Run an NBA pick'em pool
82 games a team, basketball almost every night, and one leaderboard to prove whose takes actually hold up.
Free for groups up to 25. No app, no spreadsheet.
An NBA pick'em pool is a group game where players pick the winners of NBA games - a nightly slate, a weekly set, or just the marquee matchups - and score a point for each correct call. Points stack across the season and the highest total wins.
How it works
Create the pool
Set up your NBA pick'em in minutes - choose which games count, straight-up or against-the-spread scoring, and how often you run it.
Share the link
One link to the group chat. Players join with a display name - no accounts, nothing to install.
Pick and climb
Everyone picks the slate. We auto-grade every final and stack the points on a live leaderboard while the league plays on.
NBA pick'em rules
An NBA pick'em pool is a pick'em pool built for a league that plays nearly every night. You pick winners, correct calls earn points, and the standings sort the people who watch basketball from the people who just have opinions about it.
The NBA is a different animal from a weekly football pool. There are 1,230 regular-season games and up to a dozen tip-offs on a single night, so the first decision is how much of that you actually want to pick.
The core rules
- Choose the slate. Pick every game on a given night, one set per week, or just the marquee national-TV matchups. Fewer games means more people actually keep up.
- Score the winners. One point per correct pick, most points wins. Run it nightly, weekly, monthly, or season-long - or stack a weekly winner on top of a season table.
- Lock at tip-off. Picks lock when each game starts, so nobody edits their way out of a bad read once the ball is in the air.
- Plan for rest nights. Stars sit for load management and back-to-backs, and lineups land an hour before tip. Good pools accept that as part of the game rather than replaying the night.
- Push rules matter. If you score against the spread, decide up front whether an exact-number push is a half point or no points.
Scoring variations
- Straight up. Just pick winners - simplest, best for a big casual group.
- Against the spread. Pick after the points so hammering the top seed every night isn't a free win.
- Confidence. Rank each night's picks by how sure you are and score the weight. (See the confidence pool format.)
- Over/under totals. Some groups add a pace call on the night's headline game as a tiebreaker.
The season has three acts
- The regular season runs October to April - the long grind where a pick'em pool lives.
- The NBA Cup group games land in November and December, so mid-season stakes arrive early.
- The Play-In and the playoffs in April turn it into a smaller, sharper pool - many groups reset the standings for an NBA playoff pick'em round, or fill out a full postseason bracket with the free bracket generator.
Formats & tiebreakers
Run it for a friend group, a fantasy league's side game, or the office - it pairs neatly with an NFL pick'em in the autumn and a March Madness pool in the spring for a year-round basketball season. Ties settle on head-to-head record, the last week's results, or a single predicted-score question on the marquee game.
Why run it on Trofeo.live
A league that plays 1,230 games does not belong in a spreadsheet. Trofeo.live grades every final for you so you can argue about the rotation instead of doing admin.
- Auto-grading. Every result scored as the night ends - straight-up or against the spread.
- Live leaderboard. Standings move in real time across the whole season and into the playoffs.
- Public proof. Called the 20-point road upset? Gassed up. Backed the team resting three starters? Roasted.
- No app for players. You set it up; they pick from a link with a name.
Set your slate, share the link, and let 82 games do the talking.
Every take on the record
Basketball opinions are cheap in the group chat. A pick'em pool prices them. Every call is logged, scored, and waiting for you in the morning.
FAQ
What is an NBA pick'em pool?+
An NBA pick'em pool is a group game where everyone picks the winners of NBA games - a nightly slate, a weekly set, or the marquee matchups. Correct picks earn points that accumulate through the season, and the highest total tops the leaderboard.
Do I have to pick every game?+
No. The organizer chooses which games count. With up to a dozen games on a night, most groups trim it to a handful - the national-TV games, a fixed weekly slate, or one game per team per week - so people can actually keep up all season.
What happens when a star sits out for rest?+
Nothing - the pick stands. NBA lineups land shortly before tip-off and load management is part of the league, so pools lock picks at tip-off and score the result as played. Reading which teams are on a back-to-back is part of the skill.
Can I run it just for the NBA playoffs?+
Yes. Plenty of groups run a season-long pool and then reset for a playoff pick'em in April, picking each series or each game. You can also fill out the whole postseason bracket instead - the free bracket generator builds one in seconds.
Straight up or against the spread?+
Straight up is easier and better for casual groups. Against the spread keeps it interesting in a league where the best teams win a lot, because backing the favorite every night stops being an automatic point.
Is it free?+
Yes - free for groups up to 25 players. Bigger pools and custom branding are available on paid plans.
Predict it live
Put your calls on the line in a real bracket - run a free prediction pool for these events.
Run an NBA pick'em pool
82 games a team, basketball almost every night, and one leaderboard to prove whose takes actually hold up.
Free for groups up to 25. No app, no spreadsheet.