When Coldplay sang, “No one said it was going to be easy,” they obviously weren’t singing about the New York Knicks’ 2026 playoff run. The newly minted Eastern Conference Champions have skated through the first three postseason rounds, including a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers to secure their spot in the NBA Finals.
For the first time since 1999, the Knicks are playing for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Now listed as +260, we’re evaluating the NBA Championship odds as the Knicks await the winner of the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs out West.
Unstoppable Knicks
At first, it didn’t look like it was going to be this easy for the Knicks. New York dropped two of three versus the Hawks in the first round, albeit with both of those losses coming by a combined two points. Since then, the Knicks have gone on to win 10 straight, looking better with each passing game.
Their dominance can be assumed, but there are a few key indicators supporting this could be the Knicks’ year. First, New York has been favored in 12 of their 14 postseason games. More importantly, they have covered the spread in all but three of those contests. That puts New York on an incredible 78.6% run in covering the spread. Across their 10-game winning streak, that looks even more impressive, with New York cashing against the spread at a 90.0% clip. Altogether, the Knicks’ average winning margin is now sitting at +19.4 points per game, the highest postseason mark in NBA history. Every team that has run through the postseason at +15.0 or higher has gone on to win the Championship.
Gaining Betting Momentum
As the playoffs have progressed, bettors have started to take notice of New York’s assertiveness. Nearly 90.0% of the betting handle was coming in on the Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final. We’ve also seen that spill into th futures market.
Formerly a +2200 afterthought, the Knicks are currently installed as +260 frontrunners, sandwiching them between the Thunder (-115) and Spurs (+275). With that, the Eastern Conference Champions have seen a steady increase in their ticket count and handle. They are currently attracting 10.5% of the bets and 11.6% of the handle, signaling more sharp investment throughout their playoff run. Both of those benchmarks could be in the rise ahead of the NBA Finals.
Western Conference Pandemonium
The Spurs have given the Thunder more than they can handle in the Western Conference Final. That series is tied at two games apiece, with OKC reclaiming home court advantage on Tuesday night. Still, bettors are bullish on the Spurs’ chances, with San Antonio eating into the Thunder’s championship market share.
As it stands, the Spurs hold a 0.5% advantage over the Thunder in terms of ticket count. San Antonio’s 11.7% ticket count leads the league, with OKC coming in at 11.2%. As impressive as that is, the Thunder’s 24.4% handle blows San Antonio’s 16.8% mark out of the water. Moreover, we can infer from those splits that the Thunder remain the pre-eminent sharp target, with the Spurs becoming the public darling.
Game 5 could serve as an inflection point of the Western Conference Final. The winner of Tuesday’s showdown stakes themselves to the series lead, with either San Antonio earning a shot to close out the series at home or OKC getting two shots to make their second straight NBA Finals.
Final Thoughts
Irrespective of what happens in the Western Conference Final, the New York Knicks will be rested and ready to go in the NBA Finals. They’ve been too much for anyone in the East to handle. We’re betting they’re run isn’t over just yet and they come out swinging versus the Thunder or Spurs. The Knicks will be underdogs against either opponent, but we’re not counting them out.
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