New data shows which team Americans want to see lift the coveted Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
By defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in a thrilling seven-game series, the San Antonio Spurs booked their spot in the NBA Finals. The franchise has seen plenty of success since the turn of the century and superstar Victor Wembanyama will be hoping to repeat the achievements of legends such as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
The Spurs will face off against the New York Knicks, who will be looking to win their first title since 1973. Both sides boast passionate fanbases, but who are the neutrals rooting for?
To find out, NBA betting site Betway decided to analyse social media data over the last two weeks to identify which team each state is rooting for in this year’s finals.
According to the data, 39 states are rooting for the Knicks to get over the line and deny San Antonio a sixth NBA Championship.
On the other hand, 10 states are siding with the Spurs. Meanwhile, Illinois was the only state which seemed completely split. In the state, online positive sentiment towards both teams stood at 34%.
Unsurprisingly, both teams came out on top in their home state. Positive online sentiment for the Spurs in Texas was a whopping 50%. In New York, 44% of posts mentioning the Knicks included a positive sentiment.
Outside of Texas, the only states to favour the Spurs were Alabama, Alaska, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
The following table highlights which team each US state is rooting for when looking at positive online sentiment.
State | New York Knicks Fan Score | San Antonio Spurs Fan Score |
Alabama | 37% | 45% |
Alaska | 21% | 39% |
Arizona | 41% | 37% |
Arkansas | 34% | 32% |
California | 40% | 35% |
Colorado | 40% | 39% |
Connecticut | 44% | 38% |
Delaware | 39% | 38% |
Florida | 40% | 34% |
Georgia | 34% | 32% |
Hawaii | 37% | 36% |
Idaho | 37% | 34% |
Illinois | 34% | 34% |
Indiana | 37% | 34% |
Iowa | 41% | 44% |
Kansas | 39% | 38% |
Kentucky | 41% | 35% |
Louisiana | 41% | 35% |
Maine | 44% | 37% |
Maryland | 39% | 31% |
Massachusetts | 34% | 37% |
Michigan | 28% | 33% |
Minnesota | 37% | 34% |
Mississippi | 33% | 34% |
Missouri | 36% | 33% |
Montana | 39% | 34% |
Nebraska | 37% | 34% |
Nevada | 44% | 36% |
New Hampshire | 45% | 38% |
New Jersey | 44% | 36% |
New Mexico | 44% | 42% |
New York | 44% | 35% |
North Carolina | 39% | 33% |
North Dakota | 37% | 34% |
Ohio | 27% | 34% |
Oklahoma | 34% | 21% |
Oregon | 38% | 34% |
Pennsylvania | 35% | 36% |
Rhode Island | 37% | 34% |
South Carolina | 39% | 37% |
South Dakota | 32% | 26% |
Tennessee | 37% | 34% |
Texas | 35% | 50% |
Utah | 46% | 35% |
Vermont | 36% | 34% |
Virginia | 43% | 35% |
Washington | 36% | 38% |
West Virginia | 37% | 34% |
Wisconsin | 39% | 38% |
Wyoming | 40% | 27% |
When looking at the US as a whole, it seems like the Knicks have the slight edge in popularity. 40% of online posts and articles mentioning the Knicks in the last two weeks contain positive sentiment. In comparison, positive online sentiment in America towards the Spurs in the same timeframe stood at 38%.
Regardless of loyalties, fans will be expecting a hard fought, close matchup and many neutrals will even be hoping the series goes all the way to a game seven! To get more insights like this and to monitor the latest NBA odds during and after this year’s NBA Finals, please head over to our NBA page.
Methodology
This analysis was conducted using social listening technology to track and measure sentiment across news articles and major social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit.
The “fan score” for each location represents the percentage of posts expressing positive sentiment toward either the San Antonio Spurs or the New York Knicks since the start of the NBA conference finals.
Online posts from Monday 18th May 2026-Tuesday 2nd June 2026 were analysed.
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