The New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs will square off in the 2026 NBA Finals. After a 53-29 regular season, the Knicks have cruised through the postseason, losing just two games, and are now on an 11-game winning streak. 

The Knicks swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, and in the Eastern Conference Finals, they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers. New York has been able to turn defense into offense in the postseason and is shooting 40 percent from three as a team. 

On his podcast "The Draymond Green Show," Warriors forward Draymond Green questioned the hype around the Knicks going into the Finals. He believes winning the Eastern Conference should be the standard, saying, "You're supposed to get out of the East."

In the NBA, the Western Conference and Eastern Conference had some similarities and differences. The Eastern Conference had four 50-win teams, while the Western Conference had five. 

The 10th-seed Golden State Warriors finished with a 37-45 record, while the 10th-seed Miami Heat finished with a 43-39 record. 

The Western Conference finished with four teams with under 30 wins on the season, while the Eastern Conference finished with three. 

The argument here has more to do with which conference has more title contenders. The Detroit Pistons were the lone 60-win team in the East, while the West saw the Thunder and Spurs with 60 wins. 

Even when the Pistons were starting to gain momentum and solidify themselves as the top team in the East, they were not seen as a legitimate threat by many to win the NBA Championship 

Draymond Green's argument has a lot to do with the perception of teams like the Spurs and Thunder in comparison to teams like the Pistons, Celtics and Knicks. 

The Thunder proved themselves in 2025 when they won the NBA Championship thanks to how well-constructed their team is. The Spurs are also a well-constructed team centered around Victor Wembanyama, a player who can do things no other player has done at his size. 

Teams like the Pistons and Knicks tend to get overlooked because of flaws on their rosters, and they have not developed a championship pedigree quite yet. Last season, New York lost in the Eastern Conference Finals in a series where they were favored to win, and the Pistons have many players who have not been there yet. 

The Western Conference features teams like the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Houston Rockets. Those are teams that are littered with veterans who have won championships and made multiple deep playoff runs. 

Nonetheless, the Knicks are a team who look ready to make a run for a championship this season. They are playing their best basketball up to this point and have shown that once they get momentum on offense, they are hard to slow down.