Do you love the NBA draft but are new to betting? Do you love betting but haven’t wagered on the draft before? No worries. We’ve got you covered with an in-depth betting guide to the draft so you can place bets with ease like Steph Curry pulling up for a three.

NBA basketball is one of the most popular sports for betting in the United States and Canada. NBA bettors today aren’t just looking at spreads, totals and NBA championship futures odds. They want to bet on every part of the league calendar, including placing bets on the NBA draft.

Once the dust has settled on the NBA playoffs and the 2022 NBA Draft combine has come to a close, it’s time to see where the future stars of the NBA will begin their careers. In this How to Bet on the NBA Draft guide, we’ll show you the types of wagers you can make so that you’ll be throwing down bets harder than a LeBron James poster dunk. 

How To Sign Up At A Sportsbook To Bet On The NBA Draft

Step 1:

Before you learn how to bet on the NBA draft picks with our NBA draft tips, you should select the best Sportsbook for you. Sportsbook is the industry name for a betting site or Sportsbook you use to bet on the draft. All of the betting sites we recommend are reputable, safe, secure and meet our criteria. There are several online betting sites to place your first NBA draft bets with so find the one that works best for your preferred betting style.

Step 2:

Sign up. This step is simple and takes only a few minutes. All you need is your name, email address and your preferred deposit information ready. You will also need to enter your birthday to prove that you are of legal betting age.

Fill out the relevant information and wait for a confirmation email or link. Make sure you have your deposit info handy because once the sign-up process is complete, you are able to place your first bet.

Step 3:

Make a deposit. How you want to fund your account is up to you. Playing for real money at your sportsbook of choice involves finding a deposit option that works best for your needs.

The majority of betting sites allow you to make deposits using credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX), e-wallets (PayPal, Neteller, Skrill) and debit. Many online sports betting sites will accept cryptocurrency as a deposit method. Generally, you’ll find gambling sites that take Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash and Ethereum.

Step 4:

Place your wager. Now that your account is fully loaded, you are ready to place your first NBA draft bet, choose a sportsbook from our list and get started today!

How Does The NBA Draft Work?

The NBA draft consists of the 30 teams of the National Basketball Association bringing in the newest crop of players. The 2022 NBA Draft order is decided based on a lottery system that takes place prior to the draft. If this is the first time you are hearing of this, you’re probably thinking “What is the NBA draft lottery?”

In the NBA draft lottery, the teams from the previous year with the lowest winning percentage during the regular season that missed the playoffs are pooled together to see who hits the jackpot and receives the No. 1 pick in that year’s draft.

Teams that finish lowest have higher odds of securing the No. 1 pick in the draft, but it is not guaranteed, as we have seen several teams jump up in the lottery and secure the top pick without having the worst overall record. Some teams may have several picks in the NBA draft as they were able to trade assets in anticipation of the coming draft year.

The team with the worst record in the NBA the previous season will generally have the first overall pick and will be able to select any player eligible for the NBA draft. To be eligible to enter the draft, a player must be at least one year removed from high school. Players who are drafted come from various areas including the NCAA, NBA G League, or from other professional leagues outside of North America.

With several players on an active NBA roster, you are probably thinking “How many rounds are in the NBA draft?” Compared to other major sports league drafts, the NBA draft is in the express lane. In the draft, there are only two rounds and the entire draft process plays out over the course of one night.

With such a long and intense process that is going on in the background all season long, teams often put it all on the line and make huge moves, while others swing and miss. For some teams, the draft is a way to set the tone for their offseason and their newly acquired assets could be used as leverage for bigger moves or become cornerstones the team decides to build around.

How Do NBA Draft Odds Work?

You’re generally deciding between two possible outcomes, either the OVER or UNDER on a prospect’s draft position, or the number of players at a certain position to be selected. The biggest difference is in picking from select groups of players to be chosen with the No. 1 pick or to be the top player selected at their position.

What are the best places to find NBA draft betting odds? Online sportsbook Sportsbook releases a long list of odds for the NBA draft, including those for the first player drafted at each position, specific rounds for when players will be taken, and OVER/UNDERs on draft position.

Wagering On The NBA Draft: Betting Options

If you’re just learning how to bet on the NBA draft, the most common bet type is on who will be the first overall pick. Bet options will focus on the top prospects, based on both their current skills as well as potential. The potential landing spots of draftees, as well as their draft spot, are available betting options.

Bets will also categorize players by position and look at who will be the first guard, forward or center to be taken. People will also be able to bet on how many players at a certain position will be selected in the first round, or overall. Prospects may also be pitted in head-to-head matchups for which one will be the first to be picked.

Moneyline: How To Make A Straight-Up Bet On The NBA Draft

When you visit any of the top online sportsbooks, you’ll see odds that look like this for who will be the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft:

In this case, Jabari Smith Jr. is the favorite to be selected first overall. We know this by the minus sign (-). The others are considered underdogs. We know this because of the plus sign (+).

If there is no clear favorite, then the player with the lowest odds would be it. If Smith was at +150 instead of -110, he’d still be the favorite since those odds would still be the smallest.

If you think Holmgren will be the first overall pick, and you bet $100 on the versatile center out of Gonzaga, you would get a payout of $275. You would get your original $100 back plus your winnings of $175. If you think Shaedon Sharpe, Johnny Davis or anyone else with even lower odds of being the first overall pick will be selected at No. 1, you can make a significant profit if you’re correct.

But bettor beware when wagering on any underdog draft pick: in the past eight years, the favorite to be selected first overall has been selected at the top of the draft order. The last underdog to be drafted numero uno was all-time bust Anthony Bennett in 2013. If recent NBA draft history tells us anything, it’s to trust the oddsmakers and play it safe when wagering on the top pick in the draft.

Our Odds Calculator will show you how much you’d win based on the odds and amount bet on any NBA draft wager you could want to make.

What Is A Draft Prop Bet?

When you bet on the NBA draft, you’re making a prop bet. Short for proposition, this is a bet on the occurrence or non-occurrence of certain player or team milestones that may not directly correlate to the outcome of a particular game. You can make this kind of bet as soon as draft odds are announced. If you see odds you like, jump on them quickly as the lines could move or be taken off the board. 

Prop bets are fun side bets for established gamblers or those just learning how to bet on the NBA draft online and can involve just about anything. NBA draft props will range from:

Totals: Betting On Draft Position

When you’re wagering on the draft, you’re betting on either the OVER or UNDER on draft position. For example: Where will Keegan Murray be drafted?

If you think Murray will be selected anywhere between 1 and 7, and you bet $100 on the six-foot-eight forward, you would get a payout of $166. You would get your original $100 back plus your winnings of $66.

If you think Murray will be selected eighth overall or later, and you bet $100 on the Iowa Hawkeye, you would get a payout of $210. You would get your original $100 back plus your winnings of $110.

The numbers under the odds column are the juice. This is the cut the sportsbook takes from your bet. It’s like paying a tax or commission.

When you see -150, it means you have to bet $150 to win $100. When you see +110, it means you’ll have to bet $100 to win $110.

Live Draft Betting: Wagering While The Draft Is Unfolding

One of the best things about betting on the NBA draft, besides the potential to win money, is live betting. Basketball wagering sites offer live odds and lines as the draft transpires, giving you the chance to bet on almost every selection made throughout the night. If a prospect gets drafted fifth overall instead of 12th as he was initially projected, then that will have an effect on live odds and lines with regard to the remaining selections.

Futures: Who Will Win It All?

Basketball betting sportsbooks offer NBA wagering year-round in the form of futures. These are bets made on events that generally take place at the end of the season. You can bet on things like which teams will win their divisions, NBA season win totals, which teams will make it to the NBA Finals, points per game, rebounds per game and other statistical leaders, where NBA free agents will land, and all NBA draft picks.

Learning how to bet on NBA Draft 2022 can even help your overall basketball betting ability. The draft will have a direct impact on futures based on team selections, so check out updated odds on which team will win the championship in 2023 in our NBA Finals Odds article. And if you’re wondering when is the 2022 NBA Draft, it all tips off on June 23, 2022.