Experts Favor Knicks at -275 and Thunder at -250 in 2026 NBA Conference Finals

9 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · May 18

Game 1 of the West tips off Monday with defending champion Oklahoma City hosting San Antonio, while New York opens the East at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday against Cleveland.
BetMGM lists the Knicks as -275 series favorites over the Cavaliers and the Thunder at -250 over the Spurs, with Game 1 spreads of New York -7.5 and Oklahoma City -6.5.
Expert picks lean the same way but not overwhelmingly: ESPN’s panel backed the Knicks 8-3 and the Thunder 7-5, with several forecasts calling both series to go six or seven games.
The matchups carry added intrigue from rest and health questions in the East and a rising-star showdown in the West, where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander faces Victor Wembanyama in what many see as the start of a long rivalry.

Will rest conquer rhythm as the Knicks face a Cavaliers team exhausted from two seven-game wars?

Can the champion Thunder solve the Wembanyama puzzle that baffled them four times this season?