On Chasing History presented by Michelob ULTRA, the Knicks roll and land a spot in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.
This fun and fulfilling journey of the New York Knicks is the result of preparation meeting opportunity.
Preparation: The Knicks, following a brief stumble after winning the Emirates NBA Cup 2026 in December, refocused on defense and emphasized ball sharing and found their stride. They’ve won 24 of 30 games dating back to March 11.
Opportunity: Some Eastern Conference contenders had injury issues, unlike the Knicks. Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung with the Pistons late in the season. Jayson Tatum was on the mend in Boston from an almost year-long Achilles recovery. And the 76ers, who eliminated Boston, didn’t have a fully healthy Joel Embiid in the next round against New York. The conference, therefore, was wide open.
It was this perfect storm that inflamed a thirsty fan base and raised the possibility of a long-awaited championship, with the Knicks now in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Back to that 124-113 Cup victory — it planted the seeds of belief that this team could follow one title with another in the same season. And just by coincidence, the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in that game, raising the idea that they can also triumph over the Spurs in a best-of-seven if both teams advanced, and here they are.
Until then, the Knicks opened the regular season as just another top-four team in the East, coming off a humbling defeat the previous spring at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. Everything clicked for them in the lead-up to the Cup — and then, almost as rapidly, things went awry.
It began, curiously, with a late December loss in a rematch with the Spurs. That launched a stretch in which the Knicks won just twice in 11 games. And three losses were to the Pistons, Sixers and Hawks, teams positioned to compete with the Knicks come playoff time. It was a back-to-Earth landing that forced the Knicks to re-evaluate because suddenly, there was a sense of urgency.
A few days into that slumber, Knicks owner James Dolan made a rare public utterance and said on local radio that “we love our team right now” and also “we should win the Finals” if the Knicks advanced that far.
Everyone experienced an uptick. Jalen Brunson dropped 31 points on the Sixers, then 42 on the Nuggets, both victories. Karl-Anthony Towns racked up double-doubles and those performances helped put both players in the All-Star Game.
What's behind the Knicks' playoff surge, and why has everything started clicking at exactly the right time?
Suddenly, the Knicks were among the best teams post-All-Star break. There was a five-game regular-season stretch where they didn’t allow 100 points. Then came the Playoffs: New York has allowed 100 or more points just three times in its last 11 games, remarkable in the age of scoring. And the Cavs needed overtime in one of those games to reach 100.
That was the defensive upgrade. As for offense, coach Mike Brown implored Brunson to share the ball more and, after losing a pair of first-round playoff games to the Hawks, directed Towns to be more of a facilitator as well.
The Knicks haven’t dropped a game since.
“It was always a little bit of a question (about) whether or not we’d be able to get over the hump,” Brown said, “But down the stretch of the regular season with six or seven games to go, we started to play good basketball and do more things that involved more sacrificing from the group.”
Aside from Brunson and Towns expanding their roles, other developments placed the Knicks four wins away from their first title since 1973:
OG Anunoby’s next level
He has been an elite defender almost since the start of his career. That’s why the Knicks spent so much to pry him from the Raptors in a trade a few years ago, for his ability to cover the other team’s leading scorer in most cases.
“He should’ve been first-team All-Defense because of his versatility,” said Brown, “and it has shown throughout the most important time of the year, which is the playoffs.”
Yet since this playoff run, his offensive upgrade has made him even more of a two-way player. He’s averaging more points in the playoffs than Towns and shot 56.7% from deep in the first round, when he was the Knicks’ best player in that series.
Mikal Bridges’ rebirth
Ever since the Knicks obtained him from Brooklyn, Bridges has struggled under the weight of expectations, both reasonable and unreal. This happens when you get tagged as “the missing piece.” Well, the piece was missing most of the season, and in the first round. When the Knicks were locked in a 2-2 tie with the Hawks, the noise around Bridges intensified.
Then came the conference finals and Bridges’ bounce-back. Not only was he solid defensively against Cleveland, but he also scored in transition and the mid-range — and stopped settling for 3-pointers in the process. Bridges averaged 18.5 ppg against the Cavs (on 57.4% shooting) after posting 10 ppg against the Hawks.
Landry Shamet’s shooting
In the Knicks’ last six playoff games, all wins, Shamet sizzled — shooting 17-for-21 from deep. That’s an astonishing degree of efficiency by any measure, and by any player. In this instance, it came from a role player who suddenly emerged as a key figure in the playoff run.
Shamet made defenses pay for disrespecting him and leaving him open, none more than in Game 1 against the Cavs when his timely shots helped the Knicks rally from 22 points down and win in overtime.
The bench is more than Shamet. Miles “Deuce” McBride, who returned from a late-season injury, has helped as a change-of-pace guard, along with Mitchell Robinson’s defense and rebounding.
Mike Brown gets the buy-in
In his first season coaching the Knicks, he has successfully sold the players on his system and sacrifice. The results show as much.
The Knicks are now in the NBA Finals, again. This is their best chance to win a championship since 1994, when they lost a Game 7 to the Houston Rockets. The Knicks’ 1999 team lost to Tim Duncan and the Spurs, but injuries played a major role. Patrick Ewing was hurt in the East Finals and never suited up, Larry Johnson got injured in the Finals and the Knicks, overall, were underdogs.
Not necessarily so this time. When the opportunity presented itself this season, the Knicks were the best-prepared team to represent the East. They’re bringing a solid starting five, a pair of All-Stars, an extremely clutch point guard, enough frontcourt size to measure up to Victor Wembanyama and a capable bench.
Maybe Dolan will be proven correct.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
