Year	Champion	Runner-Up
2025	Oklahoma City Thunder	Indiana Pacers
2024	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
2023	Denver Nuggets	Miami Heat
2022	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
2021	Milwaukee Bucks	Phoenix Suns
2020	Los Angeles Lakers	Miami Heat
2019	Toronto Raptors	Golden State Warriors

Sensitive_Worry2499

650 | 5 hours ago

More strange is the second round curse. No defending champion has made it out of second round since 2019, including one of the biggest upsets of the last decade in 2025 Celtics Knicks

crimxona | Canada

337 | 4 hours ago

If OKC loses to the 4 or 5 seed something very bad must have happened to SGA

CMYGQZ | Grizzlies

154 | 4 hours ago

specifically Lakers or Rockets. We were just 1 David Roddy masterpiece game 82 performance away from Nuggets being 4 seed, and I think Nuggets beating OKC isnt the biggest upset.

Hot-Term3405

43 | 3 hours ago

OKC is gonna lose to Portland, mark ur calendar 💯 fact checked by real American Kris Murray stans

Boomhauer_007 | Raptors

35 | 4 hours ago

You could field a very impressive team between the injured list of the Rockets and Lakers but in their current state I would bet on the thunder becoming the first team to win a series in three games before I would say either of those teams upset them

Shit you could combine the Lakers and Rockets current rosters and with the injuries I still think OKC would sweep them

topazswissmas | Toronto Huskies

16 | 3 hours ago

I think the only path to victory for both Rockets and Lakers are the cash in on good nights from Luka/Durant if the rest are playing well. Try to force a scrappy game 7 where anything could happen.

porkchop487 | Bulls

12 | 3 hours ago

Shit you could combine the Lakers and Rockets current rosters and with the injuries I still think OKC would sweep them

Thats delusional. OKC likely won’t even be favored to sweep either team in the 2nd round let alone both rosters combined

ymi17 | Thunder

17 | 3 hours ago

Agreed. I think the Rockets, in particular, have gotten a massive amount of disrespect in this whole “avoid the nuggets” thing. Like, yeah, Jokic is tough. But the Rockets are, too, and despite their scoring issues, they have one of the most unguardable offensive players of all time, who is uniquely motivated to beat us.

Animefan420lol | NBA

7 | 3 hours ago

Want to see kd vs okc tbh

porkchop487 | Bulls

2 | 3 hours ago

Very likely. Rockets are big favorites to win the series vs Lakers

sirdestroy

11 | 3 hours ago

I still think OKC would sweep them

most delusional take i’ve ever heard. checking again in 1 month to see this age like milk RemindMe! 1 month

velvynx | Warriors

2 | 3 hours ago

Warriors make it out of the play-in, Steph skyfucks them again 10 years later in Game 7

Burgerburgerfred | Nets

1 | an hour ago

In this context “combine Lakers and Rockets” makes it sound like a whole lot more than “put Lebron on Rockets.

Cpt-No-Dick | Thunder

12 | 4 hours ago

We should walk to the Conference Finals but the Conference Finals themselves will be a real battle

A-Centrifugal-Force

3 | 4 hours ago

They’re lucky the Spurs rested Wemby agains the Nuggets, otherwise I could see them realistically losing to the Nuggets in round 2 if they were the 4 seed.

Cultural_Tank_6947 | Warriors

1 | 3 hours ago

Won’t that be either LeBron or KD?

Punziee | Lakers

34 | 4 hours ago

That is quite interesting too lol. Makes me think that the previous year’s playoff “meta” dictates how teams play the following season (i.e. OKC/Pacers both play a high pace, transition heavy game last year, leading to many teams adopting more physical defense for transition buckets). Maybe the hyper focus on the recent champions paints the largest target on their back throughout the season and leads to many teams developing counters to how they like to play?

ilikekittens2018 | Nuggets

58 | 4 hours ago

Nuggets in 24 basically ran into a Wolves team perfectly designed to counter them, so I think you’re onto something lol

DomainEntransion

24 | 4 hours ago

Same with Celtics Knicks in 2025

lefebrave | Celtics

11 | 4 hours ago

I don’t think it was the same case. Celtics team were showing signs of declining before playoffs due to regression and injuries. KP was a negative, Hauser was absent, JB (who relies on athletism) could not even dunk due to injury, Jrue and Al were not the same. (5 of top 8 from previous year) Don’t get me wrong, that was an upset for sure. But it is more about Celtics losing their edge, rather than being countered roster construction wise like Wolves-Nuggets case. We played inconsistent last two months all along. Before that, Celtics were matching up NYK just fine without any radical change on both teams. It was an upset fair and square, but I can’t (and I couldn’t at the time) see that team win against Pacers or OKC in their state at that time.

Yet it is still an example of the trend of course, just in a different way.

DomainEntransion

3 | 3 hours ago

I think the Celtics hadn’t noticeably lost a step until they played the Knicks. They were pretty much title favorites going into the playoffs if I’m remembering correctly. They finished the season very strongly (8-2 in the final 10 and over 60 wins) and smoked Orlando in the first round. Derrick White and Tatum were playing some of their best basketball, Pritchard was a demon, and Brown was still a monster.

Another factor to consider is that the 2024 Celtics weren’t exactly a legendary team to begin with. Yes they won the chip but they weren’t really challenged all playoffs. Facing the nuggets or the wolves in the finals that year would’ve been a coin flip. Lots of people were even saying that Tatum couldn’t lead a championship roster, but he proved them wrong. The east was a joke in 2024 outside of the Celtics, so the Knicks went into the next season specifically preparing to beat them.

Also yes, the Celtics smoked the Knicks all year, but the Knicks also clearly elevated their intensity in the playoffs. Mikal Bridges (a pick up from the offseason) covering JB was literally the deciding factor in the first 2 games. Towns (also a pick up from the offseason), along with Robinson, were a brutal matchup for Celtics bigs. KP (even while healthy) and Kornet simply didn’t have the defense to stop Towns, and their rebounding and defense was often worse than Robinson’s. The 2024 Knicks cannot beat the 2025 Celtics, but the specifically constructed roster actually gave them a shot.

say_wot_again | Celtics

8 | 3 hours ago

The 2024 Celtics had the fourth highest net rating in league history at the time, basically tied with the 2017 Warriors. A large part of why they weren’t challenged in the playoffs was because of how dominant they were, even without KP for most of the playoffs.

g1rlchild | Spurs

9 | 3 hours ago

The Spurs are the closest thing OKC has to Kryptonite, so it should be interesting to see how it goes if we can get past Phoenix/Portland and Denver. (Which I’m in no way assuming will be the case.)

ilikekittens2018 | Nuggets

12 | 3 hours ago

Seems to me that the Nuggets Spurs and OKC have a bit of a rock paper scissors thing going on… but unluckily for both of us, OKC got the 1 seed and basically dodges every good team in the west except the poor exhausted team that make it out of our side of the bracket.

g1rlchild | Spurs

5 | 3 hours ago

Yeah, y’all are looking the best you’ve been since your title year. If we make it to the OKC series, we’ll have earned it, lol.

Wally450 | Celtics

2 | 2 hours ago

Its funny looking at the way those playoffs went. Denver ran into Minnesota who weren’t a good matchup, then Minnesota ran into Dallas who wasn’t a good matchup, then Dallas ran into Boston who wasn’t a good matchup.

I was honestly dreading having to play either Minnesota or Denver. I did not like those matchups.

ilikekittens2018 | Nuggets

1 | 2 hours ago

It’s interesting cause I think the Celtics are the best team in the east but I feel like my Nuggets will win this year if Boston is our Finals opponent. The Knicks have our number, Pistons I’m not too sure about tbh, but Celtics just don’t scare me for some reason even though you’ve got a great team.

dalivo

4 | 3 hours ago

Spurs could take down OKC, but that’s more about their own timeline of development and style than reacting to OKC. It just so happens the Spurs have a generational defensive menace that is well-suited to slowing OKC down. But the Spurs have to get past Denver, and that’s actually not a great matchup for the Spurs. So I still think OKC will win this year.

Asoriel

2 | an hour ago

Why do the Spurs seem to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their OKC matchup, but when other teams like the Celtics are brought up in how the Knicks beat them all year, nobody is assuming the Celtics will just lose.

Timberwolves also beat OKC a bunch last regular season, didn’t seem to help them in the WCF last year. Heck, OKC themselves know very much how insignificant a regular season series can be against a playoff series when they lost to Portland.

I think the hype around Wemby is more overstating their ability to counter OKC. Spurs ended the season with one of the easier schedules since ASB. OKC was the opposite, having one of the hardest schedules remaining, yet they closed out in roughly the same fashion as the Spurs, preventing the Spurs from obtaining the 1 seed despite the strength of schedule discrepancy.

My honest opinion on the playoffs in regards to the Spurs is that I give them ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ on making it to the WCF. It really depends on how long their first series goes, then how they can adapt to Denver’s experience. I don’t believe OKC will have nearly as hard of a time making it to the WCF, and given that, I don’t see OKC v Spurs going more than 5-6 games. I honestly think the Celtics would be the hardest series for OKC, and I don’t see that going to 7 either, in favor of OKC.

Then, next year, I don’t see OKC just getting weaker. They’re the youngest team to win a ring in nearly 50 years, and that literally means they should have all the expectation to keep getting better. So much discussion around Wemby owning the next several years is overshadowing that OKC is more likely to own those years instead. Why do you think OKC doesn’t seem rattled by injury luck? Why do you think OKC’s players seem calm and confident going into and out of each and every game they play? Why do you think they’ve remained largely quiet about all the noise surrounding other teams and players?

It’s because they’re smart enough to know that at the end of the day, winning a ring is the final word, and as of right now, nobody is set up to win one better than they are.

SoaplessTitanic | Celtics

5 | an hour ago

Maybe I’m still just jaded from the loss, but it feels a little wrong to call that Celtics series one of the biggest upsets considering the Tatum injury. I realize we would’ve almost definitely been going down 3-1 even with a healthy Tatum, but there’s been a lot more 3-1 comebacks in recent years. The Celtics even looked like they were going to comeback from 3-0 against Miami until Tatum got injured right at the start of game 7.

I realize injuries are part of the game, but I feel like the word upset is a little misleading given our decent chance to win the series without the freak Tatum injury. Even if you’d give us just a ~10% chance with a heathy Tatum down 3-1. Tatum had probably been the healthiest star in the league before his Achilles tear too, so it’s not like it was at all expected that he might miss time in the playoffs

Flimsy-Fisherman6567 | Heat

2 | an hour ago

The celtics dominated the Knicks that regular season, it was a pretty common take that the Knicks would get lighten up with KAT and Brunson defending the monstrous Celtics offense, and the Celtics were the defending champs that won 60+ games. The fact they went down 2-0 by blowing two 20 point leads at home then went down 3-1 was very very shocking.

oby100 | Celtics

3 | 3 hours ago

I had seats right behind the Knicks bench for game 1 and the last few minutes were the worst minutes of my life.

I never really thought about what a historic upset the series was…

colosusx1 | Celtics

4 | 2 hours ago

It wasn’t as big of an upset as odds or pundits or social media made it seem at the time. People didn’t know Brown was on a torn meniscus, and had no clue KP was a shell of himself due to pots. I’m sure if Jdub and Chet had debilitating injuries, it wouldn’t be a historical upset for this rockets team to beat them.

I_Set_3_Alarms | Celtics

1 | an hour ago

If Nuggets had fallen to 4 definitely could have kept up.

But I can’t see any world where the Thunder lose to these Rockets or Lakers without OKC injuries

Professional-Play-38 | Pistons

1 | an hour ago

lol if If the rockets or the lakers beat them I’ll genuinely eat my pants

heat_fan_ | Raptors

192 | 5 hours ago

Thunder are clearly the favorites, we’ll see if Spurs or any other teams have anything to say

NCBaddict | Bulls

85 | 3 hours ago

Spurs are a hard counter for OKC, but unfortunately they likely have to beat Denver to get there.

Denver choosing to win the last game of the season against San Antonio probably was the best thing that could’ve happened to OKC. They likely just have to beat the battered Suns/Clippers and Lakers to get to WCF.

EDIT: I fully believe that the Rockets will choke against a LeBron-only Lakers. They have just looked terrible lately.

Pterox511 | Raptors

27 | 3 hours ago

Definitely not a hard counter, but they’re best built against them. Only one guy on the OKC can reliably score in the paint against Wemby and thats SGA. Normally, OKC reliable on drive and kicks that lead to paint touches for their scorers, because a lot of them suck from the 3 point line.

If atleast 2 of the other 5-6 guys outside of SGA shoot well from 3 then OKC got it. Otherwise its a lot harder to win. Id still take OKC over the Spurs though.

divulgingwords | Thunder

12 | 3 hours ago

I’m pretty sure Denver wasn’t choosing to win by playing their g-league guys. The SAS starters (minus Wemby) just choked when the game actually mattered. Probably a preview of how the playoffs will go, tbh.

ProfessorMarth | Lakers

3 | 2 hours ago

But like why even rest Wemby? That was a bone-headed decision that may have just cost the Spurs the title

divulgingwords | Thunder

8 | 2 hours ago

4 starters should be able to beat a g-league team.

deino1703 | Rockets

11 | 3 hours ago

winning ⁹⁄₁₀ to close the season is terrible lmfao?

hawkish25 | Rockets

9 | 3 hours ago

We did it against fairly mediocre team, and managed to choke horribly versus Minny a few weeks ago.

I would fucking love to sweep the Lakers, and I do expect us to take this in 5 or 6. But our lack of a PG means we are purely relying on out-talenting the Lakers. We will get crushed in the second round.

BlackIvy23

2 | 3 hours ago

Damn so much faith in your team

hawkish25 | Rockets

2 | 2 hours ago

Keep expectations low and you’ll be happy :)

yuhanz | PHO

3 | 2 hours ago

I feel you’re underestimating how much fire power the Lakers are losing.

Not only will they lose offense, their defense will suffer because Lebron is not gonna be able to orchestrate that defense after expending so much energy generating offense against the houston defense. Amen will be on him, Tari/KD will double, he’ll have nothing left on defense.

crookt

1 | 2 hours ago

Can you explain why you believe the Rockets don’t have much of a chance?

Nesden | Trail Blazers

0 | 4 hours ago

Spurs definitely gave them a run for their money in the regular season. I think they have a better chance of making it to the finals.

tuituituituii | Spurs

2 | 3 hours ago

We’d have to get past the Nuggets (or Wolves) first

dalivo

1 | 3 hours ago

Spurs or Celtics could beat them. But they won’t.

axecalibur | CHI

1 | 2 hours ago

They are only favorites because of absolute front office wizardry concerning player evalutation, draft, development, and contracts. The other top teams have really good front offices, but once you start heading into the middle of the pack it just falls of a cliff. When you get to some of the tank teams it’s clear they cut corners on talent evaluation, drafting, and player development.

stopbsingman | Raptors

1 | an hour ago

I think it’s the spurs.

Unless we make it to the finals.

Obi_Wan_Benobi | Spurs

1 | 27 minutes ago

I think the Thunder repeat.

As a Spurs fan I’m happy if they make it to the 2nd round this year.

If they make it out of that, great. If not, they at least learn a lesson about playoff basketball.

But whoever wins that WC 2-3 semifinal series probably loses to the Thunder in the ECF; is what I would bet (if I did such things).

khazraxd | Hornets

181 | 5 hours ago

Hornets will win and Titty Salaun will be the FMVP

waitingforjune | Pistons

32 | 4 hours ago

If the Hornets even make it out of the play-in, I’ll throw $10 on Salaun for FMVP just for shits

Sharp-Selection-3541

6 | 4 hours ago

Subscribe

Less-Tax5637 | Knicks

3 | 4 hours ago

Is this what you guys call Kon?

itgoesdownandup

1 | 26 minutes ago

No, but I’m assuming they have to be close. After all if Tidjane Salaün is titty then Kon is the nipple to Titty Salaün.

CDR57 | Celtics

1 | 2 hours ago

Is it pronounced like salon or saloon? Cause either one makes me excited

ImDisruptive | Hornets

1 | 43 minutes ago

Salon

RickMonsters | Raptors

176 | 5 hours ago

If somehow the Raptors don’t make it to the finals this year, then I’ll root for whichever team hasn’t won it yet to keep the era going

MrChr07

215 | 5 hours ago

“Somehow”

Julian_Caesar | Mavericks

35 | 4 hours ago

….palpatine returned???

MusclyArmPaperboy | Raptors

21 | 2 hours ago

TBF we are undefeated in the 2026 NBA Playoffs

TwinFrBrooklyn | Lakers

16 | 4 hours ago

LOL

Other_Software_5634

7 | 2 hours ago

Positivity, I like that

macarolls

67 | 5 hours ago

If I am betting man, I will take the OKC Thunder over the field.

But as a basketball fan, I prefer a new champion each year. Preferably teams who have yet to win one or not won in a title in long time like the Suns, Wolves, Knicks, Hawks or Pistons.

therealbigted | Hawks

21 | 4 hours ago

CJ McCollum is finally gonna get that much deserved Finals MVP you heard it here first

TheMilkmanRidesAgain | Hawks

6 | 4 hours ago

subscribe

vbsteez | Pelicans

5 | 3 hours ago

wouldnt mind it at all

Piradrad_16 | Raptors

6 | 5 hours ago

Honestly I kinda like dynasties, gives the nba a storyline to follow and OKC have arguably the best one to cement themselves as an atg team, probably the team I want coming out the west

Auriansmule

7 | 4 hours ago

Gives people a villain to rally against.

Puzzled_Argument_748

4 | 3 hours ago

Celtics have been the best team of the decade though

vbsteez | Pelicans

6 | 3 hours ago

so far

dalivo

3 | 3 hours ago

I like to see dominant players leading difficult (but not impossible)-to-beat teams. The James Heat/Cavs era was great, because you knew his teams were going to be in the final and were scary, but lots of other teams were able to beat him.

OKC is favored this year but they don’t have that aura yet. And even if they win this year, I think it’ll be hard for them to sustain it another year given how the collective bargaining agreement and salary caps work.

Babakins

2 | 4 hours ago

Blazers fall on that list too ( we just have about the lowest chance of pulling it off)

Zephrok | Lakers

1 | 2 hours ago

I admit I’m not sure how much the Thunder have improved this year but the Pacers pushed them to 7, hard to see them favoured over the field based on that.

SCSA4life24 | Lakers

53 | 5 hours ago

I can’t understand people being so confident in saying that the trend will be broken this year. Every team on this list except for the Raptors, was expected to repeat.

RansomGoddard | NBA

65 | 5 hours ago

At this point in the 2023 season the Warriors were not expected to repeat.

MetroBS | Suns

2 | 4 hours ago

That first round gave people hope

trav-senpai | Kings

6 | 3 hours ago

Not me :(

Chief_White_Halfoat | Raptors

26 | 4 hours ago

This is definitely not true. For the Lakers they were favored.

But In 2022 Bucks were not expected to repeat at all they were third in odds behind the Nets and Lakers.

For 2023 the Celtics were favored so GS was not favored to repeat.

For 2024 Celtics and Denver were tied at the outset of the season.

The last two years the Celtics and OKC were favored to repeat.

But that means in ⁴⁄₇ seasons the prior Champion was not expected to repeat (I’m not counting the tied one as expected when they were tied with another team for favorites).

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2020_preseason_odds.html

You can click through the years.

LakerBlue | Lakers

4 | 3 hours ago

Well said. Parent comment grossly exaggerated.

I will say I’m about as confident in OKC as I was in the 2023 Nuggets and 2024 Celtics. I’m not sure I’d take them over the field because of the Spurs and Nuggets match-ups but they are the clear favorites to me.

Critical_Company3535

1 | 3 hours ago

A large part of this has been an era of transition. 2019-2022 was largely the last gasp of the old guard, with 2023 onward being the new blood establishing themselves.

Adsex

20 | 5 hours ago

The difference is that the Nuggets and Celtics are also very well positioned. It’s not just about repeating, it’s about having an 8th different team in as many years.

NoRecommendation2592

10 | 5 hours ago

Yeah 3 of the 4 most likely teams would be repeats. Only the spurs wouldn’t. There’s also the cavs Knicks and pistons but they’re much longer shots

oby100 | Celtics

2 | 3 hours ago

I know nothing about this Pistons team but claiming the 1 seed in the east is a long shot doesn’t seem right to me.

Does remind me of LeBron’s Cavs where any east team could go 82-0 and still be a long shot to even make the finals. LeBronto will always be a fond memory

marnjuana | Celtics

1 | 2 hours ago

Are the Pistons not included on your 4 most likely teams?

PrestigiousWelder190

16 | 5 hours ago

Your only options for a unique champion would be SA NY or Detroit. I don’t think Detroit has the shooting. So that leaves NY and SA. Just a better chance one of Denver Boston OKC wins

MorningBreath71 | Timberwolves

8 | 4 hours ago

Well there is a few more options…

penguin_torpedo | Nuggets

5 | 4 hours ago

Wolves can for sure beat anyone, but they’re def not beating everyone.

MorningBreath71 | Timberwolves

1 | an hour ago

🤷‍♂️

LTIRfortheWIN | Spurs

5 | 5 hours ago

Spurs have a better chance the Denver and Boston, in my biased opinion

JiveHawk | Bulls

2 | 4 hours ago

Not outrageous to say, but it is more likely one of OKC/BOS/DEN wins than one of SAS/NYK

[deleted]

1 | 4 hours ago

[deleted]

JiveHawk | Bulls

2 | an hour ago

I know I’m agreeing with you that it isn’t outrageous

Billis- | Raptors

1 | 3 hours ago

Don’t need shooting in the playoffs

PrestigiousWelder190

1 | an hour ago

Shooting is arguably the most important thing you need in the playoffs….

Resthink

11 | 5 hours ago

Raptors were poised for another championship run without Kawhi in 2020 - until COVID when the team was locked down a lot harder than some US-based teams. Lost in the conference finals to Boston in 7.

Resthink

12 | 4 hours ago

When the season ended they had a 53-19 record with a .736 wining percentage. Better than the previous year with Kawhi. Ranked number 2 in defense that year.

scarrylary | CLE

3 | 4 hours ago

How did they lose to Boston in the ecf if Miami made the finals?

lethalizered | Thunder

3 | 4 hours ago

Lost in the conference finals to Boston in 7.

*conference semi finals

lethalizered | Thunder

2 | 4 hours ago

Every team on this list except for the Raptors, was expected to repeat.

This isn’t true. Looking at the odds just before postseason started, OKC was favored to win it last season, so Boston wasn’t expected to repeat.

Boston was the favorite over Nuggets the previous season.

Milwaukee was the favorite over the Warriors in 2023.

Phoenix was the favorite over the Bucks in 2022.

Brooklyn was the favorite over the Lakers in 2021.

Source: https://www.covers.com/sportsoddshistory/nba-championship-favorites-entering-the-playoffs/

samhit_n | Lakers

1 | 4 hours ago

The Lakers and Warriors weren’t expected to repeat at this point in the season.

MahomesMccaffrey | Slovenia

1 | 4 hours ago

The warriors and bucks?

I dont think so

Briggity_Brak | Tampa Bay Raptors

1 | 2 hours ago

Because we’re not JUST talking about “repeating.” We’re talking about ANY of those last seven teams winning, and two of the most likely teams to prevent OKC from repeating this year are IN that 7.

SCSA4life24 | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

Needs more caps.

Several_Hour_347

50 | 5 hours ago

It would be cool if the Wolves won this year

HarryPauler | Timberwolves

31 | 4 hours ago

Feels like people have already decided we lost in the first round

Briggity_Brak | Tampa Bay Raptors

3 | 2 hours ago

Would’ve been cool if the Wolves won last year or the year before.

I_Set_3_Alarms | Celtics

33 | 4 hours ago

3 of the top 6 or so contenders are the last 3 champs. I’d put Spurs, Pistons, Knicks up there, with Cavs & Timberwolves as dark horses. So a high chance of a repeat but not guaranteed.

Also side note, Timberwolves would likely need to go through Nuggets, Spurs, Thunder, winner of the East.

That’s about as hard as a championship run as it could get

frozen2665 | Heat

10 | 3 hours ago

What do you mean. You just have to beat the 3 best teams in the league and CJ McCollum. Not so bad

archerarcher0 | Celtics

32 | 5 hours ago

Logic tells me no, but my heart is telling me okc doesn’t even make the finals

I truly believe San Antonio or Denver are coming out of the west, and in the east it’ll be Boston or NY

For basketball purists, any combination of Denver/SA/boston/NY finals actually would be sick

DrEarlGreyIII

18 | 5 hours ago

in that case, it’s gonna be denver. jokic is the only player that wemby can’t guard and it’s reflected in their season results against each other.

archerarcher0 | Celtics

11 | 5 hours ago

Sure but it’s a team game, jokic can’t beat San Antonio on his own and that spurs team around wemby is no joke, I think that series probably favors Denver but could go either way

Depends a lot on Gordon’s health to me

DrEarlGreyIII

2 | 4 hours ago

I suppose that the old adage of “past performance does not guarantee future results” is appropriate here. i still favor denver in a 7 game series, but it would certainly be close and enjoyable to watch as a neutral.

edit: i definitely agree that a healthy gordon is key as well.

Adsex

7 | 5 hours ago

While I agree with you, Wemby improves in real time. I wouldn’t put it past him to “solve” Jokic.

DrEarlGreyIII

3 | 5 hours ago

fair point. they both have insane basketball IQ, so it’s going to be a pleasure to watch them try to solve each other over the next few years

Other_Software_5634

1 | 2 hours ago

He’s also got youth on his side, he could wear down Jokic over a long series

Adsex

2 | 2 hours ago

Nah I don’t believe so, Jokic has insane endurance, and it’s one of Wemby’s weakness for now.

LTIRfortheWIN | Spurs

3 | 4 hours ago

They played against each other one time this season. “Cant gaurd” is wild to say when they only played one game.

MetroBS | Suns

12 | 5 hours ago

Pistons or spurs are the only teams that can realistically do this

JTBeefboyo

9 | 5 hours ago

Knicks?

tunaMaestro97 | NYK

6 | 4 hours ago

It’s a long shot ngl. We’ll see if / when we play the Pistons what our chances actually look like.

oby100 | Celtics

2 | 3 hours ago

After last year, I don’t think you can count the Knicks out. Hell of a lot of grit and hitting above their theoretical weight class.

MetroBS | Suns

1 | 4 hours ago

I wouldn’t count them out but yeah its a long shot

JTBeefboyo

2 | an hour ago

I mean the fucking Pacers were one game away last year

JeramiGrantsTomb | Thunder

14 | 4 hours ago

As a fan of the reigning champions that have been spoken of as a potential dynasty, I think the NBA is better when the most teams think they have a shot to win every year. It’s one of many reasons why the NFL kicks the NBA’s ass, every season I would say about 20 NFL fanbases can reasonably talk themselves into being contenders.

That said, this little parity-parade dies this year. TTFU

Double-Slowpoke | Raptors

5 | 3 hours ago

Even if OKC wins again, the current landscape is way better than the 4 straight Warriors-Cavs Finals.

hugifsafuk | Rockets

10 | 4 hours ago

Its not really a random trend. The rules and cap space framework is build to encourage diversity at the top and limit potential dynasties. That being said a returning champion could still happen and the thunder have good chances imo.

DDub04

6 | an hour ago

The other trend is that it alternates between historic powerhouses and historic underachievers.

2019: Raptors win their first ever championship.

2020: Lakers win their 17th championship

2021: Bucks win their first championship since 1971.

2022: Warriors win their fourth title in ten years.

2023: Nuggets win their first championship since joining the NBA.

2024: Celtics win their 18th championship.

2025: Thunder win their first championship since leaving Seattle.

That means that not only will this year’s champion not be one of the teams above, but it will be a team that is a frequent flyer in the finals.

By the first rule, we’re left Clippers, Trailblazers, Rockets, TWolves, Spurs, Suns, Pistons, Heat, Hornets, Cavs, Knicks, Hawks, Magic, and 76ers.

However by the second rule, that really only leaves the Spurs. Maybe the Heat since they’ve won three in the last twenty years.

So congratulations Spurs for winning the 2026 NBA Finals.

Aniketos33

3 | 4 hours ago

Thunder gonna win it back to back SGA MVP!

penguin_torpedo | Nuggets

4 | 4 hours ago

Also it alternates between big market and small market. Everything points to the new York Knicks winning the championship, bet the house boys.

Puzzled_Argument_748

2 | 3 hours ago

Did you consider that it’s an even year? Celtics are a lock

fupamane | Celtics

3 | 4 hours ago

Celtics will win this year and next year

SkyKnight43 | Kings

2 | 4 hours ago

OKC is clearly the strongest team

samhit_n | Lakers

2 | 4 hours ago

Even if the Thunder don’t repeat, I think they break the 2nd round curse. Also, one of the Nuggets or Celtics could end this curse if the Thunder get eliminated.

SJCitizen | 76ers

2 | 4 hours ago

If Minnesota can get past Denver in the First Round I think they’re capable of beating anyone

no_nao | Thunder

2 | 4 hours ago

No (pls…)

ezcheesy | Mavericks

2 | 4 hours ago

Spurs vs Knicks in Finals.

archenlander | Rockets

2 | 4 hours ago

“Random trend” the nba has definitely not tried to improve parity whatsoever in the past 8-10 years

dandpher

2 | 4 hours ago

Random trend

ymi17 | Thunder

2 | 3 hours ago

So really, Cavs Knicks Spurs and Pistons are the realistic “new teams” here? I’ll take “one of the seven” against the field.

WARLOCK1239 | Bulls

2 | 3 hours ago

The style of play in today’s NBA can result in injuries and fatigue at the worst time and it favors deep rosters instead of a bunch of stars on a team. The other reason is the second apron, owners don’t wanna keep paying that much for more than 2 seasons. There’s more reasons obviously but I think that’s the biggest.
Probably the Thunder or Celtics. But personally I think the Spurs will win it this year and next year.
Probably 2 more unique champions, Spurs and maybe Knicks/Pacers/Pistons.

I’m just sold on Wemby becoming the GOAT simply due to the way the NBA is today and the franchise he was drafted by being well-run.

P00PooKitty | Celtics

2 | 5 hours ago

No because the celts are gonna win it

Amazinc | Minneapolis Lakers

1 | 5 hours ago

This seems like the year most likely for this trend to be broken. Only contenders to continue it are Spurs and Pistons tbh and the other contenders are the last 3 champs.

tkinsey3

1 | 4 hours ago

I think this is the best chance we have had, since 2019, to see a repeat.

BOS was obviously really good last year, but OKC was also historically great and then of course the Tatum injury ended that.

Genericthrowaw4y | Thunder

1 | 4 hours ago

No, this is the start of the OKC dynasty era

[deleted]

1 | 4 hours ago

[deleted]

Air2Jordan3 | Cavaliers

1 | 3 hours ago

2018 was GS which is a repeat champion in 2022. In this case it’s not repeating consecutive years, just any repeat champion within a span of years

Gavina4444 | ORL

1 | 2 hours ago

Damn forgot about 2022 lol

Karlomah11

1 | 4 hours ago

No, celtics, okc or denver will win it this year, only see spurs or pistons as other contenders but they are to young

Philipthesquid | Timberwolves

1 | 4 hours ago

Best shots are the Knicks, Pistons, Spurs, and Cavs. Wolves have an outside shot. With what the Pacers did last year I can’t discount any team though.

A-Centrifugal-Force

1 | 4 hours ago

Spurs and Pistons are the best shot at making it continue, and that could easily be the finals matchup. We’ll see.

aviatorbassist

1 | 3 hours ago

It really comes down to can the league produce new contenders faster than the current team’s age. Currently OKC, Boston, and Denver are contenders and have won a title. SAS is the only team in that tier that hasn’t won a title. Detroit, New York and Minny are all probably in the next tier down……

I’d say this year it’s pretty likely we get a 2 time champ this year. Other than San Antonio I don’t think anyone has a good chance of winning without having already won a title.

Relatively_Cool | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

Again a lot of comments in this thread counting out teams not named the Thunder, Spurs, Celtics, and Nuggets when we literally watched the Pacers get to the finals and take OKC to 7 not even a full year ago.

No-Spinach-9101

1 | 3 hours ago

High chance of a repeat this year with the Celtics, Thunder, and Nuggets. Knicks or Spurs could buck the trend though. I don’t see any other teams winning.

slxkv | Pacers

1 | 3 hours ago

Hopefully. Most likely with the Spurs or Pistons

Spicy__Urine | Raptors

1 | 3 hours ago

Spurs, Pistons or Cavs anyone?

meatgrind89 | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

This is OKC’s point to prove that they’re a dynasty

chmcgrath1988 | Celtics

1 | 3 hours ago

I think the OKC Thunder should be the odds-on favorites (and I’d be genuinely shocked if they don’t break the second-round curse of recent champs) but I said the exact same thing about the Celtics last year and the Nuggets two years ago!

Leather-String1641 | Knicks

1 | 3 hours ago

Yes

NormalGuyPosts

1 | 3 hours ago

Probably a repeat but Pistons / Spurs / Cavs / Knicks combined have a shot

mindless_blaze | Nuggets

1 | 3 hours ago

Finals will be Nuggets vs Hornets. Nuggets win in game 7.

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

1 | 3 hours ago

Parity started in 06. KD ruined it.

06-11 5 different champs in 6 seasons only repeat was Lakers who won their second by the skin of their teeth in a game 7.

12-16 4 different champs in 5 seasons only repeat was the heat who won their second by skin of their teeth in a game 7.

KD ruined it causing warriors to have 3 titles in 4 seasons making it look like parity didn’t exist before 2019.

Thunder can repeat this season and parity would still be a thing Spurs could win next season and trend can continue.

RcusGaming | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

Well yes if you arbitrarily split up the years like that sure. Between 06 and 16, you had the Spurs winning 2, Lakers winning 2, Heat winning 3. That’s 3 teams winning 70% of the championships in that period.

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

1 | an hour ago

Heat of 06 and 12 completely different That’s why I split them. If Heat had same 06 core I wouldn’t split it.

Heat Spurs Celtics Lakers Lakers Mavs is literally 5 teams in 6 seasons

Heat Heat(Completely different core than first heat) Spurs, Warriors, Cavs.

Still 7 champions in 11 seasons. The league was otw to parity. KD ruined it by giving GS dynasty. They won 3 in 4 seasons would’ve never happened without KD.

Way different than 80-05 where it was 7 champions in 26 years and 5 different dynasties where it was only 1 dynasty prior(Celtics) and only 1(Warriors) after.

Double-Slowpoke | Raptors

1 | 3 hours ago

Enjoy it, because there’s a good chance OKC or San Antonio become a dynasty.

jeffincredible2021

1 | 3 hours ago

Hopefully! I hate Okc basketball

Critical_Company3535

1 | 3 hours ago

I don’t think it lasts a ton longer, I can’t see a world where neither San Antonio nor OKC don’t win multiple rings in the next ten years. Throw in Boston and Denver and those odds get worse. Some organizations are better run than others, and will always get an opportunity to win more than others.

This also isn’t unique to the NBA, from 1978-1990 MLB had a period with ¹²⁄₁₃ unique World Series winners, nearly half the league.

Tropical_Wendigo | Trail Blazers

1 | 3 hours ago

A big part of this is that we’re currently in an era with no Big 3’s. If you think back to the 00’s and 10’s we’ve had:

Spurs (Duncan, Parker, Ginobli)
Celtics (Pierce, Garnett, Allen)
Lakers (Kobe, Gasol, Bynum)
Heat (LeBron, Wade, Bosh)
Warriors (Steph, Klay, Green, Durant)
Cavaliers (LeBron, Irving, Love)

All of those teams made it to at least two finals and won at least one. From 2006-2018 the only other teams that made it to the finals were the 2007 Cavs(not a big 3), the Magic (who wouldn’t have made it if KG was healthy), the Mavericks, and the Thunder.

This is the longest span we’ve been without a true Big 3 since Jordan’s second retirement.

RcusGaming | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

One of these is not like the other lol. No one would have ever called the Lakers a Big 3.

Tropical_Wendigo | Trail Blazers

1 | an hour ago

That’s open to interpretation, but I’m considering it a big 3 since Bynum was an all-star in both ‘09 and ‘10.

RcusGaming | Lakers

1 | 21 minutes ago

Bynum was not an all-star either of those years. He was just a good rotational guy. I think if you include guys like Bynum, then you could make a Big 3 argument for almost any championship team.

Shai, JDub, and Chet.

Tatum, Brown, and White.

Jokic, Murray, and Gordon.

Giannis, Jrue, Middleton.

And you could actually make the argument that all of those 3rd options are better than Bynum.

PotatoMan19399 | Suns

1 | 3 hours ago

Yes the suns are winning

Bobaximus | Raptors

1 | 3 hours ago

It would be shocking for OKC not to win. Sure injuries or surprise upsets can happen but I don’t think there is anything meaningful, statistically, to get out of that trend.

dannyjkaplan

1 | 3 hours ago

spurs are the only chance of that. So I’ll say no

bassicallyinsane | Trail Blazers

1 | 3 hours ago

Yeah, it’s the Blazers year

TheSmokedSalmon420 | Cavaliers

1 | 2 hours ago

Timberwolves

Jimbo19091

1 | 2 hours ago

We should bring back four years in a row of Cavs Warriors.

Psychological_Luck17 | Pistons

1 | 2 hours ago

Pistons d. Spurs 4-3.

Briggity_Brak | Tampa Bay Raptors

1 | 2 hours ago

I don’t think the Spurs, Pistons, Knicks, or Cavs are gonna win it all, no.

Soxalam2 | Heat

1 | 2 hours ago

Honestly I’m down to see another dynasty again. But not OKC. I hope the parity lasts at least 1 more year

BrandonDavidTattooer

1 | 2 hours ago

Yep, the hawks will win this year

Bun4d

1 | 2 hours ago

Why hasn’t there been a repeat champion? It may get downvoted for this but I’m pretty sure it has to do with injuries and the war of attrition. Players are playing at a higher pace than before so when playoffs time come, players are more prone to it. Less star power means less likelihood of a repeat championship. Look at those championship teams you mentioned and tell me if there were any injuries to a main player.

Admirable_Outcome932

1 | 2 hours ago

I feel like this year is probably the most likely year it’ll be broken if no one can get past OKC

ottespana | Thunder

1 | 2 hours ago

Shit maybe

GateMcFaddenIsHot

1 | 2 hours ago

I don’t think it’s random: This is very much a reflection of the success of salary cap rules and efforts to generate parity across the league, and, even though people shit of officiating, it is SO much better than it was during the 90s and 2000s, when it seemed overt that big markets (Chicago and LA especially) got WAY more favourable calls.

Kudos to Adam Silver for guiding the league into a position where teams from eveyr city have a reasonable hope that their team could contend for a title. Well… most teams anyway. Some just have shitty owners.

Prankstaboy6 | Heat

1 | 2 hours ago

I’m going to say no, because I have either Oklahoma or Boston winning.

AVeryBadMon

1 | an hour ago

Unlike all the others, OKC is the only one that improved since their championship year and widen the gap with the competition. Their only genuine threat is the Spurs at full health, and even then OKC still has like 50% chance of winning.

didierganthier

1 | an hour ago

Maybe the Pistons or New York, potentially the Spurs can pretend to join this list as well. I don’t see anyone else with a chance to win it all not listed here. Philly could be a dark horse to get out of the East but I feel like they lack some clear hierarchy on who’s the top guy between Maxey, PG and Joel (if healthy), also VJ could get a few touches as well to create.

Sartheking | Warriors

1 | an hour ago

Second Round Curse is the interesting one. The Raptors lost in 7 to Boston in the ECSF. Lakers lost to Suns in 6 in the First Round. Bucks lost to Celtics in 7 in the ECSF. Warriors lost to Lakers in 6 in the WCSF. Nuggets lost to Wolves in 7 in the WCSF. Celtics lost to Knicks in 6 in the ECSF.

Chernabog801 | Warriors

1 | an hour ago

I’m more impressed that other than the Warriors and Celtics, no team appears on this list twice either as runner up or winner.

Only 2 teams have won their conference twice in the last 7 years.

Give_me_soup | Trail Blazers

1 | 38 minutes ago

The new CBA worked as intended

tripleyothreat

1 | 21 minutes ago

For this trend to continue, Spurs, Timberwolves, Pistons, Knicks, or Cavs need to win. There are a few more options like the Clippers, but those are extremely unlikely.

For this trend to break, the Thunder, Celtics, Nuggets, or Lakers need to win. Intriguing

Single-Affect-2746

1 | 20 minutes ago

No cause there’s no dynasties, everything gets shuffled every year so there’s no real rivalries

AtreusIsBack | NBA

1 | 17 minutes ago

I think OKC end the trend this year. I just don’t see anyone stopping them.

anononon987

1 | 11 minutes ago

I really like that new superstars got to win a ring; Giannis, Jokic, Tatum (JB also), Shai. All very deserving. I hope new superstars continue to win the championship.

Since the 2019 Toronto Raptors Championship, the NBA has seen a unique champion every year… will this random trend continue?