Dave Portnoy hates to say ‘real ball knowers’ know Knicks will beat Spurs

Fans of the New York Knicks have been going wild as their team has pushed through to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. The Knicks now have a chance to defeat the San Antonio Spurs and claim their first championship since 1973.

According to ESPN, the sports books currently view the Spurs as the favorites to win the series.

“At DraftKings Sportsbook in New York, the Knicks have attracted nearly half of all money wagered on the NBA Finals winner this season — almost as much as every other team combined.

Now, Victor Wembanyama and the favored San Antonio Spurs are all that stand in the way. On Saturday night, the Spurs opened as high as -220 favorites to win the Finals, with the Knicks installed as approximately +180 underdogs. The price quickly gravitated toward the rested Knicks, and as of Sunday morning, the Spurs were down to -200 favorites.”

According to Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, the books are wrong and the Knicks should be favored to beat the Spurs.

“I think the Knicks are gonna beat the Spurs,” Portnoy said in his tweet Sunday morning. “I hope I’m wrong but Brunson is an absolute nightmare for them. At best this series is a coin flip. Odds are way off. Real ball knowers know this.”

I think the Knicks are gonna beat the Spurs. I hope I’m wrong but Brunson is an absolute nightmare for them. At best this series is a coin flip. Odds are way off. Real ball knowers know this.

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) May 31, 2026

The Knicks defeated the Spurs in the NBA Cup, 124-113, on December 16, 2025. OG Anunoby scored a game-high 28 points with nine rebounds and five three-pointers for the Knicks in 40 minutes of play while Jalen Brunson added 25 points and eight assists. That, however, was a much different Spurs team.

Star Victor Wembanyama came off the bench for that game as he recovered from an early-season injury. He’s now at the peak of his powers and still getting better. Rookie Dylan Harper looks like a different player than he was months ago. Stephon Castle has also come into his own as two-way star for the Spurs in only his second year.

In the other two regular season matchups, the Spurs defeated the Knicks on New Year’s Eve, 134-132, while the Knicks defeated the Spurs on March 1, 2026, 114-89.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals is set to tip off

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