NBA playoff predictions 2026: the winner, key players and dark horses

The Guardian Sport4h ago10 min readOriginal source →

TL;DR

NBA playoff predictions for 2026 highlight Nikola Jokić as the top player, with Victor Wembanyama emerging as a potential game-changer. Experts weigh in on key players and dark horse candidates for the playoffs.

Key points

Nikola Jokić is considered the best player for Game 7 scenarios.
Victor Wembanyama is seen as a rising star with game-changing potential.
Experts discuss the significance of playoff experience.
The article hints at dark horse candidates for the playoffs.

Nikola JokićVictor Wembanyama

Who would you rather have in a Game 7: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić or Victor Wembanyama?

Wemby will no doubt be the answer to this question at some point in the (perhaps not-too-distant) future. But for now, I defer to those with at least some playoff experience. For my money, Jokić still reigns supreme as the best player alive, and for that reason, he’s my pick. CDL

Jokić. Not since peak Shaq has there been an offensive force this inevitable. He’s in the top 10 ever, already. 6ft 11in, 284lb, unguardable. Guard’s mind, center’s mass, wing’s skill. Makes everyone around him better, putting a battery in their back. Srećno. That’s Serbian for good luck. LE

There’s not a finer player on the planet right now than Jokić, who at 31 is on a course to be in my all-time top five by the time he calls it a career. You’d truly never hear the end of it if he played in New York or LA. But at the moment, in a one-off and even as a playoff debutant, I’d fancy a punt on the vertiginous upside of Wembanyama. Game 7s have a way of tilting on chaos and no one creates more of it by erasing shots, stretching defenses and warping opponents’ decision-making. If he hits his ceiling for one night, whatever that may be, it’s a fait accompli. BAG

You know what? Gimme Victor. I don’t think we’ve fully reckoned with the Jordanesque scale of his competition problem. The Frenchman spent the previous offseason training with Shaolin monks, a fact that can never be overstated. He marked the Spurs’ regular-season series triumph over the Thunder, who were threatening the 2016 Warriors’ single-season wins record, by absorbing their supporter chants and squad culture like Thanos. He remained a viable MVP candidate even while playing under a wholly legitimate minutes’ restriction. Put all that in a 7ft 4in alloy of Steph off the dribble and Shaq in the paint and, sure, I’ll take my chances. AL

Team that will be most missed in these playoffs

Call me nostalgic, but I’m still pining for last season’s Indiana Pacers. It seems cruel and unusual that we had that team ripped from us in such dramatic and devastating fashion, and a playoffs without the scintillating Tyrese Haliburton and his never-say-die supporting cast is an objective downgrade.