What is the most important stat when betting on NBA basketball?

While certainly up for debate by handicappers, a key stat that many NBA bettors find important is how often a team covers the point spread.

A team’s against the spread (ATS) record is a direct reflection of how often a team plays above the public’s expectations in their games.

While there is no certainty that a team with a winning ATS record will continue to excel at the same pace as in their previous segment of games, a winning spread record can often be associated with a team that is often underestimated by the public.

Another important stat is whether a team’s games go OVER or UNDER the betting total.

A team’s O/U record is a direct reflection of whether or not the team plays in games that are higher or lower scoring. This is useful when betting on NBA basketball totals.

Other handicappers rely on other key stats and metrics for finding winning bets on NBA basketball.

While many handicappers use power ratings to determine the strength of one team over another, those ratings sometimes don’t include actual statistical data and are just a crafted barometer of the handicapper.

Still, common statistics might include:

• Average points scored
• Average points allowed
• The average margin of victory/defeat

Other individual stats can also be helpful in NBA handicapping, including field percentages, rebounding totals, assists, steals, blocked shots, turnovers.