2020-21 NBA Underdog Betting Report

We’re nearing the end of one of the weirdest NBA regular seasons we ever witnessed. Shortened schedule, no fans for the better part of the campaign, and MLB-like series shaped this year in the best basketball league in the world. A condensed schedule also resulted in injuries to some of the biggest stars in the game. All this led to plenty of surprising results and many bettors felt that this was the year to back the underdogs. We’ll take a deeper look and check how profitable exactly was betting on the underdogs this season.

Underdog Straight Up Betting for 2020/21 Season

Over the course of the whole season, backing the underdog on the moneyline in every game would have yielded a $1,024.58 profit. However, as the season moved on that trend showed signs of regressing. Below is the detailed data on underdog straight-up betting for the season 2002/21.

 

Situation Underdog SU Records Profits

OVERALL 355-661 (34.9%) +$1,024.58

HOME 160-276 (36.7%) +$1,994.1

ROAD 195-385 (33.6%) -$969.52

LAST 7 DAYS 15-41 (26.8%) -$1,674.29

LAST 14 DAYS 32-83 (27.8%) -$1,019.05

LAST 30 DAYS 77-164 (32.0%) -$303.57

Pre-All-Star 208-324 (39.1%) +$5,242.2

Post-All-Star 147-337 (30.4%) -$4,217.62

 

 

 

As you can see most of the profit came from betting the home NBA betting underdogs. Backing the underdogs when on the road would have resulted in an overall loss. Also, it’s clear that this strategy quickly went sideways following the All-Star break. Since the first week of March, the underdogs won only 30.4% of games straight up.

Underdog ATS Betting for 2020/21 Season

Bets on the underdogs to cover performed even worse, profit-wise. After the first 20 or so days of the season when the underdogs covered in 60.3% of games, these bets went down the drain in the rest of the campaign. Here’s the complete picture.

Situation Underdog ATS Records Profits

 

 

OVERALL 491-511-14 (49.0%) -$6,463.64

HOME 202-227-7 (47.1%) -$4,336.36

ROAD 289-284-7 (50.4%) -$2,127.27

LAST 7 DAYS 24-31-1 (43.6%) -$918.18

LAST 14 DAYS 47-65-3 (42.0%) -$2,227.27

LAST 30 DAYS 110-125-6 (46.8%) -$2,500.0

Pre-All-Star 270-255-7 (51.4%) -$954.55

Post-All-Star 221-256-7 (46.3%) -$5,509.09

Overall, the underdogs went 491-511-14, or 49.0% hit rate. If you had bet $100 on an underdog to cover in each game, you would be down $6,463.64. Most of these losses would have come betting the home underdogs. They performed exceptionally badly at their home arenas, for a total loss of $4,336.36 on $100 bets. Similar to moneyline betting, there’s a sharp decline in potential profits post-All-Star game.

 

Underdog ATS Betting Team Report

Of course, not all teams performed badly as the underdogs. A couple of them would have brought a healthy profit to their backers. Most of all, The Grizzlies. Betting $100 on Memphis to cover in each game they were the underdogs would have brought bettors and cool 800 bucks of profit. Other profitable dogs against the spread include the Wizards, the Knicks, the Nets, and the Suns. On the other hand, the Cavaliers, the Rockets, and the Thunder were the main team to avoid when it comes to underdog ATS betting. Backing the Cavs with $100 to ever as underdogs would have resulted in a staggering loss of -1,800.00. Here’s a complete overview of underdog ATS betting by the team.

Team Underdog Win % ATS Record Profit

 

Suns 66.7 8-4 327.27

Grizzlies 64.7 22-12 800.0

Nets 63.2 12-7 390.91

Clippers 60.0 6-4 145.45

Pelicans 59.4 19-13 427.27

Wizards 58.7 27-19 554.55

Knicks 58.1 25-18-1 472.73

Spurs 57.1 20-15-1 318.18

Mavericks 56.0 14-11 172.73

Blazers 55.6 15-12 163.64

Pistons 53.3 32-28-4 109.09

Kings 52.3 23-21 -9.09

Celtics 52.2 12-11 -9.09

Hawks 51.5 17-16 -54.55

Bulls 51.2 22-21 -100.0

Raptors 46.9 15-17-1 -336.36

Hornets 46.7 21-24-1 -490.91

76ers 46.2 6-7-2 -154.55

T-wolves 45.6 26-31-2 -736.36

Magic 45.5 25-30-2 -727.27

Heat 45.0 9-11 -281.82

Thunder 43.3 29-38 -1,163.64

Pacers 40.6 13-19 -718.18

Nuggets 40.0 6-9 -354.55

Jazz 40.0 2-3 -118.18

Warriors 39.5 15-23 -936.36

Rockets 38.5 20-32 -1,381.82

Lakers 38.1 8-13 -572.73

Cavaliers 36.7 22-38 -1,800.0

Bucks 0.0 0-4 -400.0

Underdog Moneyline Betting Team Report

When it comes to winning straight up as underdogs, the Knicks and the Wizards brought the most profit to their backers. Moneyline betting on the Nets, the Suns, and the Grizzlies as the underdogs also yielded a decent profit. The Rockets were again the team to avoid. Their 10-42 performance as the moneyline underdogs would have taken $-1,630.00 of your bankroll. The full list is below.

Team Underdog Win % SU Record Profit

Suns 66.7 8-4 620.24

Nets 57.9 11-8 835.24

Mavericks 52.0 13-12 367.43

Clippers 50.0 5-5 195.0

Grizzlies 44.1 15-19 461.39

Pelicans 43.8 14-18 290.48

Celtics 43.5 10-13 160.48

Knicks 43.2 19-25 1,170.24

Hawks 42.4 14-19 -59.29

Blazers 40.7 11-16 190.24

Nuggets 40.0 6-9 25.24

Jazz 40.0 2-3 40.0

Wizards 39.1 18-28 1,525.24

Hornets 39.1 18-28 981.24

Spurs 38.9 14-22 380.0

Kings 38.6 17-27 610.24

Warriors 36.8 14-24 -15.0

Heat 35.0 7-13 -229.52

Bulls 34.9 15-28 -149.76

Pacers 34.4 11-21 -385.0

Cavaliers 30.0 18-42 -249.76

Thunder 28.4 19-48 -414.76

Pistons 28.1 18-46 -850.0

Raptors 27.3 9-24 -645.0

T-wolves 27.1 16-43 -145.0

76ers 26.7 4-11 -545.0

Magic 24.6 14-43 -680.0

Lakers 23.8 5-16 -430.0

Rockets 19.2 10-42 -1,630.0

Bucks 0.0 0-4 -400.0