Knicks Given Best Possible Bulletin-Board Material on Eve of Finals Game 1

After over a week off, the Knicks will finally be back in action Wednesday. New York has had to listen to plenty of outside talk while on its break, as some in the media come around to this team's title chances, while others still cast doubt despite this magical run.

Count several prominent NBA media among those in the latter group. On Tuesday, ESPN released a panel of expert picks of who will win the Finals, and San Antonio got a whopping 10 votes to claim the title, compared to the Knicks' three.

Good pic.twitter.com/P15x1temGl
— Blames (@blames_) June 2, 2026

In addition, these respected basketball voices made it clear they're all aboard the Victor Wembanyama hype train with 10 votes to be the Finals MVP.

Given New York's strong veteran leadership, this isn't the kind of team that will be negatively affected by outside noise. But rest assured, it is extra fuel that each of these players and coaches, who've been doubted at different points of their careers, can use ahead of Game 1.

ESPN's finals expert predictions are the fuel Knicks needed to start Game 1 strong

This entire Knicks playoff run has revolved around proving others wrong. At the broad level, this roster couldn't escape offseason trade speculation entering the first round, as many were already looking ahead in case things went off the rails.

While there were some bumps against the Hawks, this core has now made it abundantly clear they're the right collection of pieces to deliver a title. During their 11-game win streak, they've swept East foes in the 76ers and Cavaliers, both of whom outsiders said were going to push New York to the limit.

Now the Knicks are facing a similar situation with the Spurs being darlings of both the media and oddsmakers. If anything, San Antonio should be worried about what kind of motivation this is going to prompt out of the Knicks, who've thrived on making their haters look silly.

We've already seen head coach Mike Brown use the team's previous doubts to make them even more locked in during this run. Ahead of the Eastern Conference finals, his staff put together a video of the team after their 2025 ECF defeat to channel those feelings of anger into a better performance this year.

Considering how they played against Cleveland, it's safe to say that strategy worked.

Mike Brown had his staff create a video before Game 1 of the ECF showing the players' faces after being eliminated by the Pacers last season

The message: "How did you feel in that moment?"

(Via @MrBuckBuckNBA) pic.twitter.com/co1TZcr763
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) May 26, 2026

Even for Brown himself, this overwhelming backing of San Antonio has to light a new fire under him. He's coaching against one of his former best players, De'Aaron Fox, and facing the franchise that he once rose through the ranks with. He's also looking to avenge his previous trip to the Finals, which ended in a loss, and claim his first-ever title as the cherry on top of his NBA coaching resume.

Then there's every single player who can use this as fuel. For Jalen Brunson, he can see it as another case of those doubting his ability as a top player despite his size. For Karl-Anthony Towns, he not only should view this as experts thinking the opposite center is going to outplay him, but his zero MVP votes in case New York does win should make him want to dominate even more.

One worry when a team has the early postseason success like the Knicks have is that they take their foot off the gas. While they've got the veteran voices to ensure that doesn't happen in the Finals, this huge piece of bulletin-board material is another gift on the motivation front that players and the coaching staff can come back to for an extra spark throughout this series.

Add us as a preferred source on Google