We’re only a handful of days removed from the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Finals, but that makes it the perfect time to dive into some way-too-early predictions for what the 2026-27 NBA season may have in store for us after one of the most memorable postseasons in the sport’s recent history.
Will the San Antonio Spurs find their way back to the NBA Finals after their devastating bottling of the NBA Finals? Will the Oklahoma City Thunder bounce back from their unfortunate injury luck to become the multi-time champions they’ve always been expected to become? Or like this year, will the New York Knicks steal the show (and the trophy) from both of them once again?
In terms of individual honors, it does feel like this may be the year that someone, namely the big fella in San Antonio, could eclipse Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the MVP voting for the first time since 2024. Could this finally be the season a player like Luka Doncic gets over the hump in terms of winning the sport’s most prestigious individual honor, or will someone like Cade Cunningham emerge as the next young guard to earn the award?
Without further ado, let’s see what the Ballislife crystal ball is saying for 2026-27.
NBA Finals: OKC Thunder defeat New York Knicks in 7
Quiet as kept, I do believe the vitriol toward the Thunder toward the end of their playoff run made a lot of people (media included) discount just how beat up this team was and just how much they were missing with Jalen Williams being out the majority of the regular season and playoffs, in addition to Ajay Mitchell’s absence at the end of the postseason. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a player who can carry a team through more than just about anyone in today’s NBA, but he needs his second and third offensive options to beat a team like San Antonio and especially to beat a team like New York.
Assuming they have a better time with their health this season, I expect the Thunder to avenge their 2026 Western Conference Finals loss to the Spurs to move onto the NBA Finals for the second time in three years, where they will again be successful in 7 games against the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks.
Wait… the Knicks? Yes, the Knicks. The Eastern Conference currently has exactly zero teams that inspire enough faith in me to pick them over the version of the New York Knicks we saw the last two months. Now that New York has that experience and championship mojo, it will honestly be hard to bet against them against any team in the East in a playoff series. Maybe if the Celtics are able to land Giannis Antetokounmpo, that could complicate things. But all signs are currently pointing toward Giannis wanting to head to Miami, and I don’t think that’s a move that instantly makes the Heat a contender in the conference.
2026-2027 #NBA Championship Odds (DraftKings)
Spurs +250
Thunder +260
Celtics +600
Knicks +650
Nuggets +2500
Pacers +2800
Timberwolves +3000
Lakers +3000
Pistons +3000
Cavaliers +3500
Heat +4000
76ers +5500
Rockets +6000
Warriors +6000
Magic +8000
Clippers +8000
Hornets +9000… pic.twitter.com/oqkRqBYum7— Ballislife Bets (@BallislifeBets) June 16, 2026
MVP: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
SGA avoided the voter fatigue this season, but a third straight MVP is something that I just can’t see the media bestowing upon him. That doesn’t mean he’ll definitively never win another MVP, but next season feels like the year Victor Wembanyama will emerge as enough of a force on the offensive end that, in addition to his world-class defense, it will make it essentially impossible to deny his status as the league’s literal most valuable player.
I know Wembanyama’s stock is down after his disappointing performance and behavior in the NBA Finals, but it would be foolish to think that this guy’s trajectory has been meaningfully altered by the fact that he lost in the NBA Finals at 22 years old. Is it a mark on his resume? Absolutely, but I also believe it’s the mark on his resume that he needed to really dial in and take himself to the next level on the court. Maybe instead of a monk retreat this offseason, he’ll be working on polishing his offensive game. Assuming he does, the MVP trophy has his name on it.
Rookie of the Year: Darius Acuff Jr., Brooklyn Nets
You know what, why not? Nobody would have expected Kon Knueppel to get as close to stealing Cooper Flagg’s Rookie of the Year award as he did (I actually think Kon deserved it), but Acuff going to Brooklyn would instantly make him an offensive centerpiece of one of the worst teams in the NBA. A.J. Dybantsa is going to be headed to a Washington team that has veteran leadership in place with Trae Young and Anthony Davis, so I don’t expect he’d get the same opportunities to control the flow of things offensively the way Acuff would in Brooklyn. Darryn Peterson should be a meaningful contender should he remain healthy, but his pre-draft shenanigans make it hard to really determine where his head and how he’d respond if the Jazz go against his wishes and draft him.
Most Improved Player: Scoot Henderson, Portland Trail Blazers
It’s safe to say Scoot Henderson’s NBA career didn’t start the way many in Portland envisioned, but this team showed a lot of promise this past season and Scoot appeared to somewhat turn a corner with his play for them late in the season. Scoot even posted a 31-point outing against the Spurs in the Blazers’ lone playoff win. If Portland continues to emerge as a team that could contend for a top four of five seed in the West and Henderson boosts his scoring to up around 18 points per game from his career high of 14.2 this past season, he could be a real contender for the Most Improved Player award.
Coach of the Year: Charles Lee, Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets already posted a 25-win improvement from 2024-25 to 2025-26, the tear this group went on during the second half of the season had them looking like a team that could soon become a problem in the Eastern Conference. I expect another big-time win total improvement considering how decisive Charlotte’s point differential was in the games they did win this year. I suspect they the Hornets even win a playoff series or at least get into the playoffs with favorable seed instead of being at mercy of the play-in tournament like they were this past season.
