The Knicks are deserving champs, but their path to...
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- Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years, dispatching the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the 2025-26 Finals behind a top-five offense and top-10 defense
- James Dolan said on WFAN in January that the Knicks 'should win the Finals' — a declaration made during a 2-9 stretch that drew collective skepticism around the league
- Leon Rose constructed the roster almost entirely through trades, with only Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride among the rotation drafted by the team; Karl-Anthony Towns (for Julius Randle), Mikal Bridges (from the Nets), Josh Hart, and OG Anunoby were all acquired via trade
- Mike Brown, fired four times as a head coach and a secondary hire after the Knicks struck out trying to interview coaches under contract, replaced Tom Thibodeau and repeatedly tweaked the offense — an adjustment during the Atlanta Hawks series sparked an East-playoff record 14-game winning streak
- The core all carried doubters: Jalen Brunson was deemed too small to anchor a title team, Towns was called 'too soft' to hold down a front line, and Bridges wilted beneath scrutiny of the package New York surrendered for him
- Karl-Anthony Towns endured summer Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors and was not offered an extension entering his first Knicks offseason, yet 'wasn't going to be vindictive,' a source close to him told ESPN
Why it matters: The Knicks' title ends the NBA's longest active championship drought at 53 years and validates a trade-driven roster model in an era when the 2024 Celtics and 2025 Thunder won as draft-built teams — only two of New York's rotation players were drafted by the franchise, with the rest acquired by Leon Rose in deals that included sending Julius Randle out and surrendering multiple first-round picks to Brooklyn for Bridges.
