Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged in Timberwolves fans, and fans across the country. Sign up here to join Reacts.
In what has been the strangest NBA season in the modern era, basketball fans will finally get to enjoy the NBA Finals starting tonight at 8:00pm CST.
Two teams with dramatically different paths and built in dramatically different ways will finally face off in the bubble for the Larry O’Brien trophy. The Los Angeles Lakers have had title expectations since the beginning of the season last November, while the Miami Heat have continued to surprise and silence the doubters every step of the way.
With that said, a good majority of the fans who responded to the most recent SB Nation Reacts survey think that Heat run is going to come to a decisive end. Nearly two-thirds of fans polled expect the Lakers to win the series, with a majority of fans thinking it will only take five or six games.
If that does indeed turn out to be true, Lakers star LeBron James will almost certainly play a major role. According to the Reacts poll, nearly 50% of fans said they expect James to win the Finals MVP award, with our good friend Jimmy Butler coming in a not-so-close second place.
To vote in the Reacts surveys and have your voice heard each week, sign up here. Otherwise, enjoy the last week or so of men’s professional basketball, and don’t forget the WNBA Finals also kick off this week (Friday), with the Seattle Storm taking off the Las Vegas Aces.
Be sure to include your own predictions for the NBA (and WNBA) Finals below. As for mine, I’ll say Lakers in 6, and Storm in 4.