Betting on basketball before the game: FIBA and NBA rules, overtime markets and the 2026-27 calendar
A basketball game puts five players from each team on the court at once. Points come from sending the ball through the rival basket, and defence means denying the other side the same; once playing time is up, the higher total wins. FIBA and the NBA share the scale: a successful free throw earns 1 point, a field goal from inside the three-point line 2, and one from outside it 3.
FIBA rules or NBA rules: whose figure is it?
Two rulebooks supply the figures: FIBA's Official Basketball Rules 2026, applied since 1 October 2026, and the NBA's Rulebook for 2026-27. A number from one should not be read into the other, or into the sport as a whole, so each figure below names its source:
Quarters: 10 minutes each under FIBA rules, 12 minutes each in the NBA.
Fouling out: FIBA sends a player off after 5 fouls; the NBA disqualifies him on his sixth personal foul.
Three-point line: under FIBA rules an arc of 6.75 m radius, centred on the spot under the basket; in the NBA, 23 feet 9 inches out from the middle of the basket.
Ring height: FIBA's equipment rules put the top of the ring at 3.05 m, the NBA at 10 feet, one height in two units.
Level after four quarters: both rulebooks keep adding 5-minute overtimes until one side is ahead.
Possession time is common ground: under both rulebooks a team has 24 seconds to try a shot. Under FIBA rules, some throw-ins after a stoppage reset the shot clock to 14 seconds.
Where overtime counts and where it does not
Under 1xBet's betting rules, a basketball bet covers either regular time alone or regular time plus any overtime. The pre-match list shows the Β«Including OvertimeΒ» label beside the outcomes Β«1Β» and Β«2Β», and most fixtures add Β«1 no OTΒ» and Β«2 no OTΒ», with Β«XΒ» standing for the draw. A match page sorts the markets into groups:
Group | Choices | Settled on |
|---|---|---|
Team Wins | W1 or W2, with no draw | whoever leads after overtime, when the event carries Β«Including OvertimeΒ» |
1X2 In Regular Time | W1, X or W2 | the final score of regular time (four quarters in games played under FIBA or NBA rules); a tie there makes X the winning pick |
Regular Time Double Chance | 1X, 12 and 2X, but which of them appear depends on the game | regular time |
Total, Handicap | Over or Under; a points start or deficit for one side | fourth-quarter and second-half bets leave overtime out, even in events labelled Β«Including OvertimeΒ» |
A tie at the end of regular time also settles the Β«Will There Be Overtime?Β» bet in favour of Β«YesΒ».
NBA, EuroLeague, Adriatic and Greek leagues in 2026-27
NBA. The regular season, the league's 81st, fills the calendar from 20 October 2026 until 11 April 2027, a closing date with all 30 teams playing. Each team has 82 games: 80 fixed in advance and two more, between 4 and 10 December 2026, that hinge on Group Play in the NBA Cup, an in-season tournament whose final is set for 11 December 2026 in Indianapolis. The playoffs and the NBA Finals come after. The New York Knicks go into 2026-27 holding both trophies, having won the 2026 Finals four games to one against the San Antonio Spurs for their first title since 1973. Their games sit among NBA games open for pre-match bets.
EuroLeague. Twenty clubs play one another home and away in this season's EuroLeague fixtures: 38 rounds and 380 games, from 24 September 2026 to 16 April 2027. Six go straight through to the playoffs, and seventh to tenth place meet in a Play-In for the final two spots. Four series won by the first team to three victories follow from 27 April until 12 May 2027, then the Final Four: 28 May for the semi-finals, 30 May 2027 for the Championship Game. The holders are Olympiacos Piraeus.
Adriatic League. The Emirati club Dubai Basketball combines that EuroLeague season with the defence of its title in the Adriatic ABA League.
Greece. For a European national championship, the line also carries Greek A1 basketball.
Algeria's own league: the Super Division
In Algeria, the men's elite plays in the Super Division, organised by the Algerian Basketball Federation (FABB). Its 2026-27 campaign began on 11 and 12 September 2026 with 14 clubs, including the holders, WO Boufarik. Twenty-six rounds of home-and-away games make up the regular season; the top six then go directly into the play-offs, while seventh to tenth place pass through a play-in. Boufarik's 2025-26 title came in a best-of-three final: they won the deciding game 70-66 against NB StaouΓ©li in the Coupole hall of Algiers' Mohamed-Boudiaf Olympic Complex, adding an 11th national crown to the club's record.
Pre-match, in-play and the breaks in between
Basketball is open for betting on 1xBet both before a game, in the pre-match section (Line), and while it is being played, in the live section (Live). A live game moves through fixed breaks: under FIBA rules, two minutes between quarters one and two, two more between quarters three and four and before every overtime, and 15 minutes at half-time, the same half-time length as in the NBA.
Games that have already tipped off are gathered under basketball fixtures already under way, and everything else that has not started yet sits under pre-match betting across all sports.