Whatever Happens Next: The Knicks Have Patiently Built a Foundation for Success
You can argue that the fundamental yardstick for satisfying a fanbase during a rebuild should be demonstrable, season-by-season improvements.
Yes, fans want to win every year, but that’s just not the reality.
Consider the Jets, for instance: They are not going to win the Super Bowl next season, nor the one after that, but the level-headed fans will want to see incremental gains over the coming years to get the franchise back on track. That’s the social contract between fans and team, so to speak.
And so we come to the New York Knicks, a team that recorded 21 wins in the 2019-2020 season, one of the NBA’s worst. The improvement since that campaign has been almost linear. 41 wins (COVID shortened season), 37 wins, 47 wins, 50 wins, 51 wins, and 53 wins recorded this season.
The upshot is that the Leon Rose era (he became Knicks President in March 2020) has been largely defined by a competitive team on the rise.
A Steady Chart of Progress
Of course, not everything has been smooth, but the last 5-6 years of Knicks basketball – initially under Tom Thibodeau and now under Mike Brown – have been characterized by steady progress built on patience. And now a first NBA Finals series since 1999 awaits a team that thoroughly deserves it. 11 successive games won in a row in the Playoffs is historically good, and now the ultimate prize awaits.
The Knicks will be the underdogs in the 2026 NBA Finals odds, regardless of whether they meet the Thunder or the Spurs that they meet in the series. That’s understandable, given the perceived balance of power between the Western and Eastern Conferences, but neither team will take the Knicks lightly. And both the Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson and the OKC’s Mark Daigneault will be well aware that the Knicks have improved as this season has gone on.
The team that smashed the Cavs 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals feels so much more complete than six months ago.
Fans Can Be Optimistic in 2026 and Beyond
Regardless of whether a first championship since 1973 arrives, it really does feel like a foundation for success has been built. It was, as we said, patient. Not simply chasing superstars. The Jalen Brunson signing in 2022 was a supreme example of that, a textbook example of taking a player to a franchise with a multi-year plan in mind. Others – Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges – were closer to the right fit at the right time. There’s been excellent tactical development of players, too, with OG Anunoby among those growing into their careers at New York.
We should, for balance, point out that none of this occurs without any risk-taking. The Knicks have the highest payroll in the NBA for the 2025/26 season, and the organization has given up some decent spots in the NBA Draft, particularly when taking Bridges. There’s nothing to say that the Knicks won’t try to roll the dice again, but this is also an example of an organization that is reaching the zenith of its multi-year plan.
It might not be this season, which should be counted as a wonderful one, come what may, in the Finals, but there will be a point at which the progress the fans demand to see means delivering a championship.
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