Knicks, Thunder, or Spurs? Ranking the NBA Title Favorites by the Odds
We are down to three teams left in the NBA playoffs.
The New York Knicks are chilling with Timothee Chalamet, Kylie Jenner, and Spike Lee after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, though, are in a war of attrition, with San Antonio’s blowout win in Game 6 pushing us to a Game 7 in Oklahoma on Saturday.
So while the Western Conference was seen as the far scarier half of the bracket before the playoffs started, is that still the case in the odds following New York’s historic run of beatdowns in the East?
Per Kalshi, the prediction website with over $200 million bet on this year’s NBA champion, here are the current odds before Game 7.
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1. Oklahoma City Thunder (41%)
The reigning champions are still in front with the highest odds, but those odds have taken a drastic turn following the team’s bad loss to the Spurs on Thursday night.
Two weeks ago, when the Thunder hadn’t dropped a single game through the first two rounds, they were as high as 63% as the Spurs were having trouble with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now, though, they’re edging ever so closer to the second-place team that might overtake them before Saturday’s climax.
2. New York Knicks (32%)
It has been a magical run for the Knicks, who, a month ago, had only a 3.9% chance, per Kalshi, to win the NBA title. New York got off to an extremely cold start against the Atlanta Hawks in the opening playoff round, falling behind 1-2 in the series, before deciding they’d never lose again.
The Knicks eliminated the Hawks from the playoffs with a 50-point victory, took out the Philadelphia 76ers in a one-sided sweep, and then finished off Cleveland on the road with another almost 30-point blowout.
While they might be an underdog against either the Thunder or Spurs, it’s not going to be a David vs. Goliath situation. The Knicks are legit title favorites.
3. San Antonio Spurs (27%)
It’s been a topsy-turvy road for the Spurs, who skyrocketed to the top of the board following their Game 1 win on the road against the Thunder but then got slapped down with back-to-back losses.
Victor Wembanyama, at his peak, is the best player left in the NBA playoffs, and the young Spurs will need him to be at his absolute top condition on Saturday if they want to make it to The Finals against the Knicks in what would be a rematch from the last time New York made it there in 1999.
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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 9:28 PM.