The New York Knicks have something to build on entering the 2025-26 season.
After making multiple offseason additions (acquiring Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets and Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves), the franchise successfully raised its ceiling in the Eastern Conference.
New York finished with a 50-32 regular-season record and reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.
Unfortunately, a Game 1 meltdown, combined with Tom Thibodeau’s insistence on overexerting his starters throughout the organization’s third-round series against the Indiana Pacers, resulted in elimination.
However, ESPN’s Zach Kram believes that this is the year New York will get over the hump and reach the NBA finals for the first time since 1999.
“The Knicks finish third in the East in the regular season ... but still reach the Finals,” ESPN’s Zach Kram wrote Monday. “This two-part prediction assumes that the Knicks take a step back in the regular season, as Brown doesn't play his starters as much as the departed Tom Thibodeau.”
“But Brown's regular-season lineup experiments might position the Knicks for greater playoff success, and Cleveland's injury concerns could pave a path for New York to reach its first Finals since 1999.”
Hiring Brown was the most intelligent decision the Knicks could have made this past offseason. While Brown hasn’t secured a ring as a head coach, he has four championships on his resume as an assistant on Steve Kerr’s staff in Golden State (Warriors).
Brown, a two-time Coach of the Year, also does a far better job of utilizing his bench to the best of his ability, which should pay dividends for the franchise all year long (especially during the postseason).
Simply put, the Knicks are in good hands with Brown steering the ship moving forward.
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