ChrisJerich0 | Knicks

529 | 16 hours ago

i think one team will win the championship

Guilty-Cow4325 | Knicks

132 | 16 hours ago

You say that now, but once we hit the 15th OT of Game 7, that might change.

ksn0vaN7

49 | 16 hours ago

I’ve always been curious about how many overtimes does it take before they just call it a draw. Surely they can’t just keep going until one team wins. What if it goes to 100? There must be a number when they decide to call it a day.

Guilty-Cow4325 | Knicks

62 | 16 hours ago

At some point everybody would ejected due to fouls, and it’d be the refs representing each team in a 1 v 1 tournament.

Tyler123839 | Rockets [HOU] James Harden

41 | 15 hours ago

If you are down to 5 players then players still get the fouls but don’t foul out. It happened one time to the Lakers I think.

Edit: They shoot technical fouls actually.

https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=400489598

LilMac89

7 | 14 hours ago

Interesting.. I know in college they had a team (Alabama with Colin Sexton iirc) playing 3 on 5 a few years ago because so many dudes fouled out (or got ejected).

AoO2ImpTrip | Thunder

14 | 14 hours ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5gz3vIIhkw

Holy shit. I never follow college basketball so I assumed Minnesota was some D-3 team or something. They were ranked 14 against Alabama who were 25. Alabama still only lost by 5 when they went down to 3 players with 11 minutes left in the game.

thatis

5 | 13 hours ago

Yeah, they actually closed the gap once they were down players. Just silly.

pollinium | MIN

3 | 13 hours ago

I deleted my previous comment because it came in with an undeserved angry air. We aren’t good at sports on a per-capita basis, but the U is usually in the 10 biggest schools in the US in any given year

ClaudeLemieux | Hornets

3 | 12 hours ago

assumed Minnesota was some D-3 team

Bro I’m dying here lmfao

JasonPlattMusic34 | Lakers

3 | 6 hours ago

Yeah fouling out wouldn’t work. You’d have to have all 15 players on each team suffer season ending ACL tears in the same game or something

IPissExcellentThrows | 76ers

18 | 15 hours ago

Massive advantage for the Thunder here

peachpavlova | Nuggets

7 | 15 hours ago

This got a chuckle out of me. Is your username from Pokémon go?

solidgoldrocketpants | Knicks

8 | 16 hours ago

It’d be some dark “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” shit, and I’d be riveted.

namblaotie | BOS

2 | 9 hours ago

Your comment is an old person counter for this thread.

So far, 7 old people have checked in.

solidgoldrocketpants | Knicks

2 | 8 hours ago

Hell, it’s before my time and I’m old as hell.

sonofcabbagemerchant | Celtics

6 | 14 hours ago

I’d rather see it go until players are just crawling on the floor, shooting from the ground, because their legs have given out.

ChrisTheChaosGod

3 | 15 hours ago

If you had infinite JR Smiths with an infinite amount of time and a typewriter, eventually there would be a 100x OT game.

kerblamophobe | Knicks

11 | 16 hours ago

I think one team will also lose it, but don’t qoute me on that

lukewwilson | NBA

8 | 16 hours ago

I think 29 teams will lose

MoustiG

4 | 16 hours ago

Thanks Magic

D0nkeyHS

2 | 16 hours ago

Maybe they do a nepo carlsen and share it.

minimalcation | Spurs

2 | 14 hours ago

Remindme! 289 days

icemankiller8 | Pistons

225 | 16 hours ago

How did we get 6 votes

CWG4BF | Rockets

45 | 11 hours ago

How did we get 8 to win the west?

Bright-Flight-2880

211 | 16 hours ago

Detroit?!

Thatguy19901 | Celtics

45 | 15 hours ago

Ronald Regan?!

octosus37 | Thunder

29 | 15 hours ago

The actor!?

Th1Warrior

21 | 15 hours ago

Who’s the Vice President? Jerry Lewis?!

wikisaiyan2 | Hornets

9 | 14 hours ago

the New York based Financier??!?

cornerpocket1 | Spurs

8 | 11 hours ago

Let’s call Ghislaine. She will clear this up

SSj_CODii

13 | 15 hours ago

I’m just happy to be here 😂

cflo32 | Pistons

6 | 14 hours ago

Yesssssiiiirrrr!

motherseffinjones | Raptors

159 | 16 hours ago

I don’t think Philly is better than the Knicks. The East is going to be a dogfight this year though, so if you told me the Knicks didn’t end up first I wouldn’t be surprised.

lukewwilson | NBA

99 | 16 hours ago

Well yeah, they were third in the East last year

Dylan7346 | Knicks

14 | 15 hours ago

People are only talking about the playoffs

braddeus | Heat

39 | 15 hours ago

You’d obviously take the field over the Knicks for the 1-seed, but they still have a shitload of talent and continuity where every other top-tier east team has changed dramatically.

naughtyobama

55 | 15 hours ago

False.

My magic did not change appreciably this year and will have the continuity of no shooting, Jonathan Isaac sitting on the bench in street clothes CompletelyHealed ™, one of Paolo and Franz nursing injuries and a defensive minded coach.

probablymade_thatup | Bucks [MIL] Luke Kornet

5 | 15 hours ago

My magic did not change appreciably this year

A coach can be a big change, we just don’t know what Sweeney will be yet

s4ntana | TOR

4 | 14 hours ago

CompletelyHealed ™

i am sent

braddeus | Heat

5 | 15 hours ago

Sorry, friend. Orlando deserves a deep Magic run.

ClaudeLemieux | Hornets

2 | 12 hours ago

Best I can offer is an OCSC run

randotd152

8 | 14 hours ago

The Knicks lost Mitch though, which is not nothing, as their interior defense is now weak against good big men.

KrayzieBone187

12 | 15 hours ago

I think the Raps will surprise people. The defense is going to be mind-boggling.

SoKrat3s | NBA

5 | 14 hours ago

And think about how the Knicks were talked about at this point last year. Heck, just go back to Jan/Feb. They were not regarded as a championship level team.

VeryStab1eGenius

132 | 16 hours ago

Sixers being just one point behind the Knicks to win the finals is insane.

RealPrinceJay |

128 | 16 hours ago

If you pick Philly, it seems necessary that you’ve also convinced yourself Philly will be healthy

If you’ve convinced yourself Philly will be healthy, then sure I think they’re on par with the Knicks

…I just think it’s pretty unlikely they’ll be healthy lol

VeryStab1eGenius

62 | 16 hours ago

Embiid not being healthy is a lock.

SoulofWakanda

18 | 16 hours ago

I’m not understanding why that aspect is being ignored. To buy into Philly you have to be convinced Embiid’s body will hold up for one, because it doesn’t work if he doesn’t…

Yet Embiid has given little indication all decade he can survive a full season + playoff run.

buhmmquita | PHI

24 | 15 hours ago

The funny thing is that last year proved that regular season load management with an eye for the playoffs works for Embiid. The thing that took him out wasn’t his lingering knee issues, or anything to do with his legs. It was an emergency apendectomy, which has nothing to do with playing basketball.

So can he survive a full season + playoffs? Well maybe not. But burst appendix aside, they seem to have figured out how to manage his usual issues. Now that I said that, of course, he’ll probably be struck blind or something.

randotd152

13 | 14 hours ago

It was an emergency apendectomy, which has nothing to do with playing basketball.

Totally wrong. He returned from the appendectomy and played great against Boston.

Then he was totally out of gas against the Knicks because the guy literally cannot handle a playoff load. His hip AND his ankle were bothering him against NY.

PIEROXMYSOX1 | 76ers

8 | 14 hours ago

No he played rough against the knicks because Maxey was pushed into his knee at the end of the Celtics series.

justmefishes | NBA

2 | 13 hours ago

These things compound though, and I don’t think it’s a good bet that he can have a healthy extended playoff run without similar re-injury problems to his lower body at some point.

And even if he doesn’t get hurt, his general decrease in mobility due to all the accumulated injuries makes him a weak link that teams can hunt and abuse by forcing him into perimeter actions like the Knicks did a few months ago. A team with a good perimeter attack can play him off the floor in the playoffs.

SoulofWakanda

4 | 15 hours ago

They might need to just start him in January or something like the Clippers did with Kawhi not too long ago.

lialialia20 | Timberwolves

3 | 13 hours ago

The funny thing is that last year proved that regular season load management with an eye for the playoffs works for Embiid

uhhhm… did you stop watching after the celtics series?

vs Celtics: 28, 9, 7 in 36.6 min

vs Knicks: 18.7, 5, 3.3 in 29 min

ZOOTV83 | Celtics

2 | 14 hours ago

The funny thing is that last year proved that regular season load management with an eye for the playoffs works for Embiid.

Reminds me of the last few years of the Pierce-Allen-KG Celtics. I know load management has become a viable strategy but during those last few runs the goal was simply get to the playoffs and we have a punchers chance. In 2010 we won 50 games and snagged the 4th seed before making a run all the way to the finals because guys were rested and healthy. We took out DWade, LeBron, and Dwight Howard on the way to losing the Lakers 7.

cyrusthemarginal | Nuggets

1 | 15 hours ago

But 58 year old Lebron so now favorite.

captain_ahabb | Lakers

2 | 14 hours ago

A lot of people on here are really irrational about LeBron

HeAintSh1t

9 | 16 hours ago

Id argue that they just need to be healthier than the next team once the playoffs start. If brown, maxey, and edge comb stay healthy they can manage having Bron and Embidd minute manage.

ChrisJerich0 | Knicks

6 | 16 hours ago

with what depth. embiid was a traffic cone in the knicks series when he was out there

huss_femme

2 | 16 hours ago

That’s why he lost a lotta weight this year, clearly wants mobility again

ChrisJerich0 | Knicks

12 | 16 hours ago

every athlete is in the best shape of their life in the offseason

SoKrat3s | NBA

3 | 14 hours ago

Forget LeBron joining for a second.

If you just guaranteed Embiid would be healthy they would be right there with NY for anyone who isn’t a prisoner of the moment.

So swap out Embiid for LeBron. They are the same level of contender. Right there with, or just behind the Knicks.

Now add the possibility of a healthier Embiid on a team where he doesn’t need to do much in the regular season. They are right there with or slightly ahead.

That’s not unreasonable whatsoever.

Content-Total7874

2 | 15 hours ago

They are better than the knicks if healthy, but yeah it ain’t happening.

maybeAturtle

41 | 16 hours ago

Not as insane as the pistons being 5th to win the finals. Based on what??

braddeus | Heat

17 | 15 hours ago

Duncan Robinson shooting 100% from 3 for the entire season and playoffs

revochups | Lakers

3 | 16 hours ago

Things…

F1yMo1o | Knicks

23 | 16 hours ago

Clearly the voting doesn’t account for mathematical realities and probabilities.

I don’t mean that as a homer. I mean it in the manner that the difference between the conferences isn’t so strong that the west should be favored 160-27. One east team always makes the finals. I’m sure their odds will be better than 14%.

Because this poll doesn’t allow/account for that, there is imbalanced weighting and people all jumped on the west coast juggernauts. That left small sample size silliness with the 1 vote difference for the Knicks and Sixers.

If you used the previous round poll as a better odds/proxy for their real thoughts you get closer to reality.

OKC - 88
SA - 74
NY - 68
PHI - 51.

tjrl | Raptors

7 | 15 hours ago

I don’t think there’s anything necessarily wrong with it. They’re not saying what the odds should be, just who they think would win.

If you had a weighted coin that you proved lands 51% heads and 49% tails and then asked “What side do you think will come up in a coin toss?” it’s logical a group knowing the coin would all vote heads. It doesn’t have to be 51 vote heads and 49 vote tails

Bobohippie | Pacers

2 | 15 hours ago

But if the east is more contested (it is) than that makes picking the Eastern team to win it all less probable. To make the numbers easy assume the west is ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ Okc/spurs and the east is 5 teams equally probable at 20% each and then the finals is also a clean ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. Picking okc/spurs as champs is a 25% to be correct while picking any of the Eastern teams is 10%.

F1yMo1o | Knicks

2 | 15 hours ago

Your assumptions belie what those same voters said.

They don’t believe the east is evenly split. Just look at their votes on who’ll make the finals.

Why would I make up some other hypothetical? They already gave you their actual answers. Their finals odds/votes are what I just provided.

SplittingChairs

4 | 15 hours ago

I think it says more about how people view the Knicks than it does the Sixers. People are just betting on the Knicks’ incredible run being a fluke. Every step of the way they were doubted, up until they held up the trophy. People want to convince themselves they were right all along in doubting them. The Sixers are deep though and I would love to see that ECF matchup. They’re officially in win-now mode so they won’t hesitate to make moves if Embiid gets injured.

Wally450 | Celtics

2 | 12 hours ago

Gonna make their failure that much sweeter.

archivedpear | Cavaliers

111 | 15 hours ago

Genuinely what has Detroit done to make anyone believe they are going to win the championship? Are adding John Collins Gary Harris and Isaiah Joe really needle movers when they are also losing beef stew lavert sasser and most importantly Tobias Harris. And this is all not even mentioning the duren shit who knows how he is going to be w it looking like he’s going to be on the QO and out of Detroit next off season.

sportsinaround | Hornets

21 | 14 hours ago

Individually John Collins and Isaiah Joe aren’t ‘big time’ but yes I do think they are needle movers for Detroit.

You mentioned losing Tobias Harris as if that’s notable but to me Collins over Harris is a notable upgrade for them if you look at the context of the team. Harris had his moments stepping up for buckets but really he’s historically been kind of a blackhole. He often tries to do too much with the ball, has questionable decision making/hesitates, and has an old school approach where he’s working the man in ISO and taking contested middies and shit on the regular.

Collins is a much better off-ball player and can rim run / be a lob threat. Great in transition, settings screens, working the pick and roll, etc. He has also been a 40% 3pt shooter the last two seasons. I think he’ll be a much better fit with Cade and the offense will flow better. Isaiah Joe is obviously a nice addition for spacing in general. Detroit’s spacing situation was pretty horrendous last season.

archivedpear | Cavaliers

12 | 13 hours ago

Even if you’re correct about everything you’re stating and it holds you cannot discount that Harris was their second best player all playoffs and was their most reliable scoring option outside of Cade all last season. Collins will have to be capable of averaging around 20 in the post season to match what Harris did this off season which wasn’t even enough to push them past my Cavs who were kinda ass too

sportsinaround | Hornets

3 | 13 hours ago

Harris averaged 13ppg in the regular season and 18 in the playoffs on 42% fg and 29% from 3.

I don’t think it’s as simple as Collins needs to average 18+ to replace him because I think the offense will flow better in general without Harris. You’re also hoping of course Duren doesn’t average 10ppg again. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. I think they’ll be better suited for the playoffs imo but taking it all is a different story – not really arguing that.

browndude10 | United States

19 | 14 hours ago

they are about to max out ausar lol

arrofil

60 | 15 hours ago

The Knicks were a really tough match up for the Spurs. The Thunder are a really tough match up for everyone - and I say this as a Spurs fan (we did great, but I’m not going to pretend that injuries and having certain natural benefits against the Thunder didn’t help immensely).

I think it makes sense for the Thunder to be the odds-on favorites. Most teams have a tough time against them - the Knicks had a tough time against them in the same way the Spurs had a tough time against the Knicks.

justmefishes | NBA

28 | 13 hours ago

Conversely, OKC has already started to experience 2nd apron attrition to their roster via losing Dort, Joe, and Wiggins, whereas the Spurs had no salient roster losses, will improve naturally with development from the young stars, and added a nice piece in Tobias Harris. Spurs seem like a more natural pick IMO.

The1Drumheller | Thunder

11 | 11 hours ago

Dort, Joe, and Wiggins played the 7th, 11th, and 13th most minutes in the WCF. I loved having all three of those guys, but Wallace (3rd), Mitchell (9th), and JDub (12th) are all better players. Ajay playing 79 minutes over just three games to Joe and Wiggins’ combined 90 minutes over seven should tell you all you need to know about where they ended up on the depth chart for the team.

justmefishes | NBA

2 | 5 hours ago

Yeah, it’s closer to “chipping away at the margins” territory than “significant downgrade,” and OKC is better situated to survive the 2nd apron siege than any other team due to their warchest of picks, but it’s also not nothing. Losing depth could come into play in case of injuries etc., players in the first years of their careers might not develop as expected, etc.

deneuvig | Spurs

12 | 12 hours ago

The Spurs is a terrible matchup for OKC and not the other way around. Our backcourt size is a big problem for them and Wemby is not bad either

Skank_hunt42 | Thunder

9 | 12 hours ago

You are not wrong. The Spurs are the worst matchup for the Thunder and 2nd place isn’t close.

I hope Chet went to a sports psychologist or something in the off season to get that Wemby bug off his back. Dude is a different player against every other team except the Spurs.

LeagueWinningPickup | Raptors

8 | 10 hours ago

I think with JDUB healthy it opens things up big time for Chet and he doesn’t need to try and score as much unless it makes sense.

aaronpatwork | Thunder

4 | 11 hours ago

we got Chet on that deer antler spray

arrofil

2 | 12 hours ago

I didn’t say that wasn’t the case. But it did go to 7 games with their 2nd and 3rd option shot creators / threats out for several games. I think we become a solidly better team in the match up as this upcoming season and the next ones go by and our roster develops experience and our new front court assets mature.

David_H21 | Spurs

0 | 13 hours ago

The Knicks were a tough matchup for the inexperienced 2026 Spurs. The 2027 Spurs have Finals experience and added 2 big bodies which they severely needed. I think both OKC and Spurs should be pretty safely favored against the Knicks.

Godszgift | Knicks

10 | 11 hours ago

what makese you think the spurs are gonna learn from their mistakes though. they were still convincd they were better tem despite being absolutely dominatd by the knicks the entire year.

I doubt they are mature or even smart enough to take accountability. The spurs will always be the same punching bag to me and i refuse to believe they are better than the knicks untill proven otherwise

Uncle_Freddy | SAS

3 | 10 hours ago

Maybe getting chewed out by Pop all summer will drill it into them, idk.

Agreed that all the “we beat ourselves” comments got tired though, the Knicks lost 3 games all postseason, beat the shit out of the east, and beat us in increasingly embarrassing ways throughout the Finals.

I think they’ll absolutely learn from it and grow up (their three best players are 20, 21 and 22 for crying out loud), but they definitely finally showed their age and inexperience on the biggest stage of the year

WallStreetDoesntBet1 | Knicks

54 | 16 hours ago

So I guess everyone is assuming a 41 year old LeBron and an injury prone Embiid will be healthy for a full postseason run in a tough conference…

Still_Hurry_9322

38 | 16 hours ago

LeBron has been healthy every postseason except like 1 in 20+ years. Embiid on the other hand……

spidersilva09 | NBA

10 | 16 hours ago

That plus its a brand new team put together. Teams like the Knicks have a core thats been together for a few years now. Chemistry is a real thing

mapletree23

10 | 15 hours ago

a lot of lebron’s injuries have kind of just been freak accidents, this sciatica was the first “old”

his biggest injury was a dude taking out his legs and he had an awkward slip for a groin

he was fine like all of last year after he ramped up and was in way better shape than AR and luka to handle the grind and in the playoffs he easily stood out effort/energy wise especially when kennard and smart fell off a cliff after 3 games

i don’t really have anythign for embiid though lol

CurrentRoster | Wizards

2 | 14 hours ago

lebron has never missed a playoff game in his career before idk why people think he’ll be cooked as if they aren’t gonna load manage an already durable player

PensiveinNJ | 76ers

2 | 10 hours ago

I’m not worried about Lebron. I think people are going to be surprised how much Lebron at point guard is going to open things up. I love Maxey but he is limited as a playmaker and our lack of backup ball handler last year was brutal.

justiceway1 | Celtics

2 | 16 hours ago

I think Philly is deep enough to take the regular season lightly for both. As long as they get a top 4 seed (which Maxey, Brown and VJ are more than good enough to get) then they can take let LeBron and Embiid stay as healthy as they possibly can for the playoffs.

Godszgift | Knicks

3 | 11 hours ago

maxey brwn and vj ant getting a top 4 seed in this tough eastern confrence lol

JackJ98 | BOS

33 | 16 hours ago

The Heat being nowhere on this list is insane. And I say that as a Heat hater

MexicanJesse | Bucks

23 | 11 hours ago

Even if the fit isn’t perfect, I’ve got more faith in Giannis (if healthy) and Spo than I do the Pistons or Cavs.

GRANDLarsonyy

29 | 16 hours ago

I love the Knicks team but I doubt they repeat. The Spurs are going to be a lot stronger this year and I doubt they collapse again like they did every game in the finals.

MirrorComputingRulez | Cavaliers

39 | 15 hours ago

It’s not really a collapse if it starts in the second quarter. It’s just getting beat.

orangekingo | Spurs

17 | 15 hours ago

They definitely got beat fair and square by a better team but I’m not sure how you could qualify it as anything besides a collapse. They made an insane amount of self inflicted errors.

Part of basketball is just being the team who makes fewer mistakes

mylanguage | Knicks

11 | 14 hours ago

The Spurs lost to the Knicks ⁶⁄₈ times last season. They lost with homecourt in 5. Lost every single home game in the finals.

That’s a team being better over and over in multiple high-level settings. Spurs lost Game 5 with the Knicks 2nd option fouled out with 2 points

orangekingo | Spurs

3 | 13 hours ago

I’m not arguing that. I literally wrote “they lost to a better team” not everything is a slight against the Knicks. They were better.

I also think the Spurs did a lot of self inflicted implosion that probably wouldn’t have happened to a more experienced team. I don’t see how that’s controversial?

LakerBlue | Lakers

12 | 12 hours ago

If it happened once or twice I see the argument but when it keeps happening repeatedly it’s not a collapse, it’s just a team that can’t maintain the level of play needed to win.

Like I get your point, I do, but it happened too many times to primarily frame it as Spurs “collapsing”.

wikisaiyan2 | Hornets

2 | 13 hours ago

making less mistakes against another PRO NBA TIER team is mostly all of basketball lol.

probablymade_thatup | Bucks [MIL] Luke Kornet

10 | 14 hours ago

If OKC has a healthy JDub, do the Spurs beat them? The Spurs are young and will continue to grow, but the Thunder (who are almost as young) had multiple lottery picks sitting on the bench injured last year. Plus the Spurs went to 6 against a limping Wolves team. The Spurs will probably be better, but even if they get better, the playoffs are so matchup based that it might not mean they return to the Finals.

JMEEKER86 | Japan

7 | 14 hours ago

Tbf, it probably doesn’t go to 6 if Wemby doesn’t get ejected. The 4 games they won were by an average of 26 points.

Skank_hunt42 | Thunder

5 | 12 hours ago

OKC losing JDub was a huge loss for us (obviously). But keep in mind the Spurs didn’t have Fox the first two games either and with Castle as the primary ball handler, he had like 20 turnovers in 2 games. Chet taking as many shots as bench players during the series and doing 33 minutes of cardio in G7 really hurt us without Dub.

TheLoneWolf527

3 | 13 hours ago

The interesting thing about the OKC vs SA series was that the Spurs won game 1 after Wemby had the greatest game of his life…in double overtime. They made ²⁷⁄₂₉ free throws. For all intents and purposes, that game was basically a tie but one team had to be declared the winner. After game 5, the series was basically 3-1-1 OKC but in reality 3-2 because the Spurs got the double OT win. Had the Spurs missed one more free throw in game 1, OKC wins 4-1 in a real gentlemen’s sweep and we’d be saying “the spurs aren’t ready yet”

So that one singular game gave them the chance to keep playing and they did what they needed to do, but were this close to being seen as “not their time.”

theiwc0303 | Hornets

2 | 10 hours ago

Lottery picks don’t immediately translate to good players in a championship rotation, especially when they don’t help the problems the Thunder already have while having their own problems

Sorber is a 6’10” interior forward who shot 16% from three in college, coming off an ACL tear.

Topic will have gotten to play 23 basketball games in 2.33 years when preseason starts, averaging 5/4/2 on 48.9% TS% when he did get to play in the NBA.

Mara doesn’t add any new skills to their big rotation, while also being a guy who would barely played half of games in college but still struggle to get up and down the court. I doubt he makes it through the season.

This was the problem with people factoring in how many picks the Thunder had into them being a guaranteed dynasty. The picks have to actually pan out, it’s not 2k.

MddlingAges | Knicks

7 | 15 hours ago

Or did the Knicks solve them? If the Knicks can wear Wemby out, I’m pretty sure the Thunder can.

Fans assume trends go up to infinity. In reality, Portland peaked with the conf Finals, Memphis never got healthy again, Luka might have hit his peak in Dallas. Dallas never went back.

A lot of teams are one injury away from the Finals.

LAMonkeyWithAShotgun | Spurs

8 | 14 hours ago

Wemby will be better as he has been every year. But the actual difference maker will be the growth form Harper and Castle, a hopefully healthy Fox, and way more Big man depth with Tobias Harris and other additions.

The spurs where not built to go to the finals. We had about 20 million in cap space parked in Kelly Olynk and other expiring deals and a huge deficiency at the 4. I truly just think the team will be way more well rounded this season even outside of growth from all our young players.

LakerBlue | Lakers

3 | 12 hours ago

I do agree but I would still give NYK the edge until I see otherwise.

captain_ahabb | Lakers

7 | 15 hours ago

Wemby is on a completely different level than Dame, Ja or Luka.

Low_Analysis5944 | 76ers

8 | 15 hours ago

what about Giannis and Jokic

flaming_burrito_ | Wizards

7 | 15 hours ago

I don’t think so. You need certain kinds of players to stop Wemby. KAT is big enough to be able to muscle through Wemby in the paint, and can space the floor, which makes Wemby have to guard the perimeter. Jokic also cooks Wemby for this reason. Then they’ve got OG, who is strong enough to stop Wemby driving, and is harder for him to push through because OG’s center of gravity is a lot lower.

The Spurs will likely continue to be a matchup nightmare for OKC for all the reasons they already were. I’m also expecting Dylan Harper to get better, and he’s who I think will be the key to unlocking that teams full potential

ScionAurelius | Thunder

3 | 14 hours ago

The Spurs players will all get better, but I think they’re definitely gonna take a hit after losing Sean Sweeney, at least defensively.

SharpMind94 | Cavaliers

25 | 16 hours ago

I’m surprised that Miami isn’t even considered?

equan-ducklings

18 | 13 hours ago

The Miami disrespect is absolutely insane. If Jimmy Butler and Spo could lead a team starting Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin and worse bench quality to the finals, Im sure a Giannis led team with wiggins, klay, THJ and a better bench could at least be in consideration.

Cleveland made no big changes Boston swapped jaylen brown for older Paul George Detroit lost their second option and depth Indiana is coming off a losing season with their star coming back from a season ending injury

These teams are all great without a doubt but to say Miami isn’t at least in championship consideration when they traded away the core of the team that couldn’t get past the play-in for the first time in years for Giannis, bobby portis, THJ, and Klay isn’t a better team is just ridiculous

north_canadian_ice | Celtics

13 | 15 hours ago

I agree, that is very silly.

Bam + Giannis + Wiggins are an incredible defensive trio. They are going to exhaust their opponents.

Davion Mitchell is a great defensive PG too. And their offense is more than capable with Giannis as the #1 option. Picking up Klay is huge.

Miami is a title contender for sure.

SmurfAtLarge

22 | 16 hours ago

Out of every recent champion, I’m most confident in the Knicks not repeating. I think their run was more cinderella than anything else. Still credit to them but I just don’t see it happening again.

RepulsiveAntelope252 | Knicks

41 | 16 hours ago

Not saying I think they repeat, but Cinderella feels like an unfair take to the team with the largest point differential in playoff history.

LakerBlue | Lakers

6 | 12 hours ago

I agree. Not saying y’all were necessarily one of the best teams ever but that point differential (not to mention losing only 3 games) is more than a Cinderella run. That implies they were an unexpected champ when (even if it was partly due to injuries) most people felt the Knicks were the most likely or second most likely to team to win the east.

Plus the only series they were an underdog was the Finals.

PM_ME_UR_NEWDZZZ | Knicks

19 | 16 hours ago

Cinderella in what way? They dominated all the way to the finals after they changed their offensive scheme running through Kat.

captainant | Spurs

14 | 16 hours ago

Domination doesn’t usually come with a long string of double digit comebacks lol. The Knicks were on a golden run and made every important shot when it counted most. But they did that in multiple series the whole run

ivandragostwin | Bulls

14 | 14 hours ago

They absolutely cruised through the east after the first 3 games when they ran through KAT though which I think is what they meant.

Spurs of course for a 5 games series gave them an insane battle but they dog walked Atlanta, Philly and Cleveland over the course of 10 games. The east is a lot better this year though and as we’ve seen a title run takes a toll on teams.

sugarklay | Lakers

7 | 16 hours ago

I guess in that #1, the majority didn’t believe in you guys winning (“WCF is the real finals”), and #2 you guys relied on multiple comebacks against the second-youngest team in Finals history in their first playoff run (closest 5-game series IIRC). I don’t think that’s a good precedent to bet on repeating, especially when the team they beat is likely to get better. Plus, the East is way stronger next year compared to this year, so they’ll prolly get beaten up more even if they reached the Finals.

But in general, it’s hard to bet on a team repeating. Even the KD Warriors got taken to 7 games by the Rockets the following year after going 16-1 in the playoffs. So I’m guessing whatever worked for the Knicks this season would have been studied hard by contending teams and it’s not gonna be as easy.

ForsakenCherry8333 | Spurs

3 | 16 hours ago

i agree with you but they won’t be able to repeat when they lose mitch who was such an important part of the team last season, and especially won’t repeat if 76ers or OKC are fully healthy, or if the Spurs develop a clutch gene

Dynastydood | Knicks

6 | 16 hours ago

The Spurs are plenty clutch already, they just need a smarter coach who won’t let the players run themselves into the ground in the first half. Nobody is clutch when they’re dead on their feet like the Spurs were in the 4th quarter of every single game of the Finals.

ForsakenCherry8333 | Spurs

3 | 16 hours ago

also need mitch johnson to learn that fox does not need to be playing more minutes than harper, especially in late game

themonkey12 | LAL

9 | 15 hours ago

Huh…cinderella? Have you watch the playoff lol.

YKG1998 | Knicks

2 | 16 hours ago

Did you see them winning last year?

throwawayjoeyboots

17 | 16 hours ago

Why is there this mentality that you have to pick the defending champs to do it again?
History says that’s usually not the case?

They have the Knicks as the most likely team to come out of the east and 3rd most likely to win the championship. Not really seeing the crazy disrespect here.

bevendelamorte | 76ers

14 | 16 hours ago

you can link each teams espn page, but not the article?

nbaistheworst [OP]

12 | 15 hours ago

Sorry, old man still waking up - I edited to add the link at the top

bevendelamorte | 76ers

5 | 15 hours ago

all good, thanks!

SignificantScreen100 | Celtics

13 | 15 hours ago

Last three seasons

2024
East
1. Milwaukee Bucks: 86 points (40% of first-place votes)

2. Boston Celtics: 80 points (40%)

3. Miami Heat: 38 points (4%)

4. New York Knicks: 12 points (16%)

5. Cleveland Cavaliers: 9 points

West

1. Denver Nuggets: 106 points (76% of first-place votes)

2. Phoenix Suns: 60 points (12%)

3. Golden State Warriors: 27 points (8%)

4. Los Angeles Lakers: 24 points (4%)

5. L.A. Clippers: 6 points

T-6. Minnesota Timberwolves: 1 point

T- 6. Sacramento Kings: 1 point

Overall

1. Denver Nuggets: 80 points (48% of first-place votes)

2. Milwaukee Bucks: 49 points (28%)

3. Boston Celtics: 32 points (4%)

4. Phoenix Suns: 30 points (8%)

5. Miami Heat: 22 points (12%)

6. Golden State Warriors: 6 points

7. Los Angeles Lakers: 5 points

8. Minnesota Timberwolves: 1 point

2025

East

1. Boston Celtics: 97 points

2. Philadelphia 76ers: 39 points

3. New York Knicks: 38 points

4. Milwaukee Bucks: 13 points

5. Cleveland Cavaliers: 2 points

West

1. Oklahoma City Thunder: 83 points

2. Minnesota Timberwolves: 48 points

3. Dallas Mavericks: 29 points

4. Denver Nuggets: 18 points

5. Phoenix Suns: 8 points

6. Los Angeles Lakers: 2 points

Overall

1. Boston Celtics: 82 points

2. Oklahoma City Thunder: 37 points

3. Philadelphia 76ers: 18 points

4. Denver Nuggets: 13 points

T-5. Milwaukee Bucks: 9 points

T-5. New York Knicks: 9 points

7. Dallas Mavericks: 6 points

2026

East

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: 98 points

2. New York Knicks: 72 points

3. Orlando Magic: 21 points

4. Milwaukee Bucks: 7 points

5. Indiana Pacers: 3 points

West

1. Oklahoma City Thunder: 106 points

2. Denver Nuggets: 50 points

3. Houston Rockets: 35 points

4. Los Angeles Lakers/Minnesota Timberwolves: 7 points

5. Golden State Warriors: 2 points

Overall

1. Oklahoma City Thunder: 101 points

2. Denver Nuggets: 36 points

3. Cleveland Cavaliers: 27 points

4. Houston Rockets: 21 points

5. New York Knicks: 11 points

giladg

10 | 16 hours ago

If the Kawhi trade goes through, they need to rethink those Eastern Conference predictions.

Lets_Go_Blue__Jays

16 | 16 hours ago

I understand the uncertainty surrounding Kawhi but not predicting Toronto to be a top 6 team is ridiculous regardless.

They were an improving 47 win team last year, and have no reason to regress

giladg

6 | 16 hours ago

You’re right. Regardless of the trade, the teams is very young and talented.

ResponsibleWater1697 | Pacers

11 | 15 hours ago

Who thinks Detroit is winning it all?

I can see a case for the others, but the Pistons?

bbank8744 | Knicks

2 | 15 hours ago

Vince Goodwill most likely

defiantcross | Suns

9 | 14 hours ago

after 8 years they finally learned there won’t be a repeat

MiddleStudy

8 | 16 hours ago

ESPN hyping up another star-ladden team. A tale as old as time

LegitimateMoney00 | Knicks

7 | 16 hours ago

I feel like I’m going crazy when people pick the Sixers.

It’s like we all collectively erase our memory and say “oh Embiid won’t be injured again.”

LiveLifeLikeCre | Knicks

8 | 14 hours ago

parity is king in NBA over recent years, but if Knicks went back to back people would look amazingly silly two years in a row

nbaistheworst [OP]

8 | 14 hours ago

The Knicks have great roster construction and chemistry, they certainly could end up repeating.

QuinnTinIntheBin

6 | 16 hours ago

The Knicks were extremely dominant in that run and people are doubting them already

Justalittlejewish | Celtics

39 | 16 hours ago

I don’t think the dominance of the run matters that much when they’re going up against an 8 year long trend of the previous champions not even making the finals. They lost a pretty important (at least regular season) piece for them in Mitch Robinson and had pretty good injury luck last year. Them making and winning the finals would be breaking a trend a almost a decade in the making.

bigE819 | Pacers

7 | 16 hours ago

Counter point. The team that beat them the last two years missed the playoffs because their best player was out. The team they beat in the Finals choked away every game, and that team barely beat the best team in the league without their 2nd best player.

AbjectAffect91 | Knicks

10 | 16 hours ago

LMAO Pacers fans really just holding on “We beat the Knicks twice!”.

SanjiSasuke | Knicks

5 | 14 hours ago

They ought to just hang the banner.

SeaCounter9516 | Thunder

6 | 13 hours ago

No franchise holds on to what ifs harder than them

justmefishes | NBA

3 | 13 hours ago

The 2024 series went 7 games despite the Knicks missing Julius Randle for the whole series, Mitchell Robinson the last 6 games, Anunoby the last 5 games, and Brunson breaking his hand in Game 7 for the cherry on top.

SoulofWakanda

2 | 15 hours ago

Do u think they’re incapable of doing it again?

ShawshankException | Knicks

1 | 15 hours ago

Unfathomable levels of cope lmao Indy is crazy

Adorable-News-9364 | Spurs

3 | 16 hours ago

They didn’t add to the team and the Sixers, Pistons, Pacers, Heat, and Cavs did. The east should be more competitive this year. I don’t think this is ESPN doubting them at all.

SoulofWakanda

5 | 15 hours ago

We’ve seen better teams than that Knicks squad fail to repeat this decade.

And now the level of competition in the league is as high or higher than it’s ever been.

AbjectAffect91 | Knicks

5 | 16 hours ago

Good. Let people doubt us again.

Pristine_Fox8975

5 | 16 hours ago

Lakers behind nuggets, rockets and timberwolves??? 76ers at 2??? Idk about this list but guess we will find out

thy_armageddon | Knicks

6 | 15 hours ago

Nice to see they’re giving staffers one last opportunity to vote on something before the McAfee regime takes its iron grip over the network completely and squashes their pitiful democracy.

LilBushyVert | Heat

4 | 11 hours ago

Yall really hate Miami that much? Damn

dman2796 | Cavaliers

5 | 16 hours ago

I don’t see New York repeating… no team has done it in nearly a decade and they got worse

Rhubarb-Nation | Raptors

5 | 12 hours ago

I guess they’re ranking under the assumption the Kawhi trade doesn’t go thru?

BiGgmoney91 | Heat

3 | 12 hours ago

Typical ESPN garbage

deneuvig | Spurs

4 | 11 hours ago

Did OKC close the gap with SA over the summer ? They stayed stable and even lost some depth, and did not add size in the backcourt while the Spurs addressed some gaps and also benefit from a younger star core that still has a lot of room to progress (Castle, Harper, Vic all younger than 23).

The same way the Knicks are a terrible matchup for SA, the Spurs are a pretty tough matchup for OKC and I don’t think the player dynamics or team topologies have changed in a meaningful way.

nbaistheworst [OP]

2 | 8 hours ago

The narrative is that they would have won if healthy (despite that the Spurs weren’t fully healthy either). If both teams are healthy this season we will find out if that mattered.

deneuvig | Spurs

3 | 7 hours ago

It’s such a hypothetical though. Spurs had OKCs number all year last year, but even accounting for better health I think the overall player development and signing dynamics favor San Antonio still.

skratsda | Thunder

2 | 16 hours ago

If I’m interpreting this correctly, it’s pretty interesting that every voter who picked the Spurs to win the West also has them winning the championship, despite them being in second place in votes to win the West

Trick_Sector5900

2 | 16 hours ago

That’s why I only use ESPN for information, not analysis

BeloAve | Lakers

2 | 15 hours ago

Okc dominance continues to be exaggerated,

They are definitely contenders don’t get me wrong, but they lost to the spurs and they lost players,

Spurs are going to naturally progress and take a step forward so I just don’t understand the logic here,

okc lost to the spurs, okc got worse, spurs will be better, okc favorites? Really?

Let’s not forget if Tyrese leg doesn’t explode, it’s the pacers lowering the banner not okc.

I just don’t see how they get this much benefit

SeaCounter9516 | Thunder

1 | 13 hours ago

OKC was almost in the finals without 2 of their 3 top play makers. That is why they get this much benefit. They are objectively the deepest team and in a league run by injuries that’s a major strength.

They also lost 2 players that didn’t play in the play offs and Dort who by the spurs series was playing around or under 20 minutes. The stretch here is saying that makes them worse. Id argue Dorts minutes going to Cason is addition by subtraction as well lol.

Razmoket

3 | 14 hours ago

As a Pacers fan, honestly shocked they got 12 points. Not because I don’t believe in them but because usually no one outside of Indiana does + Hali returning from injury.

I kind of wonder if that’s a bunch of 3rd place votes or just a couple people being really optimistic.

press_Y | Knicks

2 | 13 hours ago

This is fuel for the big headed midget finals mvp

Vast_Cellist3171

3 | 11 hours ago

Funny how the narrative on the heat is they can’t be in this list cause Bam and Giannis are due to get hurt and they don’t have shooters for Giannis. If you go player by player with the sixers almost every player shoots better and Embiid missing significant time, James missing a chunk of time and Maxey probs missing a small amount of time is a lock.

Btw they say we have no shooters when they come up with these voting systems and all their articles for the past 3 months including one I saw yesterday but when we signed Klay the article said Klay was useless on the Heat cause they have too many shooters. Explain to me how the argument is simultaneously they don’t have shooters but shooters are redundant this is a classic moving goal post example.

Team is the most disrespected by the national media who coddles to Northeast teams cause they still mad about the Heatles not going to one of their teams like the bulls, Knicks or Sixers

Diddington

3 | 9 hours ago

Anytime Coach Spo has had a top ten player, he’s taken that team to the finals. Giannis, Bam and 5 players shooting about 38% from 3 while also being a top 3 defensive team will be hard to beat.

MagicianLanky615

3 | 9 hours ago

It’s hilarious how analysts gargle the balls of the West every year. 2024, Boston trashed Dallas. 2025, the 4-seed in the East had the OKC Thunder on the ropes, last year the Knicks gentleman-swept the Spurs, yet here they are crowing them

content_billionaire

3 | 8 hours ago

ECF Knicks over Sixers 4-3 coming back from an 0-3 deficit

WCF Spurs over Thunder 4-2

Finals Knicks over Spurs 4-2

TheGreatWhoreOfChina | 76ers

2 | 16 hours ago

How often have they been right in the last 10-15 years?

lagrange_james_d23dt | CLE

2 | 15 hours ago

They were actually pretty close last year, except for the Spurs and Raptors who were much better than predicted

SoulofWakanda

1 | 16 hours ago

How do the Pistons finish 5th to win the title and nowhere close to win the east? Lol

Helicase21 | GSW

2 | 15 hours ago

We haven’t seen a team make back to back finals since 2019 let alone win back to back championships. ESPN might have just finally caught up to the pattern.

goknicks23

2 | 12 hours ago

Knicks lost one rotation player that averaged less then 14 mpg in a playoffs where they had the highest point differential in the history of the NBA. 5-3 when trailing by 20 or more the playoffs the last 2 seasons while the rest of the NBA is 4-71. They are incredibly clutch,OG has made the leap,they’ll be fine.

TacoCityJC

2 | 9 hours ago

Knicks in 5

theskyopenedup | Knicks

2 | 5 hours ago

I’m fine with being World Champion underdogs lol

lowkeyslightlynerdy | Spurs

1 | 16 hours ago

Knicks have a better chance to repeat than the Warriors after 22

-Sofa-King-Vote | Knicks

1 | 16 hours ago

Typical espn garbo

EvilLibrarians | Pistons

1 | 16 hours ago

Detroit still there?! They believe in Cade finally

Zeeron1 | Thunder

1 | 16 hours ago

Another year of honestly pretty clear tiers, and it’s all about who stays healthy at the right time. If the Thunder are healthy, no one’s touching them. If they get hurt, then it’s between the Knicks and Spurs again. If they get hurt, then we go to third tier contenders.

Anyways, space the damn season out and eliminate back to backs lol

Top-boy-og

1 | 16 hours ago

Good picks. It’s gonna be a Thunder revenge tour

Lord_Sweater3 | Pelicans

1 | 16 hours ago

At this point I don’t really care who wins, as long as the Parity Streak keeps on going. I’m way more invested in that than any one team.

Alpha-Trion | Timberwolves

1 | 16 hours ago

I’m huffing that hopium.

Timberwolves are number 1 in my heart.

sasadoncic | Lakers

1 | 15 hours ago

Stupid ESPN. Where is Sacramento Kings?

SuperSayian4Nappa | Charlotte Bobcats

1 | 15 hours ago

I agree with this. The knicks got hit at the right time, but they don’t feel like an unstoppable juggernaut the way OKC did coming into last year

ESPN’s annual NBA Conference Champions and Championship Predictions posted today - They didn’t pick the defending champ for the 1st time in years. Discuss!

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