Nuggets-Knicks: After pushing the Thunder to Game 7 in last year’s Western Conference Semifinals, this time around it is Nikola Jokić and the bolstered Nuggets that prevail in seven games in the Western Conference Finals to dethrone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC and guarantee an eighth straight season with a new NBA champion.

The irony of the 2025-26 NBA season is that it is simultaneously extremely predictable and an unpredictable mess. We can say pretty confidently who's going to be at the top. The Thunder are leaps and bounds ahead of the field on paper.

With a new NBA season finally here, our experts are here to make some bold predictions, pick the next MVP, and more.

In our first NBA-focused edition of Newsweek Sports Betting 📩, we give out our NBA Finals and regular season MVP picks.

Well, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver rolled his eyes at the thought. Ahead of the 2025-26 Opening Night, where the Thunder handed out rings and unveiled their championship banner, he said there's zero correlation between market size related to TV ratings. He talked to ESPN's Pat McAfee.

The New York Knicks do appear to be a different team under new head coach Mike Brown. Can his approach end their championship drought?

Hornets guard Terry Rozier was indicted as part of an investigation into insider sports betting. A separate investigation into what law enforcement described as Mafia-organized rigged poker games led to charges for Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups.

ESPN NBA analyst Monica McNutt believes the Golden State Warriors are frontrunners to reach the 2026 NBA Finals.