6x NBA All-Star Makes Bold Knicks, Nuggets Prediction

Despite winning a championship in 2023, the Nuggets have suffered two consecutive second-round exits and are now looking to get back on track. Denver put together as good a 2025 offseason as any other team, adding guys like Tim Hardaway Jr., Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, and Jonas Valanciunas to add to their depth and piece together arguably the best roster in the NBA.

The Knicks are coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, their first since 2000, and they should be hungry for more now that they have that taste of success.

Potential NBA Finals matchup?

Six-time NBA All-Star and LA Clippers legend Blake Griffin recently shared his "hot take" on what teams he thinks will meet in the 2026 NBA Finals, and it was none other than the Nuggets and Knicks.

"I'll give you a hot take. I think Denver got better this summer. Denver took Oklahoma City to seven games. I think Denver gets to the Finals," Griffin said. "New York or Cleveland in the East. I'll take New York. Maybe they learned from some mistakes and they make a few tweaks... I will go with the Knicks [versus] Denver in the Finals."

Of course, it is hard to make a Finals prediction without the Oklahoma City Thunder involved, as they are coming off a 68-win season and are the defending champs. However, the Nuggets proved that they can go toe-to-toe with them in the playoffs last season, and Denver only got better this summer.

In the East, New York's top competitor is the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Griffin assures that he thinks they can bounce back from their second-round exit, but he is simply picking the Knicks over them.