ESPN Experts Share Official NBA Finals Predictions
The 2026 NBA Finals are here, with Game 1 between the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and Eastern Conference-winning New York Knicks set for Wednesday night.
The Spurs, seeded second in the West, got to this point by knocking off the defending NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in seven games. San Antonio previously handled the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Knicks ran roughshod through the Eastern Conference. After falling behind 2-1 to the Atlanta Hawks in the first-round, the No. 3 seed Knicks haven't lost, winning 11-straight games over the Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.
Ahead of the best-of-seven series, ESPN's panel of NBA experts has released its predictions.
Spurs are heavily favored
San Antonio is the established betting favorite, and ESPN's team of 13 writers, reporters and analysts also overwhelmingly prefers the Western Conference winners.
Ten of 13 media panelists picked San Antonio to win it all, with six expecting the series to go the distance, three predicting the Spurs to win in 6 games and one picking them to win in 5.
Ramona Shelburne, Justin Tinsley and Ohm Youngmisuk are the dissenting voices. Shelburne and Youngmisuk forecasted the Knicks in 7, with Tinsley going Knicks in 6.
All 10 people on the Spurs have Victor Wembanyama winning NBA Finals MVP, while the trio that chose the Knicks all selected Jalen Brunson as their MVP pick.
Game 1 draws closer
The Spurs are looking for their first championship since 2014, while the Knicks haven't won it all since way back in 1973. These two teams have been among the NBA's best all season long, so expect a fun, competitive series.
Game 1 will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday night from the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. ABC will broadcast the action.
The full NBA Finals schedule is as follows:
- Game 1: Wednesday, June 3, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 2: Friday, June 5, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 3: Monday, June 8, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 4: Wednesday, June 10, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 5: Saturday, June 13, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 6: Tuesday, June 16, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 7: Friday, June 19, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Mike Breen, Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler will call the games for ABC.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 11:11 AM.