The New York Knicks are the 2026 NBA Champions, which means it’s already time to peek ahead to 2027.

Of course, a lot will happen in the NBA between now and next summer. But locking in NBA championship futures ahead of time could provide the best value. For instance, one year ago, the Knicks had +900 odds to win the championship following their Eastern Conference Finals defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.

Let’s take a look at next year’s championship markets on Kalshi, which allows users to trade outcomes of real world events, like the 2027 NBA Finals. Remember, these markets fluctuate, so check them consistently.

Oklahoma City Thunder (27% chance, 27¢ yes)

The Thunder are favored to win next year’s championship despite losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

Thunder GM Sam Presti has a big arsenal of draft picks and Oklahoma City could decide that this offseason is the time to make a major move. Even if the Thunder don’t make a splash, their entire championship core headlined by two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be healthy in 2026-27.

San Antonio Spurs (26% chance, 26¢ yes)

Much will be made about Victor Wembanyama’s first NBA Finals appearance. But at 22 years old, it’s pretty damn cool that he made it that far.

The Spurs are super young. They were too young to beat the Knicks. Another year together will help this group. There’s no substitute for experience in the NBA Playoffs, and this young group already has plenty of it from their deep run in 2026.

New York Knicks (15% chance, 15¢ yes)

Can the Knicks defend their championship?

Next year’s Eastern Conference will be much improved. The Boston Celtics will be healthy, if they decide to bring back Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Pacers will have Tyrese Haliburton healthy, and the Cleveland Cavaliers could potentially have LeBron James.

New York’s title run was something to behold, and Jalen Brunson proved he should never be counted out.

Don’t sleep on these teams next year:

Pacers

From worst to first?

The Pacers will be much better with Haliburton and Ivica Zubac. Even though Indiana doesn’t have a draft pick, this team should be really good.

Pistons

J.B. Bickerstaff’s Pistons fell just short of beating the Cavs in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. Cade Cunningham will be an MVP frontrunner next season and has the playoff experience required to make a serious run.

Timberwolves

It feels like it’s only a matter of time before the breakthrough happens for Anthony Edwards. All of these other young, up and coming stars are getting NBA Finals reps. Edwards could be positioned to do the same in 2027.

Clemson wide receiver Tristan Smith is on track to play this season after receiving a temporary injunction against the NCAA on Friday.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pound senior sued the NCAA in January after it declined his waiver for a fifth season of eligibility.

Judge Jessica A. Salvini of South Carolina’s 13th Judicial Circuit noted in her ruling that other former junior college players had been granted an additional year by the NCAA.

She pointed to wide receiver Malik Benson, who played two seasons of JUCO ball and received a fifth season for 2025 at Oregon.

“The only material distinction the Court can identify between Mr. Benson’s case, and the instant matter is that Mr. Smith’s final Division I season falls in 2025-26 rather than 2024-25,” Salvini wrote.

The NCAA had granted former JUCO players in the 2024-25 class a blanket extra year of eligibility after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a lawsuit against the NCAA.

“Big win for our client,” Smith’s attorney, Darren Heitner, posted on X after Friday’s ruling. “… The NCAA’s arbitrary application of its Five-Year Rule didn’t hold up. Justice for Tristan!”

“The Marathon continues. I’m Back,” Smith posted on Instagram.

Smith played two seasons at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College in 2022 and 2023 and one season at FCS program Southeast Missouri State in 2024 before joining Clemson in 2025. He caught 24 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown in 13 games last season for the Tigers.

–Field Level Media

This weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House will proceed as planned after a federal judge denied a legal challenge to the festivities on Friday.

Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., denied an emergency injunction application filed last weekend by the Public Integrity Project, which argued that the Trump administration had unlawfully organized a private sporting event on public property in violation of National Park Service rules.

Mehta’s ruling said the plaintiffs failed to establish that they would suffer any irreparable harm or aesthetic injury if the defendants — the Department of Interior and National Park Service — allowed the UFC fights to happen.

Mehta noted that the UFC event had been public knowledge for nearly a year, but the plaintiffs did not file “until June 7, 2026 — more than two weeks after visible preparations commenced at the White House — to seek emergency relief.” The late filing “undercuts their claims of irreparable harm,” the judge wrote.

Mehta said the large claw-shaped stadium set up on the South Lawn is a temporary structure and “the risk of any significant environmental damage is doubtful.”

The weekend’s schedule includes a press conference Friday at the Lincoln Memorial, weigh-ins on Saturday at The Ellipse, and the fight card on the South Lawn on Sunday, which is also President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

The card is headlined by lightweight champion Ilia Topuria taking on interim champion Justin Gaethje in a belt unification fight. An interim heavyweight title bout between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira is billed as the co-main event.

–Field Level Media