ESPN's Panel Puts the Reigning Knicks Atop the East as the Wild Parity Era Rolls On

The parity era just keeps giving us a new king every June — eight different champions since 2019, from the Raptors to the Bucks to last year's reigning Knicks — and now ESPN's expert panel has laid its cards on the table for 2026-27. New York tops the Eastern picks with 68 points, the new-look 76ers next at 51, and the rest of us watching from a respectful distance. Out West it is the Thunder running the show at 88 points, with Victor Wembanyama's Spurs — the crew that won a seven-game war on Oklahoma City's own floor in late May — right behind at 74. There is a 10-game drop-off to anyone else, which tells you the story of that conference. And our Detroit Pistons? They land 17 points in the East voting, a nod to the group that fell in the second round as a No. 1 seed last season. Not the top of the ballot, but not forgotten either — and this league has taught us favorites can be dethroned in a heartbeat.