The New York Knicks are just weeks away from kicking off their 2025-26 season with a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks are coming off of a 2024-25 season in which they made the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in a quarter century but still didn't do enough to convince the team brass to keep head coach Tom Thibodeau around.
Instead, the Knicks will now be coached by veteran Mike Brown, and they'll look to seize a golden opportunity in the Eastern Conference, with Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton both sidelined with Achilles tears.
Recently, sports media personality and occasional Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith took to ESPN's First Take to relay why he believes this is the year that New York finally breaks through to the Finals.
“I'm looking forward to my Knicks capitalizing off of the Achilles tear to Jayson Tatum… Damian Lillard… Tyrese Haliburton. … The New York Knicks are going to the NBA Finals. It happened by default… I wish them all well,” said Smith.
Can the Knicks take advantage?
Although the Celtics and Pacers do indeed figure to be out of contention this year, many pundits have pointed to the Cleveland Cavaliers, not the Knicks, as the favorites to come out of the East as they look to build off their run to the first seed a season ago.
Cleveland flamed out against the Pacers in the second round, although the team was decimated by injuries by that point in the postseason.
Meanwhile, other teams like the Orlando Magic could also make some noise after busy offseasons, making it no guarantee that the Knicks will finish as a top three seed, let alone be viewed as a shoe-in to the Finals.
Still, this is a talented Knicks roster led by one of the best point guards in the NBA in Jalen Brunson. It remains to be seen how Mike Brown will navigate having his best two players–Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns–both being liabilities on the defensive end.
In any case, the Knicks' season will tip off on October 22 vs Cleveland.
