Sports media has not covered itself in glory trying to predict the ongoing NBA playoffs.
Already, nine talking heads at The Ringer have had their NBA Finals predictions completely upended by picking either the Boston Celtics or Denver Nuggets to advance out of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, respectively. Both teams faced unexpected early exits in the first round. Three Ringer staffers selected both the Celtics and Nuggets prior to the start of the postseason last month, and it appears they were joined by at least one FS1 personality.
Nick Wright, host of FS1’s First Things First, is owning up to his poor prognosticating just one day after the Celtics fell to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7.
People are calling it the worst NBA Finals prediction of all time… and I’m not sure they’re wrong.
Everyone about this picture is just a disaster! pic.twitter.com/lkANCRTISX
— nick wright (@getnickwright) May 3, 2026
“People are calling it the worst NBA Finals prediction of all time… and I’m not sure they’re wrong,” Wright posted on social media alongside a screenshot of his NBA Finals prediction from First Things First. It seems Wright got caught up in the same hype plenty of other NBA media folks did.
To be fair, the Nuggets were a popular trendy pick in the West for people that wanted to zag from the Thunder and Spurs. And Celtics believers didn’t know they were going to get a banged-up Jayson Tatum who wouldn’t play in a pivotal Game 7. No one was batting an eye at these predictions just a few weeks ago.
Still, going 0-for-2 on Finals teams before the first round even ends is a particularly rare feat in the NBA, where favorites tend to prevail at high rates in the opening series.
There’s always next year, Nick.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.