NBA 2K is one of the longest franchises in gaming history. Created way back in November 1999 by Visual Concepts with the support of National Basketball Association, this series of basketball video games has been a staple of the sports simulation genre ever since. Fast-forward to the present day, and the series progressed to the point where teams and players are playing it as an esport and competing for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
With that in mind, we’ve also compiled a comprehensive guide to NBA 2K betting that includes everything, ranging from the gameplay fundamentals and tournament formats to bookmaker recommendations and actionable betting tips.
Where to Bet on NBA 2K League?
Current Real-Money Betting Odds for NBA 2K
How NBA 2K is Played
Before we get into NBA 2K League betting sites and gambling strategies, you need to learn a couple of things about the gameplay. After all, there’s only so far you can get if you don’t understand what’s happening on the screen. Just as its name implies, NBA 2K seeks to emulate the National Basketball Association. With that, you can expect all the standard basketball rules to apply to the digital court the same way they would apply to its real-life counterpart.
The game itself has a number of different modes, and casual players can dabble in street basketball, general manager simulator, and even an RPG-themed career campaign. However, if you’re talking about NBA 2K esports, you only need to know about the Pro-Am mode. This iteration of the game has two teams of five fighting against each other using the National Basketball Association ruleset.
Each NBA 2K pro controls one basketball player from one of the following archetypes:
- Point Guard
- Shooting Guard
- Small Forward
- Power Forward
- Center
These archetypes grant players predetermined skills suitable for the corresponding positions, creating a level playing field for all competitors. It’s worth noting that an NBA 2K match is much faster than a standard game of basketball, as each quarter takes 6 minutes to resolve. However, the most important esports matches are played in a best-of-three format. Combine that with the fact that players have an exceptional level of control over their digital avatars, and you can expect an NBA 2K match to be just as action-heavy as its real-life analog.
NBA 2K Tournaments and Prize Pools
The next step on your NBA 2K betting journey is making sense of the esports scene. The good news is that there’s only one competition you need to follow—the annual NBA 2K League. However, this tournament is long enough to run for the better part of the year.
The competition kicks off with a 15-week regular season. Twelve of these weeks are devoted to standard weekly matchups where 22 participating teams clash with each other in best-of-one matches. As for the remaining weeks, they’re dedicated to three tournaments: The Tip-Off, The Turn, and The Ticket. And while these esports tournaments don’t count towards the regular season record, the fact that they feature six-figure prize pools means that players have all the incentives they need to bring out their A-game. This creates a unique structure where a prolonged regular season is intertwined with fast high-stakes events.
When the regular season comes to an end, the top-7 teams and the winner of the Ticket advance to the playoffs. The quarterfinals take the shape of standard single-elimination matches. However, the semifinals and finals are played in a best-of-three setting, giving players more room to show off their strengths and tweak their gambling strategies. Competition reaches its peak here, as the playoffs prize pool is a whopping $600,000. And considering that the league champion takes half of it home, it’s hard to imagine a better environment for NBA 2K betting!
Last but not least, the NBA 2K League came around at the beginning of 2018. The competition is young. Moreover, the game’s publisher—Take-Two Interactive—and the National Basketball Association are both involved in the tournament, so we fully expect it to get even bigger down the line.
Betting on NBA 2K League
So, how do you make the jump from knowing a few things about the gameplay and tournament scene to betting on NBA 2K? The simple answer is that you find a quality gambling site. Granted, this might not be the most prominent esport, but there are still plenty of reputable bookmakers offering esports odds to bet on NBA 2K League matches. And you can easily set yourself up for success by creating an account at one of these platforms. We’ve already outlined some of the best deals at the top of this article, but here are a couple of other sites to consider:
Best Welcome Offer: ArcaneBet
Few esportsbooks can stand up to ArcaneBet’s welcome offer. The 100% deposit bonus up to €100 might not seem that impressive at first glance, but the fact that ArcaneBet gives you 180 days to redeem it and doesn’t force you to gamble at ridiculously high odds pushes it into a league of its own. Throw in a wide esports coverage, intuitive design, and 24/7 customer service, and it’s easy to see why ArcaneBet made our NBA 2K League betting sites list. Find out more about this bookmaker in our ArcaneBet review.
Best Crypto Integration: Unikrn
Unikrn is the king of crypto integration. This site comes with its own Unikoin Gold and Unikoin Silver tokens that you can use for NBA 2K betting, participating in on-site contests, purchasing in-game items, and even shopping around for merchandise and gaming peripherals. That’s not all there is to this bookie either. Unikrn is renowned for its live betting section, and you can count on it being among the first sites to release in-play markets for the NBA 2K League! You can read all you need to know if our Unikrn esports betting review.
Most Well-Rounded: Betway
Betway is the jack-of-all-trades. For starters, this site grants every new customer a risk-free bet up to €30, which is the perfect welcome offer for anyone looking to dip their toes in the esports betting waters. On top of that, Betway makes an effort to provide competitive odds on a wide range of esports, so you can expect to find great offers for NBA 2K betting. Finally, the site looks slick, and the local supporting staff will do everything in its power to make your gambling experience as seamless as possible. If you wish to know more check our Betway esports review.
Gaining an Edge at NBA 2K Betting
Not even the best NBA 2K League betting sites will make you a winning punter overnight. In fact, the only one that can pull this off is you. Every veteran bettor knows the importance of continuously refining their gambling strategy, so here are 3 actionable tips to hone your betting game:
1. Become an Esports Expert
Knowledge is the foundation of successful wagers. You need to be able to analyze the field and determine which teams are the underdogs and which teams are the favorites to become a winning bettor. Granted, achieving this isn’t easy, as you essentially have to become an NBA 2K expert.
Fortunately, it’s not as hard as it sounds either. The official NBA 2K League site is an absolute godsend for its weekly recaps, comprehensive standings pages, and handy match histories. There’s also an entire NBA 2K esports wiki dedicated to the competitive aspect of the game where you can study up on teams, players, and tournaments formats. Also, don’t hesitate to tune in to NBA 2K Twitch streams, as there are few better ways of learning the game than watching a high-level player explain his thought process.
2. Master the Variance
It’s no secret that esports can be very volatile. Predicting the outcome of best-of-ones is already a tall order, but the fact that most NBA 2K League esports betting sites only offer straightforward match-winner wagers means you can’t turn to other markets to minimize the variance. What you can do, however, is control your spendings.
The universal rule of bankroll management is that you shouldn’t risk more than 5% of your gambling funds on a single wager. Many gamblers even choose to spend as little as 2% of their bankroll per bet to avoid wasting away their hard-earned money. Remember, you can’t control when the swings happen. But you can control how big they are.
3. Tame the Tilt Factor
Let’s face it: everybody tilts. Whether you’re a rookie bettor or a veteran gambler, there will always be a moment so ridiculous that it will make your blood boil. Yet, the absolute worst way to go about it is to continue to bet on NBA 2K League in an attempt to run it back.
Instead, take a step back from gambling. A simple 15-minute pause can go a long way towards getting your head in the right place. Another thing you can do is reevaluating your betting history. Ask yourself whether all of your decisions were grounded in logic and made in good faith, and if the answer is no, take it as a cue to reconsider your approach to gambling.
Finally, come to terms with the thought that low points are a part of the process. Even the best betting gambling strategies or the most generous NBA 2K League betting sites won’t protect you from losing a part of your wagers. But it’s the lessons you take away from these twists of fate that will determine whether you can be a winner in the long run.
