Last season the Knicks went 53-29, beat San Antonio in five games, and ended a title drought that stretched back to 1973. Now, at 0-0 with the season still to start, Mike Brown's group carries the weight of history that finally caught up to it.
Fifty-Three Years
New York's first banner came in 1970, then again in 1973, Willis Reed and Walt Frazier and Dave DeBusschere running Red Holzman's offense at Madison Square Garden. Nothing since, until last season. Jalen Brunson, the free agent the Knicks signed in July 2022, was named 2025 NBA Cup MVP and then Finals MVP after New York beat San Antonio in five games. That series closed a 53-year title drought dating back to 1973, the same year Reed and Frazier were still hanging banners in this building. The Knicks who finally got there play in the same building, wear the same logo, and now owe the franchise its next answer.
Ewing Got Close
Patrick Ewing took New York to the Finals in 1994 and again in 1999, defense-first teams built by Pat Riley and then Jeff Van Gundy. Both trips ended without a title. After Ewing left, the losing seasons piled up until Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire delivered a division crown in 2013, the franchise's first in 19 years. It didn't last. The Knicks followed that high with their worst regular-season records in franchise history, the kind of stretch that makes a 53-year wait feel even longer in the room.
How This Group Got Here
The current core traces back to July 2022, when Brunson signed as a free agent. Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges followed, and the 2024 trade that sent Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and Keita Bates-Diop to Minnesota brought back Karl-Anthony Towns. That group went from contender to champion last season, going 53-29 with the league's third-ranked offense and a net rating of 6.4. Mike Brown is now entering his second season as head coach, hired last July after New York moved on from Tom Thibodeau.
The Bill Comes Due
Winning a title with this roster cost the Knicks their draft-pick flexibility. New York owes its 2027 and 2029 first-round picks to Brooklyn and its 2030 second-rounder to Atlanta, keeping only swap rights in 2028 and 2029. Payroll sits at $217.9 million, above the $209.0 million first apron and the $200.4 million tax line, with the $221.7 million second apron already in view. Towns, Anunoby, Brunson and Bridges carry the four biggest numbers on the books. Every jersey in that locker room still reads Once A Knick, Always A Knick. The front office's real question is how many more autumns it can afford to keep that exact five together.
Not Started, Already Loaded
The record reads 0-0. The season has not tipped off, and both Brunson and Mohamed Diawara are listed day-to-day, each with an estimated return of October 1. Preseason opens October 5 at Philadelphia, and the regular-season opener is set for October 20 against the 76ers on NBC and Peacock. None of that changes what last season proved: history didn't hand the Knicks that title, and it won't hand them the next one either. That part hasn't changed since 1946.
Have the Knicks won an NBA championship before?
Yes. New York won titles in 1970 and 1973 behind Willis Reed and Walt Frazier, then added a third last season that ended a 53-year drought.
Why did the Knicks go so long between championships?
New York reached the Finals in 1994 and 1999 with Patrick Ewing but lost both, then endured years of losing before the current core, built around Jalen Brunson since 2022, finally broke through last season.
