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SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - JUNE 13: Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks lifts the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award trophy after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center on June 13, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Stephen A. Smith does not do quiet praise. Even when a team just won it all, he finds the angle nobody else is touching. He was not talking about the trophy or the parade, but about next season, and who should be favored to get back to the Finals.

Stephen A. Smith went on First Take and threw cold water on the celebration, saying the champs should not be the favorites heading into next year.

Stephen A. Breaks Down Why the Knicks Are Not His Top Pick

GettyStephen A. Smith Sends Strong Message to Knicks After Championship

“We’re going to keep it a bug. New York Knicks shouldn’t be the favorites for next season, even if they are the champions. If you know basketball and you’re covering basketball, you know what happened this year.”

He named the team he believes deserves the top spot instead, and it is not the one many expected.

“Without question, the New York Knicks should be the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in next year’s NBA Finals. Not the Celtics, the Knicks. We can’t put anything against Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City Thunder was in game seven of the Western Conference Finals.”

Stephen A. then pointed to the injury report from that series.

“The Oklahoma City Thunder were without J. Williams, J. Dub, Jalen Williams, and Ajay Mitchell, your second and third scorers. He sits up there and he comes into the game and he drops 26 in the second game back before having to go back down because the hamstring injury reoccurred,” Smith said.

He continued, “Ajay Mitchell, someone debating whether he was better than Jalen Williams or not. That’s how much of a stud both of them are and they were both out. They beat the Spurs and they would have been favored over the New York Knicks.”

“I believe right now, if you’re making a prediction, it should be that the New York Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder will meet one another in the NBA Finals section,” he said.

What This Means for the Knicks Heading Into Next Season

Stephen A.’s argument leans entirely on how Oklahoma City actually lost that series. Williams missed three straight games with a hamstring strain, then tried Game 6 before sitting Game 7 entirely.

Mitchell, the other name he brought up, had a strained right soleus of his own. Both guards sat out the deciding game as Oklahoma City fell to a Spurs team Brunson and company later beat in five.

Brunson silenced plenty of doubters with his 45 point closeout and the Finals MVP trophy. Whether a healthy Thunder changes the outcome is fair to ask, but nobody can rewrite what already happened.

For now, the trophy sits in New York. The debate over who deserves to be favored next year is just getting started, and Stephen A. made his stance impossible to miss.