NBA Picks

How Do We Make Our NBA Picks?

The suggestions on our NBA Picks page are based on the market consensus (the most common pick) from free picks providers across the sports betting industry such as CBS Sports, Sports Betting Dime, Pickswise and more.

We pair the market consensus pick with the best available line from one of our recommended online sportsbooks to give you a best bet for the point spread, total and moneyline for every game on the board to help make your NBA picks today.

Let’s go through an example:

The Boston Celtics are playing the Milwaukee Bucks.

Four out of five sources Betting News monitors are picking the Bucks to cover the spread and the best price available for that pick is +2.5 (-110) at Sportsbook A.

This example also applies for moneyline and over/under (a.k.a. totals) markets.

Betting News Best Bets on our NBA Picks page are subject to change based on how we calculate market consensus. Best Bets are also not financial advice. Please gamble responsibly.

How Do We Calculate the Market Consensus?

Betting News uses predicted scores advertised by free picks providers to determine the market consensus.

Let’s expand on the above example:

  • Source 1 is predicting the Bucks beat the Celtics 115-114
  • Source 2 is predicting the Bucks beat the Celtics 116-110
  • Source 3 is predicting the Celtics beat the Bucks 120-118
  • Source 4 is predicting the Celtics beat the Bucks 124-122
  • Source 5 is predicting the Celtics win in a blowout

The consensus lines for that game are:

  • Point Spread: Bucks +2.5/Celtics -2.5
  • Total: OVER 230.5/UNDER 230.5
  • Moneyline: Bucks +110/Celtics -130

Based on those predictions and consensus lines, we would list Bucks +2.5 (-110) at Sportsbook A (they’re offering thebest price at the consensus line) as the best bet as four out of five sources have a predicted score that would see Milwaukee cover the +2.5 point spread.

However, if the consensus point spread were to move to Bucks +1.5/Celtics -1.5 at participating sportsbooks our suggested pick would change to Celtics -1.5 (-105) at Sportsbook B. That would be because three out of five sources would be predicting that the Celtics would cover the spread and Sportsbook B is offering the best price on that pick.

Why Should You Trust Our NBA Consensus Picks?

Our NBA picks come from reputable sources only. As bettors ourselves, we will not promote or recommend any source that we wouldn’t use for our own betting research.

We also frequently use our NBA consensus picks, as well as our NFL, MLB, and NHL consensus picks, in our articles to support the predictions, picks, and betting analysis that we provide.

While we certainly trust our sources and these picks, we do not recommend relying solely on these picks. These picks, as any picks or information you might find on the Internet, are meant to be a guide, not gospel.

It is important to do your own research and not follow anything or anyone blindly, including us.

Also, these picks will not hit 100 percent of the time. Even if 100 percent of sources agree–and we agree as well–results don’t always play out that way.

However, if you use well-sourced picks, other content that you may find, such as the articles that we write on specific games, and, most importantly, your own research, you can navigate the ups and downs of sports betting well.

If you have any questions about our NBA picks, feel free to reach out via Twitter. In addition to our main Twitter (@BN_Content), all of our writers are active on Twitter.

NBA Picks FAQs

How do NBA consensus picks work?
We monitor top NBA betting information providers and aggregate the picks and predictions they have made on specific games. The pick most heavily promoted by the sources we are monitoring will be the consensus pick for that market.
What is the difference between NBA consensus picks, computer picks and expert picks?
The consensus NBA picks we present are gathered using computer and expert-generated picks from industry-leading sources.
Why are NBA computer picks popular?
Computer picks are popular because following data and trends can be key to long-term sports betting profitability. Computer picks take all the data, player trends, recent performance, and more, that information is run in a model to give the most accurate possible outcomes.
Will computer NBA picks always hit?
No pick is 100 percent guaranteed to win, even if all of the data supports that pick. But if you utilize computer picks and other content–like the content that you will find on Betting News–and your own research, you can do well as a sports bettor.
How do expert picks work?
Experts take in a lot of factors when deciding who to pick. The line, the line movement, the team’s current form, injury news and other factors all play into how an expert decides the picks they are going to make.