After several weeks of previews, analysis, columns and capsules, we’re finally turning a corner from preseason NBA coverage to the real thing. However, before the season officially tips off at 3 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, we still have one more prediction left to put on paper. And it’s obviously the most important one yet.
The NBA Finals.
The Participants
If you haven’t been keeping track of our predictions to this point, we broke down the entire projected Eastern and Western Conference Playoff brackets and each division individually. The conclusions? I expect the New York Knicks to emerge from the East for a second straight season, beating the new-look Philadelphia 76ers in seven games to advance to the Finals.
Out West, I’m confident that a much healthier and more prepared Oklahoma City Thunder team will get revenge on the San Antonio Spurs in another thrilling seven game series. A year after the Spurs were unable to get it done against the Knicks on the biggest stage, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder will get their chance to slay the defending champions and get their own dynasty back on track. And what’s better than a meeting between the last two NBA champions?
How It Will Play Out
First off, the Thunder are going to beat the Knicks in six highly competitive games to take home their second Larry O’Brien Trophy in three seasons.
The Thunder will go into Game 6 in Oklahoma City with a 3-2 lead and the Knicks are going to fight like all hell to bring it back to The Garden for Game 7. I mean, seriously, how insane would Game 7 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden be?
Every analyst and fan is going to be on the Knicks, because they’re still the obvious protagonist and the Thunder are still very polarizing antagonists. And the protagonist has to win, right?
Wrong. This is real life, not the movies. Just when it looks like the Knicks are going to set the stage for what would surely be the most anticipated game this generation, SGA is going to slowly remove the air from their lungs with mid-range jumper after mid-range jumper after mid-range jumper.
The Thunder are going to celebrate on their home floor, again, and Knicks fans will have to wait at least another year (and likely more) to see Larry O lifted at MSG.
Hot Take?
I’d go as far as saying the Knicks wouldn’t even be champions right now if the Thunder were playing with a full deck against the Spurs last season, because I know for a fact SGA would have thrived in that series even if he only had a few days to rejuvenate himself.
Even if Jalen Williams couldn’t come back, Ajay Mitchell likely would have been fine for the Finals and I feel very strongly about the fact that a Thunder team with championship experience from the previous season would have handled the pressures of a New York-based Finals much better than Victor Wembanyama and the youthful Spurs did.
Regardless, we’ll never know if that theory is correct because real life happened and the Thunder were unable to overcome those missing pieces against the Spurs. That story won’t be the same this year. When a player as consistent as SGA gets under the bright lights and has a full cavalry behind him, winning becomes less of a question and more of a formality.
It’s hard to go back to back in this league, it’s even harder when you have to do it against a team that has an automatic 20 points from their point guard and a supporting cast that seemingly adds another Avengers level talent at random each season.
Anyway, Thunder in 6. See you in June for the recap.
The post 2026-27 NBA Preview: Predicting The Finals appeared first on Ballislife.com.