The 2026 NBA Summer League has wrapped up in Las Vegas, as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 94-90 to win the tournament. The exhibition format was entertaining for basketball fans to watch.
However, the numerous impressive performances that rookies put in during the Summer League haven’t had an impact on which team prediction market traders believe will win their respective conference championships. The New York Knicks have an edge in the Eastern Conference, while the Spurs and Thunder remain the clear favorites to return to the NBA Finals representing the Western Conference.
The New York Knicks are listed at 22 cents per contract on Kalshi to repeat as Eastern Conference champions for the 2026-27 NBA season. Led by NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, the Knicks didn’t put much of a priority on NBA Summer League games, choosing to instead concentrate on their proven roster of stars.
During the playoffs, the New York Knicks pulled off two unbelievable Game 1 comebacks: first over the Cleveland Cavaliers and then against the San Antonio Spurs in front of Madison Square Garden fans.
The Knicks are going to be tough to beat this coming season now that they have the confidence and knowledge that they are capable of winning it all. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics are listed as the team with the second-highest chance to win the Eastern Conference at 20 cents per contract.
The current winner’s market on Kalshi for NBA Western Conference champion is evenly divided between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both have per-contract prices of 34 cents, with the market coming in at less than half the trading volume compared to the Eastern Conference winner’s market.
The Spurs and Thunder put on a great show throughout the seven-game Western Conference Finals series earlier this year. It’s no wonder why fans and traders alike are picking them to face off against each other once again in 2027.
If we’re forced to make a pick between the two, we believe that the San Antonio Spurs have a very slight advantage over the Thunder due to their relative youth and Game 7 performance in the Conference Finals back in May.
It’s easy to understand why the Conference champion markets haven’t moved much despite the rookie breakout performances we witnessed in Las Vegas during the NBA Summer League.
Due to how the NBA Draft works, the highest draft picks typically go to the teams that had the worst records for the previous year. Because of this, many traders feel that the rookies won’t be able to overcome other issues that the NBA’s worst teams have on the court.
If you’re ready to start trading on which teams will win the NBA Conference championships for the 2026-27 NBA season, Kalshi is open to United States residents who are at least 18 years old. Currently, trading volume on the eventual Eastern Conference representative is more than twice that of its Western Conference counterpart.
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