The NBA is finalizing multiple prediction-market partnerships ahead of the 2026-27 regular season, with active deal terms already under discussion. League officials have been exploring entry into the space since before last season.

Kalshi and Polymarket have emerged as the most advanced discussions since talks accelerated in April, though the league has also engaged Novig, Fanatics and Rothera, a joint venture between Robinhood and Susquehanna, as it weighs its options.

"The NBA has circulated a proposal to everybody," said one prediction-market industry executive, who expects announcements before the end of the month. "I would be shocked if they don't try to announce something before the season. They're not going to want this news to come out a week before the first game."

The timeline aligns with comments Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour made to RotoWire this week, suggesting announcements are imminent from at least one of the two major leagues that have yet to finalize prediction-market deals. The NBA and NFL remain the primary holdouts among U.S. pro sports leagues. Front Office Sports previously reported the NFL will not have prediction-market deals in place for the upcoming season.

Last week's 9th Circuit ruling against Kalshi, which prompted New Jersey to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the legality of sports-event contracts, has not slowed talks.

Unlike MLB's exclusive partnership with Polymarket announced in March, the NBA is expected to sign multiple partners with varying levels of rights. It remains possible one platform could be named the league's primary partner, receiving benefits such as in-game advertising and use of official team logos, names and real-time statistics. Sources said any company securing that designation would likely pay more than the $300 million over four years Polymarket committed to MLB.

"My guess is the number is going to be bigger than MLB," said the prediction-market industry executive. "Which is going to price a bunch of people out."

Sources indicated the NBA has come close to finalizing a deal on multiple occasions, including a potential announcement during this year's playoffs or Finals, before ultimately deciding not to proceed. One source cited unresolved terms as the reason for the delay.

"If a platform had said, 'We'll do anything the NBA wants, pay anything the league wants,' could a deal have gotten done for the playoffs? Sure," the source said. "But there are a number of things that have to be in these agreements, and the fact is there was no meeting of minds in time."

The league has also engaged with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regarding proposed rules governing sports-event contracts. In a July comment letter, the NBA said the CFTC's proposal "falls well short" of requiring prediction-market platforms to meet basic sports integrity protections.

No individual NBA teams have reached agreements with prediction-market platforms, unlike the NHL and MLB, where team-level deals have followed league-wide partnerships. Individual NBA franchises have expressed interest in such arrangements, according to sources, but the league would need to approve any deal and first wants integrity protections in place at the league level.