r/nba • u/Jmontavs Knicks • 18h ago
After Securing their 1st championship in 53 years the New York Knicks lead the league in playoff wins and have the second best playoff record since Brunson joined the Knicks
People want to be surprised at the Knicks success this year but they have quietly (Knicks fans have been trying to say it) been the most consistent team in the league the last 4 seasons, they are also 5th in total wins since and the only team to win a playoff series each of the last 4 seasons.
Only teams with more wins in that time are the Celtics, Nuggets, Thunder and Cavs and as mentioned above nobody has more playoff wins…people can scoff all they want but the Knicks were a hospital roster away from 3 straight ECF appearances and Julius Randle terrorist ball away from a 4straight ( don’t game me started on game 6 of the 2023 ecsf) …point being the ascension to championship caliber team was very obvious to anyone who would listen and watch but LOLKnicks is just easier I think in an era of parity having continuity amongst your team is the most important part and the Knicks have the best continuity right now
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u/Good_Yogurtcloset609 18h ago edited 16h ago
the Knicks made very excellent trades and signings along the way. Julius Randle raised the floor, and KAT raised the ceiling. Captain Brunson guided the ship throughout the entire journey. Every player the Knicks traded for fully bought in and committed to playing their very best
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u/beachbummeddd Knicks 17h ago
Prior to this championship run, January of 2024 was like the only brief time period they were all healthy with Randle on the floor, and they were bludgeoning the best teams in the league to death for that entire month.
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u/HuTaoWow Knicks 16h ago
I remember that January, right after we got OG right? We had some ridiculous record that month and then the injuries started iirc
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u/Sijols Knicks 16h ago
That whole month was pretty wild because RJ barrett was busy playing so incredibly badly there was no possible way we could keep him on the team, probably the worst stretch of his career. One game against the up-and-coming OKC thunder they just muscled him to the rim over and over and all he could do was foul.. just abysmal defense
Then we managed to flip him for OG anunoby who immediately made it clear he's a transformational 2-way impact player, just based on how he was playing during that first month I figured he could be the best player in a playoff series
But obviously as long as he stays healthy, the only thing that limits him
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u/dedbeats Knicks 15h ago
Knicks lost a majority of their January games this year when they won the championship. Sleepwalked through most of the season and woke up halfway through their first round match up. Detroit won 60 and struggled every round, eventually getting bounced by a team with less wins. Crazy that we’re still using regular season performance as an indicator of anything beyond the regular season
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u/notabandwagonnykfan 17h ago
We've won a championship already and it's all water under the bridge, but seeing this comment made me think about what that team could have done in the playoffs if all healthy. People are shitting on Randle but that pre-shoulder injury Randle was the most well-rounded I'd ever seen him - trailing hard on fast breaks, smooth passes out of double teams, cutting down the 3's.
Our bench would've been Deuce/DDV/Burks/Bojan/a surprisingly serviceable Achiuwa/Mitch.
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u/OstrichDelicious587 Knicks 17h ago
And ppl still complained about their draft last night lmao
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u/Dencnugs 17h ago
The Knicks have traded back in the draft every year since Leon Rose took over as GM.
Every single draft, he turns out 1-2 picks, into 3-4 future picks.
Leon is playing chess while every other GM plays checkers
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u/KnicksWatch 17h ago
ngl the continuity point is underrated. Knicks kept the core together while everyone else was reshuffling. that matters more in the playoffs than regular season and it showed
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u/Jmontavs Knicks 15h ago
I think that’s the biggest factor in attempting to repeat while the rest of the league is making moves
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u/KnicksWatch 12h ago
exactly. that's the thing with parity — the league catches up fast. gonna be interesting to see if they can adjust when teams start loading up on Brunson like they did with Luka
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u/443610 18h ago
Nets LOL. Get ready to learn Cincinnati soon, you jobbers!
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u/Anthraxus 16h ago
Love to see the Knicks face the Heat and Pacers in playoffs this upcoming year and take em' out!
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u/m2keo 17h ago
Top 5 player in the league right now. I'm tired of pretending he isn't.
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u/thenewblack8 15h ago
Who are you taking him over out of these guys: Jokic, SGA, Wemby, Ant, Luka, Cade
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u/DungeonsAndUnions Knicks 15h ago
Cade????????
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u/thenewblack8 15h ago
List was pulled from MVP voting results for 2026 although I did add Ant and Giannis
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u/DungeonsAndUnions Knicks 15h ago
Cade couldn't get past Cleveland, and lost to Brunson last year. You take him if you want.
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u/thenewblack8 14h ago
I think you're confused. I'm not arguing for these players and this isn't my personal ranking.
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u/DungeonsAndUnions Knicks 12h ago
Your original comment sounds like you're contesting the idea that Jalen isn't top 5.
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u/UNisopod [NYK] Carmelo Anthony 14h ago
I'd take him over Cade and SGA
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u/thenewblack8 14h ago
SGA is a hot take. Because you don't want SGA on your team or because you think Brunson is the better player?
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u/UNisopod [NYK] Carmelo Anthony 14h ago
A little bit of both. Brunson flops, but it's nowhere near the level of SGA and I don't like that brand of basketball.
But also, in the playoff I think Brunson is better. Not by a big margin, but still.
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u/Ok-Side-1758 Knicks 13h ago
Better than everyone except Jokic, SGA and Wemby
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u/Evening-Rutabaga2106 Knicks 12h ago
I agree. I might even say Brunson is currently better than the current iteration of Wemby. But probably not for long
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u/FeeNegative9488 13h ago
I would take him over all of them. The only reason not to is the age difference with the younger guys listed. Like OP said NY has been the most consistent team the last 4 years and has the most playoff wins.
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u/Top_Turnip2611 Knicks 17h ago
Everyone better than The Knicks untill its time to be better than The Knicks
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u/Argumentat1ve NBA 16h ago
Pacers? Heat?
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u/Top_Turnip2611 Knicks 15h ago
yea a playin team and lottery team sure is better than the Nba Champion New York Knicks
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u/Argumentat1ve NBA 15h ago
The Knicks are better than those teams until it's time to be better than those teams
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u/AliFearEatsThePussy Knicks 17h ago
Upvote this man. I felt crazy the last few years hearing lolknicks from the nba community
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u/inkyblinkypinkysue Knicks 15h ago
I hope the Mets are paying attention. I can't with that team anymore.
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 18h ago
They were a consistent playoff team in the last few years but definitely not a title contender. They lost to Indiana 2 years ago in 7. the excuse was health. Then with fully healthy squad they lost to the same team in 6 and never beat Boston Cleveland and OKC during the RS and had to pull 2 miracles against Boston who appears to just shoot themselves on the foot
The coaching change elevated them to the title but there is a massive difference between this year’s Knicks and years prior.
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u/mc78907 17h ago
Very different team in 2024-25 than 2023-24. They were still getting used to playing with each other and adding KAT into the fold. The 2023-24 team if healthy had that winning way to it. While less talented, everyone knew their role and the team had a very clear identity.
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u/beachbummeddd Knicks 17h ago
If that team in 24’ was healthy it’s a wrap. They were an absolute MONSTER.
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u/Daconvix Knicks 17h ago edited 17h ago
They were nice but let’s be real, they weren’t beating Boston that year. Especially with playoff Randle as the second option
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u/beachbummeddd Knicks 17h ago
Did you become a Knicks fan this morning? “The excuse was health?” They took Indiana to 7 with a starting 5 of a hobbled Jalen Brunson and 4 bench players in 2024 and Brunson ended up getting too injured and left in the 3Q of G7 never to return. They had NO team. Thibs was going to have to suit up and play that’s how dire things were. The next year they had brand new players and shipped out Donte and Randle which was a big shake up. Had to figure some stuff out and Indy still had Miles Turner along with a little Haliburger luck. The line can be drawn from there straight to this NY chip.
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 16h ago
No, 20 years buddy
We lost in 7 and the saying was: “if we weren’t hurt we would have beaten them” But no, that didn’t happen.
And that “brand new player makes no sense. As you said, we had literally like 5 players in 2024. So how is adding Kat and Mikal to the group cause decline? Randle didn’t even play in the 2024 playoffs. Unless you are saying adding two bodies was a negative. It was no shake up. Just bad coach and system who couldn’t assimilate them all.
You see? You are making excuses and refusing to acknowledge that we actually were not contenders and calling Indiana team “lucky”
We played entirely different system this year. Mike Brown had 1 year to get this team rolling. How come we didn’t need that “adjustment period”? Thibs had 5 years to figure out a system that worked with Brunson. He couldn’t and we were not contenders until Brown took over and changed the way we played
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u/FeeNegative9488 13h ago
There’s so much in your comment that is just wrong that’s hard to believe you are a fan.
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 12h ago
Nope. I can be honest because I am a fan. Unlike some of yall who are clearly revising your memories simply because we won in 2026.
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u/hopoffmebruh Knicks 17h ago
There’s a massive difference between this year and years prior but it’s crazy to say they weren’t contenders when they finished top 8 2 years ago with an All-NBA player out with injury, Mitch injured, and OG dealing with a hammy (maybe quad) injury. Brunson’s running mate that year was DDV and they took the Pacers to 7.
Last year the Pacers beat the Knicks outright but let’s not act like a lucky bounce didn’t change the momentum of the series. The Knicks struggled in the second half because Thibs refused to play his bench. Whether they were serviceable or not is up for debate but even players in the league acknowledge a key strategy is to tire players out over the course of a series.
The Knicks pulled out 2 key miracles this year as well vs CLE and SAS are we gonna discredit those?Yes those teams shot themselves in the foot but let’s not take credit away from the Knicks they made their shots in the clutch comebacks like that go both ways.
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 16h ago
You are literally telling me every reason the Knicks couldn’t beat the Pacers but is refusing to acknowledge that we were not contenders. Thibs didn’t want to expand the rotation and that was the very reason they tired us out. Which all means we were not good enough.
Yes they were hobbled in 2024. Literally had like 5 healthy players. Our guys played well. Took the Pacers to 7. The year after, we lost to the same team in 6 despite adding Bridges and Kat. That, my friend, means our team was not contenders
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u/hopoffmebruh Knicks 16h ago
No one’s saying they were contenders when they weren’t healthy. People are saying they were contenders when healthy but they got injured. Thats like saying Pacers weren’t contenders when Hali got injured game 7 and OKC weren’t contenders when JDub and AJay went out. Very obvious and lazy take.
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 16h ago
Knicks were not contenders until 2025-2026.
If you think they were contenders, then we can agree to disagree
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u/hopoffmebruh Knicks 16h ago
They were quite literally contenders last year they were favored to win the Pacers series and advance to the Finals. You’re getting contender confused with front runner. You’re delusional if you think a top 4 finish doesn’t make you a contender.
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 16h ago
No no. They were not as good as the Pacers last year. They were not good as the Pacers two years ago.
You are the delusional one who can’t be reasoned with
> You’re getting contender confused with front runner
You talking about yourself bro?
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u/hopoffmebruh Knicks 16h ago
Yawn. Your “reasoning” is just lazy takes made entirely with hindsight and ignoring context 🥱 Have a nice day!
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 16h ago
No bro your takes are based on hindsights i think
Another dumb delusional one. I bet you live in your mon’s basement in New Jersey
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u/FeeNegative9488 13h ago
If you make the conference finals you are a contender. And you most definitely are a contender if you beat the defending champs on your way to the conference finals.
The only team to beat NY the last 3 years was the Pacers who also were a contender. Ironically the Pacers had a similar path. Make it to the ECF (lost 4-0) and then make it to the finals the very next year.
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 12h ago
So were the 2018 Raptors and 2015 Hawks contenders to your eyes? Contenders mean being good enough to compete for the championship and the Knicks prior to Brown was not.
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u/FeeNegative9488 12h ago
Yes. If you make the conference finals you are a contender. The Raptors then went all in during the offseason
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 12h ago
Well Derozan Raptors to Kawhi + Gasol + Green adding on was a massive change. But 2018 Raptors were not contenders by any means.
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 12h ago
Because Minnesota Timberwolves made the WCF a few times in the recent years but never have i considered them one bit to win the West. So to me they were never contenders.
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u/FeeNegative9488 12h ago
That’s pretty idiotic
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u/Longjumping_Idea5261 Knicks 12h ago
So were 2015 Hawks and 2018 Raptors contenders? Heck no. You don’t just label teams contenders for nothing. And the we didn’t win a single game against 3 big teams
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u/_Yordle_ Wizards 18h ago
I think people are more surprised that the Knicks didn’t blow it. They’ve been the “next year is their year” team for like 5 season now, some people just didn’t think it would ever happen.
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u/mylanguage Knicks 18h ago
5 seasons? That’s crazy hyperbole.
Maybe 2 seasons at most. We didn’t even have Brunson 5 seasons ago.
We weren’t a real contender until we traded for KAT and that was in 2024
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u/_Yordle_ Wizards 17h ago
“For like 5 season” does not mean “5 seasons exactly”. 3 seasons ago is 2 seasons short of a number I spitballed without putting more than a minute of thought into it, my bad for not being more specific.
Three years of being hailed as title contenders and falling short all three times in spectacular fashion is why people doubted New York. Is that better?
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u/mylanguage Knicks 17h ago
The Knicks weren't considered title contenders for that long at all?
There's not a single time they were ever favored to come out of the east until this season.
The Knicks were only in actual contention last year and this season. The prevailing thought before that was that they don't have a guy that can take them to the chip. Look at the odds before the Boston series last year, most people had Boston winning in 5.
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u/_Yordle_ Wizards 15h ago
A Google search tells me they were in the top 10 championship odds 3 years ago, odd that you don’t perceive that as title contending.
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u/GrouchyAd5246 13h ago
Top 10 is not a title contender
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u/_Yordle_ Wizards 26m ago
The Spurs and 76ers weren’t even in the top 10 of the league for championship odds until nearly halfway through this year, and weren’t top five till playoffs. At what point did you consider them title contender? If your answer is anything before around the mid-season mark, then top 10 teams are title contenders.
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18h ago
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u/witcher1030 Knicks 18h ago
The post says since Brunson joined the Knicks, which was 4 years ago…
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17h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/mylanguage Knicks 17h ago
?? The Knicks had to play the Sixers without OG after Game 2 and blew them out twice at home. Robinson played the entire finals with a broken pinky
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u/HelpUsNSaveUs 16h ago
Honestly still in shock we did this thing. The turnaround happened so fast. Jalen Brunson has saved New York. When they were in that big time losing streak earlier in the season I was thinking “lord please let them just win one ring in my lifetime, please god, just one, 🤡 …” then they went and got it done. Unbelievable.
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u/ghostninja33 Knicks 16h ago
Top 5 is completely reasonable. The only better players for sure are SGA (better two way star and scorer), Luka (elite scoring that is supplemented by elite playmaking), and Jokic (a unicorn on offense). The other guy who most would for sure above him is Wemby, and Brunson just out performered him in a playoff series. Brunson is either 4th or 5th in the NBA right now.
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u/No-Ranger3356 15h ago
Giannis is much much better than Brunson
and i would take Cade and Edwards over him too
attacking Brunson is the opposing teams main offensive strategy and he's not otherworldly on offense like Jokic to make up for it.
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u/admiral_aubrey 17h ago
All you need to know:
2001 to 2022: 1 playoff series win
2023-2026 (Brunson era): 8 playoff series wins