The New York Knicks are heading into the 2026 NBA Finals on an 11-game winning streak, winning every postseason game by an average of nearly 24 points. It’s been a historic run. And yet, the experts are not buying it.
Ten ESPN analysts made their Finals picks ahead of Game 1, and only three of them picked the Knicks to win the title. The other seven all went with the San Antonio Spurs, with Victor Wembanyama as their unanimous Finals MVP choice. That’s a heavy lean against New York before a single ball has been tipped.
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The concern isn’t just the pick count. Almost every expert sees this going six or seven games, which says they believe the Knicks can compete. But none of the Wembanyama backers thinks New York can close it out. Bobby Marks was the most extreme, calling Spurs in five.
3 pick the Knicks
All have the Finals going 6 or 7
Except one
The Spurs went through the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games to get here, with Wembanyama putting up 41 points and 24 rebounds in Game 1 alone. That kind of player, on that kind of run, is hard to pick against. The experts who went with the Spurs simply believe he’s too much to handle.
The three who picked the Knicks were Ramona Shelburne, Justin Tinsley, and Ohm Youngmisuk. All three took the Knicks in either six or seven games, and all three named Jalen Brunson as their Finals MVP. That’s the counter-argument: if Brunson takes over the series, the Knicks have a real shot.
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One should keep in mind that New York has not been defeated since the 2nd round. They eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 to make it to the Finals, and prior to that, they eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers in 4 games as well. That means this team has not really been thoroughly tested.
Actually, it is this factor that makes the Spurs game so interesting. The Knicks have yet to face a challenge of this level. To dominate the Hawks, Sixers, and Cavaliers is quite a different thing than coming face-to-face with Wembanyama with San Antonio’s big, athletic guards and wings around him.
Brunson, though, has been here before, at least in terms of big moments. If he finds his rhythm and the Knicks keep their defensive structure intact, three ESPN analysts believe that’s enough to flip the series. The rest of the world just isn’t convinced yet.
Game 1 tips off in San Antonio on June 3. The Knicks go in as underdogs, as disrespected as they’ve been all postseason, and maybe that’s exactly the kind of fuel this team runs on.
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