Watch: Mannix and Liffmann pick their 2026-27 champions, MVP and rookie ladders, plus Deni Avdija’s drives

Chris Mannix and Grant Liffmann opened their new weekly NBC show with a full set of 2026-27 predictions you can hold them to all season: seeding in both conferences, the Finals, Rookie of the Year and MVP. They agree on all four conference finalists and still end up with different champions.

The East: Boston or Cleveland on top

• Mannix: 1. Celtics, 2. Knicks, 3. Pistons, 4. 76ers, 5. Cavaliers, 6. Raptors.
• Liffmann: 1. Cavaliers, 2. Knicks, 3. Celtics, 4. 76ers, 5. Heat, 6. Raptors.

Mannix is counting on Jayson Tatum playing with a chip on his shoulder without Jaylen Brown, growth from Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez, and 55 to 60 games from Paul George. Liffmann left Detroit out of his top six after an offseason that cost the Pistons Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart, though Mannix said everyone he has talked to sees Detroit as the prime candidate to trade for Kyrie Irving if Dallas starts slowly. Miami was the split: Liffmann thinks the Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo front line wins plenty of regular-season games, while Mannix doubts a team with that little spacing can be efficient on offense.

The West: Spurs and Thunder, then everyone else

• Liffmann: 1. Thunder, 2. Spurs, 3. Nuggets, 4. Rockets, 5. Timberwolves, 6. Lakers.
• Mannix: 1. Spurs, 2. Thunder, 3. Lakers, 4. Rockets, 5. Nuggets, 6. Timberwolves.

Liffmann leans on Oklahoma City’s depth and a healthy Jalen Williams, and is a big Ajay Mitchell fan. Mannix called Victor Wembanyama an overwhelming MVP favorite and said the Spurs-Thunder race will come down to who is healthiest when they finally meet. He also wants San Antonio to play Wembanyama at power forward for stretches to save his body for June.

Conference finals and the champion

Both have Knicks against 76ers in the East and Thunder against Spurs in the West. Mannix takes Philadelphia out of the East and San Antonio to win it all, a year after the Finals loss to New York. Liffmann takes the Knicks out of the East because he worries about Joel Embiid holding up round after round, and has Oklahoma City beating New York for the title.

Rookie of the Year and MVP

• Liffmann’s rookie ladder: Cam Boozer, Yaxel Lendeborg, Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Caleb Wilson. He went on record with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists a game for Lendeborg in Golden State, and Mannix told him he was drinking the preseason Kool-Aid.
• Mannix’s rookie ladder: Boozer, Peterson, Dybantsa, Wilson, Darius Acuff. He called Boozer the most NBA-ready rookie, with plenty of minutes on a Memphis team that is going nowhere.
• Liffmann’s MVP top three: Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
• Mannix’s MVP top three: Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander. Mannix said he has voted Gilgeous-Alexander first in each of the last three seasons but expects voter fatigue this time, and Liffmann added Antetokounmpo as his wild card.

Deni Avdija’s drives against Phoenix

The Blazers also posted a short reel of Avdija attacking the Suns in preseason: drives through traffic, a baby hook on the break, a scoop down the lane and an and-one at the rim. It’s the kind of downhill work Portland will lean on with Damian Lillard and Ja Morant now in the backcourt mix.