Knicks Win NBA Title But Open as Fourth Favorites for Next Season

The New York Knicks are basking in the glory of their first NBA championship in 53 years after wrapping up the title Saturday night in San Antonio — but according to early oddsmakers, defending that crown won’t be easy.

DraftKings wasted no time releasing its opening odds for the 2026-27 NBA Championship the moment the season came to a close, and the newly crowned Knicks didn’t land at the top of the list. New York checks in at fourth-best odds to win it all next season, sitting at +700.

Ahead of the champs are two teams that squared off in this year’s Western Conference finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder — last year’s 2024-25 league champions — and the San Antonio Spurs, who fell to New York in five games in this year’s Finals, are deadlocked at the top of the board at +250.

Rounding out the upper tier is the Boston Celtics, who earned the No. 2 seed this season before a surprising early exit in the first round. Boston sits at +550 heading into next year.

After the Knicks at +700, the odds drop off sharply. The Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets are both listed at +2800, while the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons, and Cleveland Cavaliers are each sitting at +3000.

At the very bottom of the board, the Sacramento Kings hold the longest odds of any team — a staggering +100000 shot to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy next summer.

Here is the full list of 2026-27 NBA title odds from DraftKings: