[Sportico] The NBA Playoffs used to be predictable. Then the 2020s started. Underdogs have won 33% of series this decade
SRC: https://www.sportico.com/leagues/basketball/2026/2026-nba-playoffs-odds-76ers-lakers-1234891951/
Upsets are now the norm in April and May. If you’d bet \(100 on the underdog for every series in the 1990s, you’d have lost \)3,415, per Covers.com. In the 2000s, you’d have been down \(5,530, and in the 2010s you’d have been \)4,290 in the hole. In the 2020s so far, a bettor backing the underdog every time would be up $1,650.
Put more simply, underdogs won 23% of series in the 1990s and only 21% of series in the 2000s and 2010s, but are taking 33% of series in the 2020s.
four of the 14 largest NBA playoff upsets of the past 40 years have occurred in just the past two postseasons.