The 2026 NBA Playoffs are just around the corner. Theoretically 16 teams will battle for the championship trophy awarded in June. Practically speaking, only a few of those have a legitimate shot at winning it all.
This week SBNation’s Reacts Surveys polled fans nationally, asking which teams in the top four of each conference were least likely to take the crown. The results were interesting, putting a couple of big-market teams in the hot seat.
In the Eastern Conference, fans voted the New York Knicks least likely to succeed in the first round of the playoffs. The Knicks got 44% of the vote with the Cleveland Cavaliers coming in a close second at 42%.
In the West, the Los Angeles Lakers got the dubious distinction of first-round failure, receiving a whopping 88% of the vote. This may be due, in part, to current injuries to stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, but it may also have something to do with the rock-solid competition in the Western Conference compared to the East.
Would you echo these sentiments or is your vote different than the popular consensus?