Draymond Green Makes Confident NBA Finals Prediction

Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals tips off on Wednesday night, pitting the home-team San Antonio Spurs against the visiting New York Knicks.

The Spurs are widely considered the favorites to claim the franchise’s sixth NBA title, but Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green believes its the Knicks who will secure the team’s first championship since 1973.

Green cited the Spurs’ lack of postseason experience as the reason he’s going with New York. He believes the Knicks will steal Game 1 on the road, and ultimately go on to win the series.

“I’m going to go with the more experienced team. I’m going to go with the New York Knicks to take Game 1,” Green said. “I’m also going to go with the New York Knicks to win this series.”

"Spurs still ain't been through nothing. They ain't been through much,” he continued. “However, the Knicks, they got to be feeling it. They got to feel good about it and they got to go steal Game 1. And like I said, I also think they win this series."

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The Spurs have continuously pushed back against the narrative that they lack playoff experience. Despite most of its young roster playing in their first postseason campaigns, San Antonio took down the reigning NBA-champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

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“The lack of experience is a strength of us,” Victor Wembanyama said during a recent interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews. “We could do impossible stuff because we don’t know it’s impossible.”

Game 1 will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 10:39 AM.