powerhouse of stardom with superstars like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, James Harden, and Damian Lillard, not to mention rising stars like Jonathan Kuminga and Desmond Bane.
With just an internet connection in an eligible region, you can start betting on the NBA online by signing up to Stake.com!
History of the NBA League
Founded in 1946, the NBA has 30 teams split into 2 conferences - East and West. Each NBA team plays 82 games during the regular season, which lasts from November until May every year. The top teams of each NBA conference continue playing in the playoffs, which consist of four rounds of best-of-seven series.
The NBA Finals culminate every year in June, in which the Eastern Conference champion and Western Conference champion battle it out in a best-of-seven series to crown the new NBA Champion.
2024-25 NBA Season Recap
The 2024-25 NBA season had plenty of highlights and surprises. The Celtics began the season as the reigning champs, although it was the Cleveland Cavaliers who finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder steamrolled the Western Conference behind MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Oklahoma City won 68 games during the regular season, while the next-best team in the Western Conference finished with 52 wins.
Predictably, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the Denver Nuggets pushed the Thunder to a seven-game series in the Conference Semifinals. But outside of that series, Oklahoma City had an easy time reaching the NBA Finals.
In the East, the Cavaliers couldn’t live up to being the top seed, losing to the Pacers in the Conference Semifinals. The Pacers would eventually reach the NBA Finals, where they played the Thunder. Unfortunately, a rash of Achilles injuries plagued several key players throughout the playoffs. That includes Indiana’s star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, and without him, the Pacers lost the NBA Finals to Oklahoma City in seven games.
Format & Schedule of the 2025-26 NBA Season
The 2025-26 NBA season is made up of several parts. This includes the preseason, regular season, NBA Cup, All-Star Game, and playoffs. Starting with the preseason, the season begins on October 2, 2025. The season will end in June, with the NBA Finals starting on June 4, 2026, and lasting up to 7 games.
Preseason
The first NBA preseason games were played on October 2, with the preseason ending on October 17.
Regular Season
The 2025-26 NBA regular season opens on October 22, 2025. The final day of the regular season is April 12, 2026. The regular season also includes the NBA Cup, which is an in-season tournament that will be played between October 31 and December 16.
All-Star Game
The NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for February 15, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
Playoffs
The NBA Play-In Tournament to determine the final two playoff teams in each conference is scheduled for April 14-17, 2026. The full playoffs begin on April 18 and run until the end of the NBA Finals, with Game 1 of the finals scheduled for June 4.
2025-2026 NBA Teams
The following 30 teams will compete during the 2025-26 NBA season:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
LA Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
The Celtics are the most successful team in NBA history, winning 18 titles, with their most recent coming in 2024. The Lakers are just one behind with 17 NBA titles. Next on the list are the Warriors, who have seven NBA titles, including four since 2015. Of course, the Bulls have six NBA titles to their credit, all coming during the 1990s.
How to Bet on Basketball and Types of Basketball Betting
Stake provides a wide variety of betting options during the NBA season. To get started, sign up for an account with Stake Sportsbook. Then you can deposit funds into your account using one of several methods. From there, you can look at a list of upcoming games and decide what bets you wish to make. Just keep in mind that if you’re new to betting, check out our list of the easiest bets for newcomers.
Here is a list of the most popular types of NBA bets you can find at Stake Sportsbook:
Winning Margin (Incl. Overtime)
Total (Incl. Overtime)
Handicap (Incl. Overtime)
1x2 (Incl. Overtime)
Draw No Bet (Incl. Overtime)
Odd/Even (Incl. Overtime)
150th Point (Incl. Overtime)
Point Spread (Spread)
Moneyline (Outrights)
Proposition Bets (Player Props)
Live Betting (In-Play)
NBA Basketball Odds & Payouts
When you use Stake Sportsbook, you’ll always have the option of viewing the betting odds in American, decimal, and fractional formats. This makes it easy to use your preferred format so you can understand the odds and potential payout of every bet you make. Additionally, it’s always good practice to double-check the odds and payout before finalising a wager.
How to Live-Stream Basketball & Live Betting Markets
As soon as you create an account at Stake Sportsbook, some basketball games will be available to live stream directly from your account dashboard. Simply browse the upcoming basketball fixtures, look for the stream logo, because those will be the games you can watch live on the Stake platform. When you watch games live on Stake, not only can you track your bets and look for opportunities to cash out, but you can also place live bets, with the action unfolding in real-time.
Deposits & Withdrawal Methods for Betting on Basketball
After signing in to your account using a passkey , there are several deposit and withdrawal methods available to you. With platforms like Moonpay and Swapped , you can be used to trade several types of cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, USDT, EOS, Doge, LTC, TRX, SOL, and more. Stake uses mesh integration to ensure safe betting with crypto. You can choose from a wide selection of local currencies, including Canadian Dollars, Turkish Lira, Vietnamese Dong, Argentine Pesos, Chilean Pesos, Mexican Pesos, USD in Ecuador, and Indian Rupees, to make wagers. No matter what currency you use, the Stake Vault helps to secure all of your Stake funds.
Basketball Betting Tips, Predictions, and Strategies
Before betting on basketball, you should always have a plan in place. This should include a strict budget and perhaps a proven system like the Kelly Criterion strategy. Many bettors use a system like this to guide their bets. For NBA betting, you should also keep these tips in mind:
Make sure you track player injuries closely and always check if a key player is going to be rested in a game before betting on that game.
Look closely at a team’s offensive rating and defensive rating during the season. But always take into account how the strengths and weaknesses of a team match up against one another.
Fatigue always plays a role over an 82-game season. If a team has had to travel more or had less rest than their opponent in the days leading up to a game, they may not perform as well as you might expect.
Stake Sportsbook Promotions, VIP Club & Responsible Betting
Stake Sportsbook is happy to offer users bonus offers and promotions to improve their experience. These offers include profit boosts, a rakeback bonus, or a reload bonus, among other options. Those who join our VIP club can expect even more benefits and rewards, including access to a dedicated VIP host. To learn more, our VIP FAQ page has answers to your questions.
At Stake, we are serious about offering top-notch customer support to everyone. We encourage everyone to gamble responsibly when betting on the NBA season. Learn more about responsible gambling by reading our Stake Smart guidelines.
