If you enjoy betting on sports, especially team sports, then one of the more popular betting options is to back a market based on the performance of an individual player.

A good example of this is the first goalscorer market in a soccer match. But there are plenty of similar options across other sports and one of those which does draw plenty of interest is Basketball. Particularly the pinnacle of the sport, the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Featuring the best teams in the world, it is little wonder that NBA matches attract plenty of betting, both in the United States and around the world.

However, many people tend to stick with the popular Line Betting options, such as the Points Spread, Total Points and Money Line bets.

DIg a little deeper at bookmakers such as bet365 Sport and you will find a number of individual player markets, not to mention the option to combine many of these markets on your own Bet Builder+ wager.

However, you don't have to make Bet Builder+ bets solely. There are a number of standalone player bets available across a massive choice of NBA Games throughout the regular and post-season.

This means that you can now back on the individual performance of NBA superstars like Steph Curry, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, Nicola Jokic, Tyrese Haliburton, LeBron James, Giannis Antetoukounmpo, Ja Morant and current NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Let's now take a closer look at the best Basketball Player Bets you can find at bet365, explaining what each is and means, with screenshot examples of each type of bet.

Best Basketball Player Bets – Points O/U

This is one of the simplest Basketball Player Bets in that it is a simple choice between two options for any of the players listed.

As you can see, it is an Over/Under bet with the bookmaker trying to estimate the ideal points total for each player (based on their performances throughout the season and a range of other factors), which will give them the best option as close to a 50/50 choice as possible.

The more likely it is a player will score points (such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the screenshot above), then the higher the points score will be for that player. For replacements or players who tend not to score many points, the line will be set at a lower points total.

Best Basketball Player Bets – Points Low

The Points Low option is a very similar bet to the Points Over/Under market. However, in this bet the points line is set lower for each player (hence the Points Low title).

This means that there is a much greater difference between the two odds offered for each player on the markets available.

For example, for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, his Points O/U options are set at above or below 33.5 points and both offer odds of 1.86. However, on the Points Low market, the level for Gilgeous-Alexander is set at 27.5 and that means over 27.5 points is a much lower odds option (1.23) while under 27.5 points is a higher odds pick (4.10).

Best Basketball Player Bets – Points

The third type of betting available for Basketball players in the NBA is on how many points they may score in a game. Unlike the other two bets, which are Over/Under options, this bet is one where you get to choose whether a player will score over a stated number of points.

For some players, who are heavy points scorers for their team, lower points totals will not be available. However, these players may also have higher points totals available (with longer odds on them scoring over this stated number of points).

This bet can be a lucrative option when you look at the more unlikely point scores for each player, but match that up when a player has a favourable match up against a team, or has a record of scoring more points against these opponents than others.

Best Basketball Player Bets – Assists

An NBA superstar is not just evaluated on the number of points that they score in a game. That is important of course, but so too are other aspects of their game such as Assists.

In Basketball an assist is a pass or other move that sets up a player to score points. Many basketball teams have designated players whose chief role in the team is to be the main assist maker for their main point scorers.

As such, the markets on assists can be quite different to the markets for betting on points. Each player has a number of options available for them, which they must reach (or exceed) in terms of assists in order for the bet to be a winner.

Best Basketball Player Bets – Rebounds

If you are more a fan of defensive play in Basketball, then the number of Rebounds a player claims in a match may be the ideal market for you.

A rebound is when an opposing player takes a shot at the basket but misses and the named player then reclaims the ball after the shot has missed.

Rebounds are key in Basketball as it means the opposition does not score, and now your team has the ball and can score to add to their points total.

This market is very similar to betting on the number of assists for each player, with a stated number of rebounds available to pick from. Once again, players who win rebounds will be different to those that tend to score points, or land assists.

Best Basketball Player Bets – Three's Made

Three-pointers are the highest potential score an individual can achieve in a single basketball attack. These are shots that are made successfully when the player is standing outside the three-point line and because these shots are more difficult to make, they are worth one more point than the standard 2-point score.

Once again, there are specific players on each team who will be their main source of three-point scores. The most famous of these being Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, who has made scoring three-pointers almost into an art-form in the modern day NBA.

In the example above, you can see that Luguentz Dort and Jalen Wiilliams are viewed as more likely to score three-pointers for their team, as opposed to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who while likely to be the top scorer, tends to score from inside the paint, i.e. 2-point scores.

Best Basketball Player Bets – Player Builder

One of the more recent additions to the line up of player bets for NBA Basketball is the Player Builder option.

This is similar to the Bet Builder+ option, but instead of focusing on a team, this builder is focused on the performance of the player.

You can combine different aspects of a listed players performance, such as points scored, assists, rebounds, three's made, whether they will get a double double, or triple double in the game and similar into a personalised accumulator bet.

This bet tends to be available for the top players for each team, not every member of the matchday squad.

We hope that this guide to player betting in the NBA will allow you to enjoy a wider range of bets on these popular games and allow you to back your favourite players as they face off against opponents throughout the NBA season!