The New York Knicks are living the stat no team wants, right after they celebrated the NBA Cup win over the San Antonio Spurs. However, the glow faded fast as the Knicks' momentum stalled. Jalen Brunson remains the steady face through it all, and Mike Brown, in his first season as Knicks head coach, has been at the center of navigating this rough stretch.
The idea feels unavoidable across the NBA: teams that win the NBA Cup tend to feel a drag right after lifting the trophy. The Knicks have won only five of their last eleven games, including the stretch following the Cup win over San Antonio. The party ended but the schedule didn’t.
The sharpest punch came against the Detroit Pistons, where the 121–90 loss felt heavy. It was one of those nights that silences a bench and makes the next practice louder. The Knicks also chose not to raise an NBA Cup banner, wanting the focus on June, not December. Even so, the conversation keeps chasing them. Emotional peak. Physical toll. Rhythm slipping in the regular grind. Fans see it. The locker room feels it.
Article Continues Below
A pattern, a punch, and the next test for the Knicks
The NBA Cup curse has a simple shape. Win it, then wobble. The Lakers went 3–7 after winning the Cup. The Bucks went 5–5 after beating Oklahoma City. Now the Knicks have gone 5–5 in their ten games after lifting the trophy. Not a collapse. Not a surge. Just flat basketball after a high climb. A winter hangover the numbers keep repeating.
Through it all, Jalen Brunson plays with edge and composure, while Mike Brown keeps tweaking rotations and pace. The issues are clear: late-game execution, transition defense, and brief lapses that become big opponent runs. Yet there is still runway. Health can steady roles. Madison Square Garden can flip the energy fast. So the question under bright lights remains: is the NBA Cup curse real, or are the Knicks about to break it and turn this stretch into something tougher and better?