Four keys to the Knicks' 2025-26 season
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns fouls Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle in the first half of an NBA preseason game at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
1. Remain the same
The Knicks clearly have made changes, firing coach Tom Thibodeau despite the success he brought, importing Mike Brown to revamp the system and strengthening the bench. But all of the changes that work fine on paper work only if the Knicks can figure out a way to play to their strengths — the offensive ability of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
A new system might ease some of the pressure on Brunson to create, but they were very good with the ball in his hands. It reminds me of the triangle offense, which one player described at the time as “run through it for 20 seconds and then give Michael [Jordan] the ball.” The theory is nice, but Brunson’s bully ball worked well enough for the Knicks to earn a spot in the Eastern Conference finals last season.
2. Stay healthy
The Knicks’ training staff was named tops in the NBA last season. Despite all of the talk about Thibodeau’s heavy use of his starters, the Knicks remained mostly healthy throughout the season.
Do they get that fortunate again when you see other teams devastated by injuries to stars? Josh Hart, who led the NBA in minutes per game last season, played seven minutes in the preseason opener and has been sidelined since then. Mitchell Robinson already is being handled with caution. OG Anunoby sat out three of the preseason games and Towns has nursed a quadriceps injury. The reason the Celtics and Pacers aren’t favorites in the Eastern Conference is because of long-term injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton. The Knicks need the work of that medical staff — and a little luck.
3. The vibes are . . .
The Knicks have moved from the scrappy group of overachievers who boasted “the vibes are immaculate” to a team with lofty expectations. Firing the coach who brought them to the conference finals puts the next step, a berth in the NBA Finals, as the only satisfactory result.
The Knicks knew what they were under Thibodeau. Does frustration move in if Brunson or Towns doesn’t find the fit as perfect under Brown? Does the lineup re-creation work smoothly with Robinson added to the starting five and Hart coming off the bench? Does Robinson’s impending free agency raise issues during the season? Brown has shown the personality to manage these issues.
3. Focus on big picture
So much went right for the Knicks last season, and maybe just as much has gone right from outside forces, with injuries opening the door to an NBA Finals appearance this season. But the 51 wins the Knicks notched last season came by playing every night as if every possession mattered.
That seems to have eased up with Thibodeau’s departure and Brown already noting that he won’t sacrifice the big picture for a midseason win. So push that win total down slightly and worry about the one team that dominated the 2024-25 regular season and — if healthy — finally could push through the postseason.
That’s the Cavs, with Lonzo Ball a huge addition (again, if healthy). If all goes right, the Knicks are right there, but in Year 1 of this new regime, they’ll have to show it.
PREDICTION
49-33, first in the Atlantic Division, second in the Eastern Conference and back to the conference finals again.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
