Knicks are NBA title favorites for the first time in over 30 years

The Knicks finished off a thrilling Game 1 win on the road against the Spurs to extend their postseason win streak to 12 and, more importantly, steal home court in the NBA Finals.

This Knicks team is now the favorite to win the NBA championship with -140 odds to win the series at BetMGM, while the Spurs are +118. The Spurs entered Game 1 as -190 favorites with the Knicks listed at +155.

The Knicks opened as +210 underdogs to the Spurs before being quickly bet down to around +155 by the time Game 1 tipped off.

This is the first time all season the Knicks have been title favorites, and the first time since the 1994 season they’ve been favored to win a championship.

According to Sports Odds History, the Knicks were preseason favorites to win the title in 1993 and were favorites to win the championship heading into the 1994 Eastern Conference finals.

Entering the NBA Finals, the Rockets, who had home-court advantage, were series favorites and eventually beat the Knicks in 7 games.

In 1999, the Knicks were massive underdogs as the No. 8 seed facing a Spurs team that had the best record in the NBA during the regular season and lost just one game entering the Finals.

The Game 1 win didn’t just flip the series in the Knicks’ favor; it put Jalen Brunson in the driver’s seat for NBA Finals MVP.

Karl-Anthony Towns (32) greets guard Jalen Brunson (11) before the start of Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals. Jason Szenes for the New York Post

The Knicks captain moved from +200 to -105 after his 30-point performance in the series opener, which included 19 points in the second half to power the Knicks to victory. Brunson is now the most-bet player to win Finals MVP at BetMGM, according to John Ewing.

Whether the Knicks will remain the favorite is an open question, but sportsbooks expect a bounce back from San Antonio.

The Spurs are 5.5-point favorites to win Game 2 and are 5-1 in the playoffs in the game following a loss with an average margin of victory of 18.6 points. 

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.