The Knicks opened camp as champions for the first time in more than half a century, carrying back nearly all of the group that finished last spring with a title parade. The next job is harder: New York is no longer chasing the league. It is the team everyone in the East is circling.
Eleven of the 12 Knicks who logged the most average minutes in last season’s rotation returned for 2026-27. That continuity follows a postseason in which New York went 12-2 through Atlanta, Philadelphia and Cleveland, then beat San Antonio 4-1 in the Finals to end a 53-year championship wait.
It was not a conventional five-game Finals win. The Knicks trailed by at least 10 points in every game, were minus-57 in first quarters, led by only 12 points across the entire series and held the lead for just 56 minutes and 34 seconds of the 240 played.
Mike Brown’s message at Media Day at the Westchester practice center was that the banner does not carry into the next possession.
“What we accomplished was amazing,” Brown said. “But this is a different season, a different team, and there will be different challenges. We’re going to face adversity, and we’re going to embrace it.”
Quick facts
- New York returns 11 of its top 12 players by average minutes from last season.
- Jalen Brunson has been cleared after July surgery on his left wrist.
- Karl-Anthony Towns can sign for up to $272 million across five years, but no extension is in place.
- Mitchell Robinson departed for Boston on a three-year, $47 million contract.
- Andre Drummond joins the frontcourt after averaging 5.8 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes with Philadelphia last season.
The last Knicks team to enter a season as reigning NBA champions was the 1972-73 club, which trained at Monmouth College in New Jersey, now Monmouth University. That roster retained 13 players from its championship run, including Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, John Gianelli, Harthorne Wingo and Dean Meminger, under 52-year-old coach Red Holzman.
Towns, who grew up nearby in New Jersey, called the championship especially meaningful because it came with the franchise he supported as a fan. He said having his grandmother, father, sister and wife present for the moment made it even more personal.
There is already one major change in the middle. Robinson, whose rim protection and extra possessions on the glass became central to the Knicks’ identity, left in free agency for the Celtics.
The 28-year-old center averaged 4.2 offensive rebounds and shot 72.3% from the field last season. In per-36-minute numbers, he produced 16.1 total rebounds and 7.7 offensive rebounds.
Brunson said losing Robinson will be felt, while also recognizing the financial opportunity. “That’s my guy,” Brunson said. “It’s definitely difficult, but you love to see someone get generational wealth.”
Towns said Robinson’s departure caught him off guard, but he pointed to Drummond as an established answer on the boards. Towns described the 33-year-old veteran as one of his generation’s elite rebounders and a player he has long admired.
New York also added John Konchar, Bruce Brown, Drew Eubanks, Ochai Agbaji and James Wiseman on short-term agreements.
Brunson enters camp healthy after playing through left-wrist discomfort during the title run. The Finals MVP averaged 28.4 points in the playoffs and scored 45 points in the Game 5 clincher in San Antonio before undergoing surgery in July.
“It was painful,” Brunson said. “I did what I had to do to make sure I was right. I feel good. We’ll see.”
Brunson also spent the weekend hosting “Saturday Night Live,” and called the championship summer both brief and lengthy at once. “It was the longest, shortest summer ever, but it was well worth it,” he said.
The largest unresolved business item is Towns’ contract. He is eligible for an extension worth as much as $272 million over five years, though he and the Knicks have not finalized one.
“I’ve made it known that I want to play here,” Towns said. “I’d like to get it done.” He added that there is little comfort in allowing the talks to hang over the season.
Josh Hart and Miles McBride are also in line for extension discussions. Brunson’s four-year, $156.5 million deal signed in July 2024 gave the front office valuable cap flexibility, but the cost of retaining a championship roster could tighten New York’s options from here.
The Knicks will also have to manage the shift from pursuer to target. Miami’s Giannis Antetokounmpo placed New York squarely at the top of the league in his Media Day remarks, calling the Knicks the NBA’s best team and identifying Brunson as one of its premier players.
Hart said the locker room has no interest in becoming another one-title stop in an era that has produced eight different champions in eight seasons. “We’re all excited for the opportunity to do it again,” Hart said. “You’ll see it in how we carry ourselves and how we play. We’re not satisfied with one.”
Brown’s history in second seasons offers a mixed file. In Cleveland, he followed a 50-32 debut in 2005-06 with another 50-32 record and a trip to the 2007 Finals. His second Lakers season ended after five games and a 1-4 start, while his return stint with the Cavaliers ended after a 33-49 campaign without a Year 2.
In Sacramento, Brown went from a 48-34 season, a playoff return after 17 years and Coach of the Year honors to a follow-up club that won two fewer games and missed the postseason. His current roster gives him a stronger starting point than most, but he kept returning to the same camp theme: familiar faces do not make the work familiar.
“Keeping your core is always something that’s exciting, especially when that core has had success,” Brown said. “But we have to understand this is a new season, new team and we’re going to face new challenges.”
Media Day even included an early reminder that plans can change. The power went out at the Knicks’ practice facility, leaving Hart to complete an answer in the dark.
