Knicks Chase First NBA Championship Since 1973
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The New York Knicks lifted the NBA Cup earlier this week, capping the league’s in-season tournament on a high note. While the December 18 victory provides a holiday boost, the organization remains focused on far larger goals: a return to the NBA Finals and an end to a 53-year title drought.
New York last reached the Finals in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, falling to the San Antonio Spurs and their frontcourt duo of David Robinson and Tim Duncan in five games. The franchise’s most recent championship came in 1973, when Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe pushed the Knicks past the Los Angeles Lakers.
After advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals last spring—their first trip that deep into the postseason in 25 years—the Knicks were eliminated by the underdog Indiana Pacers. Entering this season, the Eastern landscape appears wide open. Detroit owns the conference’s best record through two months but has not won a playoff series since 2008. Cleveland, the East’s top seed a year ago, sits around the .500 mark, and rising Orlando remains unproven. Those dynamics leave New York positioned as a leading favorite to emerge from the East.
The Knicks’ starting group is headlined by Most Valuable Player candidate Jalen Brunson alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, with center Mitchell Robinson often considered a sixth starter. The lineup ranks among the NBA’s top five in scoring and three-point accuracy while limiting turnovers, and it holds opponents to one of the five lowest field-goal percentages in the league.
Depth may be a concern. Although the bench includes several veterans, overall production has lagged behind that of the starters. Potential roster upgrades are complicated by hard-cap restrictions that place the club just below the second luxury-tax apron.
With half a century separating the franchise from its last championship, the central question remains: Can this roster navigate the playoffs and deliver the Knicks’ first Larry O’Brien Trophy since 1973?
Source: Hoops Rumors
