Basketball fans are turning to Kalshi to trade on the 2025 NBA playoffs.
The 2025 NBA playoffs are in full swing and sports bettors are once again busy placing bets on game and series outcomes through their favorite online sportsbooks. But what about sports fans who reside in one of the 20 states that has yet to legalize online sports betting?
Sign up to Kalshi here to trade on NBA games
Prediction markets like Kalshi provide an excellent alternative to traditional sports wagering. Kalshi is federally-regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and is legal in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
This year, Kalshi introduced event trading on NBA games and playoff series, allowing users to trade contracts on which teams they think will win or lose. Users have been flocking to the prediction markets to “bet” on sporting events like the NBA playoffs. Between the NBA single-game and futures markets offered, Kalshi had attracted well over $500 million in trade volume with the Conference and NBA Finals still to come.
Kalshi’s NBA markets are similar to moneyline and futures wagering at sportsbooks. As of now, you won’t find anything akin to point spreads, over/unders or prop betting at Kalshi.
For the NBA playoffs, Kalshi offers markets for single games and semifinal and conference championship winners, as well as which team will win the NBA Finals.
To trade NBA playoff contracts, follow the link above, or head to Kalshi and click on the “Basketball Playoffs” link atop the homepage to see your options. Choose your market and you’ll see the real-time odds, which are based on Kalshi users’ trades.
It’s then time to pick a side. All of the event contracts are related to who will be the game or series winner, so you can choose “Yes” or “No.” You’ll see the pricing for each selection, which are based on the current odds.
For each contract you buy, if your prediction is correct, you will receive $1. So, for example, if you think Indiana will win its series against Cleveland, the “Yes” contract is priced at $.63, reflecting the 63% odds that the Pacers will win. A single $.63 contract would return $1 (plus your original $.63) if Indiana emerges victorious. Kalshi also always lists what your return will be if you buy $100 worth of contracts. For the Indiana/Cleveland series, if you put up $100 on contracts that the Pacers will win, you would get $154 in return.
Besides markets on single-game winners, Kalshi users can trade on the following NBA playoff markets:
In Kalshi’s “Pro Men's Basketball Champion?” market, the odds are currently favoring Oklahoma City, with a 44% chance of winning the championship as of May 9. Since the market launched in January, the Thunder and Boston Celtics have been the top two favorites, with Oklahoma City surging since the start of the playoffs.
In the wake of falling behind 2-0 in the semifinals to the Knicks on May 7, Boston’s odds of winning the championship abruptly fell from 31% to 21%. At the same time, the Thunder’s odds shot up from 35% to 45% after tying their series at 1-1 following a rout of the Nuggets in Game 2.
Choosing the underdog to win the championship, of course, pays off bigger dividends if they end up winning. As of May 9, Denver and Golden State, who lost star Steph Curry to injury early in their Game 1 semifinal victory over Minnesota, have the longest odds to win the NBA Finals, at 4% and 2%, respectively.
See the chart above for the latest NBA championship odds at Kalshi.
Prediction markets like Kalshi offer a great way to bet on NBA games, as you can track the odds in real time and quickly buy or sell contracts, even during the game, which isn’t as easy to do at traditional sportsbooks.
Prediction markets are providing a useful option to add even more excitement to the NBA playoffs.
