The Five Days of Christmas Betting: Day 2 How to Bet NBA Christmas Day

The NBA on Christmas Day is a tradition that dates back to 1947 when the New York Knicks beat the Providence Steamrollers 89-75. Ever since, the NBA has been a staple in households across the United States on TV’s in the background as kids open up presents and families make memories.

This year is no different as five great matchups take place throughout the day. The odds aren’t out yet, but here’s some strategic advice on how to lay your Christmas cash so you’ll have even more money to spend on New Year Eve. To see the odds when they do come out, and make sure they’re accurate be sure to use our NBA live odds comparison tool. It allows you to see every game’s live odds and compare them across multiple sportsbooks all in one place.

Bet the under

Here’s one big insight for you when it comes to betting on Christmas day. Take the under. It’s that simple, I don’t care that some of the best players are playing, or it’s a finals matchup, “but they scored so many points last time they played,” take the under.

Going back to 2007 more unders have hit on Christmas in 13 out of the last 14 seasons. Add to that the new foul rules has scoring down to its lowest points per game average since 2018. I would take the under in all of these games and look to come out ahead at the end of the day.

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Hit Second Half Unders Hard

If I just told you to bet the under it would make sense to bet halftime unders as well right? The truth here is the second half unders are where the money is at. Christmas Day second half unders are 37-18-1 (67%) since 2005. Now compare that with first half unders 28-27-1 (51%) and you can see why second half unders are so crucial.

Teams and players are known to buckle down on defense late in games, especially during the playoffs. Christmas Day brings a playoff atmosphere with the biggest stars and best teams facing off in front of the entire country. It’s no surprise they take their game seriously and second half overs are hard to come by.

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Ignore the public

Christmas Day is known to attract the casual NBA fan both to view the games and to bet on them. Many of those placing bets on the 25th are already a few drinks deep and only have a superficial knowledge of the NBA. For those reasons, one of the safest bets you can make on Jesus’s birthday is to fade the public.

Teams that don’t get the public’s love, and receive less than 50% of the bets on the spread have gone 33-21 against the spread on Christmas Day since 2005. If you took this strategy alone you’d walk away from Christmas dinner having made money in nine of the last 13 seasons.

There you have it. Three great strategies you can employ to make it big this Christmas. For even more tips on betting the NBA, check out our NBA Betting Tips Page .