Underdogs Have Been Making Bank for NBA Bettors this Season

The NBA season is shaping up to be the year of the underdogs. Whether you’ve been betting them straight up or against the spread, if you’ve been backing the ‘dogs so far this season your bankroll is probably better off because of it.

NBA Underdogs Against the Spread

Here are the Underdog ATS records in the NBA as of January 28th, 2021:

• Overall: 137-119-2 (53.5%) +$554.55
• Home: 54-52 (50.9%) -$290.91
• Road: 83-67-2 (55.3%) +$845.46

Betting on home underdogs against the spread is the one spot where you’d be down money this season as they’re just 54-52. The biggest thing to note when looking at the underdog ATS records is how well they’ve done on the road. Home court advantage be damned, road underdogs are covering at a rate of 55.3% for a profit of $845.46 based on $100 bets.

NBA Underdogs Straight Up

Here are the Underdog SU records in the NBA as of January 28th, 2021:

• Overall: 101-157 (37.7%) +$3,351.19
• Home: 41-65 (38.7%) +$1,330.48
• Road: 41-65 (38.7%) +$2,020.71

This is where the money has truly been rolling in. If you went crazy and just blindly bet $100 on every single underdog to win outright this NBA season, you’d be up a cool $3,351.19.

With sportsbooks offering long odds on the moneyline, sometimes it pays to get aggressive. There’s a $2,796.64 difference between betting on every underdog against the spread and betting on every underdog to win straight up.

While this sort of insanely profitable trend is bound to balance out by the end of the season, it could be a fun plan to jump on the underdog train while they’re hot.

The Knicks are the Most Profitable Team in the NBA

You can’t talk about underdogs this NBA season without bringing up the New York Knicks. If you look at their record in the standings it’s nothing impressive at just 8-11. What isn’t noted in their record is that a good portion of their wins have come when they’re set as sizable underdogs.

They’re the most profitable team in the NBA on the moneyline so far this season profiting $1,125.00 for moneyline bettors based on $100 wagers.

They were on the right side of the biggest upset in the NBA season to date on December 27th when they took down the Bucks as 13-point underdogs. They were listed at around +650 on the moneyline at most sportsbooks for that game.

Just a week after that massive upset, the Knicks went on a three-game run of upsets against the Packers, Hawks, and Jazz. In those games, they were underdogs of 9.5-points, 7-points, and 8-points.

Sportsbooks smartened up after this run and started to adjust their lines as the Knicks have been 7-point underdogs or greater just twice since January 6th.

Not only are the Knicks the most profitable team in the NBA right now but it’s not even close. The next most profitable team on the moneyline is the Cavaliers at +$762.16. That’s a difference of $362.84 separating the Knicks and the Cavs on the list.