NBA Conference Finals 2026: All Systems Go As Thunder Begin Bid To Go Back-To-Back

A look at the 2026 NBA Conference Finals, with William Hill News tipster Sam Cox previewing the latest stage of the postseason.

The NBA Conference Finals tip off on Monday. West’s top two seeds, and the two favourites for the title, in the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will do battle, while the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks go head-to-head in the Eastern Conference.

NBA Conference Finals Predictions:

• Western Conference Final: Thunder to beat Spurs 4-2 (4/1)
• Eastern Conference Final: Knicks to beat Cavaliers 4-1 (3/1)

Cleveland is the rank outsider for the title in William Hill’s NBA betting markets at the time of writing. The Thunder are 4/7 to go back-to-back.

Western Conference: Oklahoma City Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs

The Thunder and the Spurs are the NBA’s burgeoning rivalry. Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs have ascended to be recognised as OKC’s biggest challengers, including a string of regular-season wins over the defending champions.

Oklahoma City are very much the team to beat, having gone 8-0 in the playoffs so far. Around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they have lineup versatility with their two bigs, an array of perimeter defenders, and the valuable shot creation of Ajay Mitchell.

San Antonio’s road to the Conference Finals has been slightly more challenging. De’Aaron Fox hasn’t been at his best. Minnesota was a much sterner second-round test than an undermanned Lakers.

It’s reductive to put this series entirely down to how the Thunder deal with Wembanyama, but it’s hard to ignore Wemby and Chet Holmgren’s history. The pair love the duel and make no secret of it. Isaiah Hartenstein has a massive role to play when Wembanyama’s on the floor, too, and the Spurs’ perimeter players will need to punish the Thunder’s bigs when they get a mismatch.

This isn’t going to be straightforward for the Thunder, but it might just be a year early for the Spurs. It doesn’t feel good fading Wembanyama, yet it’s even more daunting betting against a Thunder team that has been so dominant over the last two seasons.

Wembanyama is going to go nuclear once or twice to keep this series competitive, and San Antonio can expect Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper to make major contributions. It won’t be enough to get this to a Game 7 in Oklahoma City, though.

Eastern Conference: Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks

Continuing to run hot and cold, the Cleveland Cavaliers have played two seven-game series. They didn’t win their first road playoff game until Game 5 in Detroit, which was followed by a woeful showing in Game 6, before winning in blowout fashion in Game 7 in Detroit.

James Harden and Donovan Mitchell have been below par from beyond the arc. Harden has had a couple of strong showings mixed in with his trademark playoff disappearing acts. Mitchell has mixed the sensational with the mediocre.

For the Knicks, early scares at the hands of the Hawks in the first round seem a long time ago. They blew the Sixers away in a sweep, with numerous emphatic wins in the process.

OG Anunoby is expected to be available for Game 1 of this series, which is a massive boost for the Knicks. Anunoby was sensational before suffering a hamstring strain.

Look for Cleveland to attack Jalen Brunson relentlessly. On the other end of the floor, Brunson will do the same to Harden. There’s going to be plenty of matchup hunting throughout this series.

New York, though, is the more complete team. A roster that cost a haul of first-round picks and features several enormous contracts is finally living up to its theoretical potential.

*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*