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ESPN's 'Inside the NBA' crew has made their predictions for the 2026 NBA Finals, with Charles Barkley forecasting a matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. Barkley believes the Cavaliers will win and reach the Finals for the first time since LeBron James' departure.
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With the 2026 NBA Playoffs kicking off on Saturday, ESPN's "Inside the NBA" crew unveiled their NBA Finals predictions.
Charles Barkley picked the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, he picked the Cavaliers to beat the Celtics and advance to the Finals for the first time since LeBron James left for the Los Angeles Lakers eight years ago.
Kenny Anderson picked the Detroit Pistons to face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals, with the Pistons coming out on top and advancing to their first Finals since 2005.
Shaquille O'Neal had the same matchup as Anderson, but with the Knicks going to the Finals for the first time since 1999.
Ernie Johnson agreed with Barkley, picking Boston and Cleveland to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. However, he picked the Celtics to win the series and return to the Finals for the third time in five years.
The crew predicts a Finals matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, with the Cavaliers winning.
Barkley believes the Cavaliers will defeat the Celtics, marking their first Finals appearance since LeBron James left for the Lakers.
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Johnson thinks Boston will face the Denver Nuggets once they get there. Barkley also picked the Nuggets to win the West for the second time in four years, while O'Neal and Anderson both took the San Antonio Spurs to win their first Western Conference title in 12 years.
The Celtics are favored to win the East, so it's surprising that only one of the four analysts picked them to do so. It's not surprising that they all chose one of the top four seeds in the conference, however, as those are clearly the four best teams in the East and all have legitimate Finals hopes.
Time will tell which one of them gets there.