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Biggest Prizes in NBA Betting History

Photo by Edgar Chaparro on Unsplash

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, and the NBA is one of the largest leagues in the country. And with online sports betting becoming legal in most states, millions of people wager on NBA teams every year. Estimates show that bettors in Las Vegas sportsbooks bet over $5 million on every NBA Finals game over the NBA postseason. Of course, not every bet is a winner, but some do fetch sizable pots. Let’s look at some of the biggest betting prizes the NBA has seen over the years.

  1. Anonymous Australian Bettor: $302,000

In March 2015, an anonymous Western Australian bettor made 13 correct predictions for the NBA scorecard twice in the span of two weeks. Over two weekends, he turned his 5AUS wager into a total win of $302,000, first winning $216,000, then $86,000.

  1. 2021 NBA Championship: $330,000

During the 2021 NBA Finals, the Milwaukee Bucks broke their 50-year championship dry spell, taking home the trophy. But this was good news not just for the Bucks and their fans but also for another anonymous bettor. According to Borgata, the bettor wagered $300,000 on the team four weeks before the final. The +110 odds saw him take home a sizable $330,000 payout.

  1. Haralabos “Bob” Voulgaris: $500,000

Greek Canadian Haralabos “Bob” Voulgaris is arguably the most famous “big” winner in sports betting. In 2000, Bob decided to “invest” his life savings totaling $70,000 in the Los Angeles Lakers. He bet on the Lakers to take home the season despite a disappointing performance the previous year.

Only 25 at the time, Bob was patient with his investment. It finally paid out six months later when the Lakers won the championship, netting Bob half a million dollars. Banking on this momentum and his knowledge of betting numbers and the game, Bob, also an avid poker player, launched a sportsbook much like Betway that he now runs.

  1. Floyd Mayweather: $6.5 Million

It should come as no surprise that the largest NBA betting prize was won by someone nicknamed “The Money.” In June 2013, Mayweather bet $5.9 million on Miami Heat, predicting they would win against the Indiana Pacers. Miami Heat took the game with a 99-76 win, allowing the world-class athlete to collect a whopping $6.5 million prize. Of course, very few bookmakers were willing to take a bet of that magnitude, so Mayweather spread them across nine different sportsbooks.

This did not end Mayweather’s NBA betting winning streak, however. In May 2015, he made $200,000 on the Golden State Warriors, predicting they would beat The Houston Rockets in the third game of the Western Conference finals. The Warriors won with a 35-point lead.

Conclusion

Between millions of dollars in TV revenue and endorsement deals, basketball is a multi-billion-dollar sport with millions of fans across the world. It only makes sense that some of these fans will occasionally get in on the money action and bet on NBA teams in top sportsbooks like Betway. As you can see from these examples, sometimes their bets result in the winnings of a lifetime.

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