Fifty-three years later, Madison Square Garden will raise a championship banner. It happens October 20, before the Knicks-Sixers season opener. From that moment, Mike Brown's team stops chasing and becomes the hunted. No team has repeated as champions in nine years, and New York faces the challenge with one clear strategy: keep the core intact.
Where They Come From: A Title Built on Comebacks
Last season the Knicks finished the regular season 53-29, third in the East, without a sense of dominance. In the spring they changed dimensions. They rolled past Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Cleveland with a 12-2 record in the first three rounds, including sweeps of the Sixers and Cavaliers.
The Finals against San Antonio were the most striking part of it all. According to NBA.com, the Knicks trailed by double digits in all five games and still won the series 4-1. They lost the first quarters by a combined 57 points and were ahead for only 56.5 minutes of the 240 played. Game 4 sums up that series: they came back from 29 points down to win 107-106, with 36 from Brunson and 33 from Anunoby.
Brunson was the man of the series. He had already been NBA Cup MVP in December and finished as Finals MVP, averaging 32.6 points across five games. He closed out the title with 45 points in Game 5 in San Antonio, after playing the playoffs with left wrist issues.
A Summer of Minimal Moves
Leon Rose's front office made few moves. The additions are Andre Drummond and Tyler Nickel; the departures are Ariel Hukporti, Jeremy Sochan, and most notably Mitchell Robinson. Boston offered Robinson three years and $47 million, a figure New York was unwilling to match. The reason is financial: James Dolan continues to refuse to exceed the second apron.
With that constraint, the work was retention. Jose Alvarado declined his $4.5 million option to sign three years for just over $14 million. Landry Shamet re-signed for four years after shooting 47.5% from three in the playoffs. Jordan Clarkson returned on a one-year minimum deal worth $3.9 million, and Mohamed Diawara also stayed. With everything locked in, the roster sat about $3.27 million below the second apron.
To replace Robinson there was a failed Plan B. The Knicks signed an offer sheet for Moussa Cisse, but Dallas matched it, and the position went to Drummond, who arrives on a one-year, $3.9 million deal after averaging 6.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in 19.5 minutes with the Sixers.
The Rotation
The starting five doesn't change: Brunson, Bridges, Hart, Anunoby, and Towns. Last season's numbers explain why it's untouched. Brunson averaged 26.0 points and 6.8 assists in 74 games. Towns put up 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds on 50.1% shooting, Anunoby 16.7 points and 1.6 steals, and Bridges 14.4 points without missing any of the 82 games. Hart had the best shooting season of his career, hitting 41% from three.
With that starting five on the floor, the Knicks went 25-11 and finished with the third-best offense and seventh-best defense in the league.
Off the bench, McBride, Shamet, Alvarado, and Clarkson form a very reliable second unit of perimeter players. In the paint, Drummond is Towns' backup. NBA.com points to 21-year-old Diawara as a possible breakout candidate: he shot 36.9% from three as a rookie, and aside from him only Anunoby is a natural power forward on the roster. Agbaji, Bruce Brown, Eubanks, Konchar, and Wiseman will compete in training camp for the two remaining roster spots.
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The Season's Big Questions
The first is in the paint. Robinson grabbed 4.2 offensive rebounds per game, shot 72.3% and was the team's defensive anchor. Drummond provides rebounding but doesn't protect the rim the same way, leaving Towns more exposed on defense. NBA.com expects that aspect of the game to be examined from the first weeks.
The second is in the front office. Towns can sign an extension worth up to $272 million over five years and says he wants to lock it in now, while Hart and McBride also await theirs. Hart's extension, however, seems far off: the player himself doesn't believe it will happen, and he has $43.3 million guaranteed over the next two seasons, with the second year being a team option.
Hart also carries the most delicate injury issue on the roster. According to The Athletic, he has ruled out surgery on the ring finger of his right hand. Doctors presented him with a joint prosthetic that would end his career, so he will play with a splint or tape until retirement. Brunson's wrist, meanwhile, is no longer a concern: he had surgery in July and arrives fully cleared.
Then there's the competition, which has grown stronger. Philadelphia has added Jaylen Brown and LeBron James, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, now in Miami, pointed to the Knicks on his media day as the league's best team. Add to that Brown's track record in second seasons, which has been inconsistent. In Cleveland he repeated 50 wins and reached the 2007 Finals, but with the Lakers he was fired after five games of his second year, and in Sacramento he missed the playoffs the year after winning Coach of the Year.
The Schedule: Key Dates
The season opener is ring night against the Sixers on October 20 (01:00 Wednesday, October 21 CET). Three days later in Boston comes the first matchup with Robinson now in a Celtics uniform. Then come other historic matchups. Detroit won all three games last season by an average of 28 points, and the Knicks host the Pistons on October 27. On Christmas comes the Finals rematch against the Spurs, the first meeting between the two finalists of the season. On February 7 they visit the Thunder, who have won the last six matchups.
Piratas' Forecast
The Knicks are the East favorites by roster, by hierarchy, and because they know how to win in the spring. But repeating requires something different. The playoff performance jump, with Anunoby, Towns, Bridges, and Shamet among the players who most improved their effective field goal percentage compared to the regular season, is hard to sustain. Plus, the paint has lost its best defender. Our prediction is they'll finish in the East podium with between 52 and 55 wins, with the health of the starting five and Towns' defense as the season's key factors.