The Knicks are NBA champions! After 53 long years, a banner will hang again in Madison Square Garden for the beloved New York basketball team.
Knicks' fans have waited their whole lives, quite literally, for this moment, and it caps an incredible postseason run that saw them finish 16-3 with one loss in almost two months of play, and they are finishing with the best point differential in playoff history.
Think about that. No one has ever beaten their combined playoff opponents more than the Knicks in all of NBA history. That’s a wild stat.
But the season is over, the draft is two weeks away, and betting odds for next year are on the board. Here’s a look at the three best 2027 NBA title bets to make right now.
The Best 2027 NBA Finals Bet to Make Right Now And Why It’s Not The Knicks
Indiana Pacers +2800
The former Eastern Conference champs aren’t loading up for next year, they already loaded up. Yes, they lost the pick, boo-hoo, they don’t have to waste minutes on a rookie who likely won’t be good enough to play in meaningful games no matter what Dylan Harper did this year.
The Pacers get Tyrese Haliburton back after a full 15 months of recovery; he’s likely to come back stronger and better than ever. We’ve seen so many players make great returns off the Achilles tears that it’s no longer a death knell for their careers.
Additionally, Haliburton’s game is predicated on basketball IQ, passing, and craftiness, so he doesn’t need that first explosive step as much.
The Pacers added All-NBA center Ivica Zubac at the deadline in exchange for that pick, and while they lost Benedict Mathurin (who they couldn’t afford an extension for), they added a center who can run pick-and-roll, dunk, finish, and defend.
The Pacers developed some of their young players this year while keeping mileage off of Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and Obi Toppin (Pascal Siakam played a lot).
They still have one of the best coaches in the league, and they still have assets to both save some money and find upgrades this summer. There’s upside here.
Minnesota Timberwolves +3000
This is less about who the team is now and more about what I expect them to be. League sources have consistently said following the Wolves’ second-round exit that they would be hyper-aggressive this summer.
Anthony Edwards is said to be vocal with the front office about making moves to improve their team, and rival front offices believe that Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid are all available for the right price.
The Wolves need to cut their salary, short and long-term, while finding Edwards talent upgrades.
That seems difficult, but they’ve also been mentioned consistently as a potential suitor for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and league sources suggested this week that the Wolves had found willing partners for three-way deals that would send assets back to Milwaukee for Giannis.
Whether those are good enough assets are a different story. But even if the Wolves swing out on Giannis, they’ll keep looking for big moves and will have Ayo Dosunmu and Jaden McDaniels alongside Ant as they build a new version.
The Wolves have made it out of the first round three straight years and match up well with the contenders when they’re not completely injured like this year. There’s runway here for them to shorten these odds considerably.
Charlotte Hornets +9000
Don’t laugh. We saw the Pistons go from a mid-tier playoff team to a No. 1 seed this season.
The Hornets missed the playoffs entirely, which means we get better value here than if they had made the playoffs and given the Pistons a scare like Orlando did.
Here’s what we get in Charlotte: two potential All-NBA level guys in Kon Kneuppel and LaMelo Ball, a young former No. 2 pick with upside in Brandon Miller, versatile depth like Moussa Diabate, and some trade pieces in Miles Bridges and Coby White.
There’s a very good chance the Hornets will be better than they were this year, and they had one of the best point-differentials in the league after December 1.
I don’t think the Hornets can win the title next year, but I think there is a very good chance this number seems hilarious by the time we reach Christmas time.
2027 NBA Finals Odds
- Spurs: +250
- Thunder: +250
- Celtics: +550
- Knicks: +700
- Pacers: +2800
- Nuggets: +2800
- Timberwolves: +3000
- Lakers: +3000
- Pistons: +3000
- Cavaliers: +3000
- Heat: +4000
- Warriors: +4500
- 76ers: +5500
- Rockets: +6000
- Clippers: +7500
- Magic: +8000
- Trail Blazers: +9000
- Hornets: +9000
- Raptors: +10000
- Hawks: +10000
Odds provided by DraftKings.
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