Jalen Brunson speaks to the media at the 2026 New York Knicks Media Day.
The last time the New York Knicks started the season as defending NBA champions, they held their training camp in New Jersey at Monmouth College (now Monmouth University).
That 1972-73 team brought back 13 players from the title run, and if you recall having watched any of them play – from Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Bill Bradley to John Gianelli, Harthorne Wingo and Dean Meminger – you likely are older now than their coach was back then (Red Holzman, 52).
Continuity traditionally is king for NBA champs, including the 2026-27 edition of the Knicks. Eleven of last season’s Top 12 rotation players (in average minutes) are back, an encouraging sign for a team that gelled at the right time last spring. New York tore through Atlanta, Philadelphia and Cleveland with a 12-2 mark through its first three playoff rounds.
Then, improbably, it fell behind by double digits in all five Finals games against San Antonio yet took the series 4-1 to end the franchise’s 53-year drought between championships. The Knicks got outscored by a cumulative 57 points in the first quarters, won the series overall by a mere 12 points and led for only 56:34 of the total 240 minutes.
“What we accomplished was amazing,” coach Mike Brown told reporters Monday at Media Day. “[But] it’s a new season and a new team and we’re going to face new challenges over the course of the year. We’re going to hit adversity … and we’re going to embrace it.”
Center Karl-Anthony Towns, from adjoining New Jersey, said: “Of course winning your first championship is so special. A lot of people never even get to see one happen. To not only win a championship but to do it with a team that I grew up a big fan of, and show my love publicly for it so much, it’s really very special. And to have my family, my grandmother and my father and my sister and now my wife there was really special.”
The flip side of continuity is change, and some of that already has visited the Knicks. Center Mitchell Robinson, so vital to the defense with his rim protection and a second-chance wizard via his offensive rebounding, signed with Boston as a free agent.
It’s inevitable, too, that emotions, attitudes, motivations and more will be different for the players and coaches, having checked a box on their resumes that purportedly looms large for so many in the NBA. Even if they fend off injuries and complacency, becoming the hunted might be tougher than staying the hunter.
After all, Giannis Antetokounmpo painted a target on the Knicks’ backs in his media sessions Monday as a member of the Miami Heat.
“So right now, the best team in the NBA is the New York Knicks,” Antetokounmpo said. “And they have one of the best players, Jalen Brunson.”
Wing Josh Hart made it clear to the assembled media that he and his teammates aren’t interested in one-and-done, continuing the NBA’s active streak of eight different champs in eight years.
“I think we’re all excited for the opportunity to do it again,” Hart said. “I think you guys will see that with how we conduct ourselves and how we play, that we’re not satisfied with one.”
Here are some other takeaways from the Knicks’ initial business of 2026-27 at their Westchester practice facility.
1. Brunson fully cleared to play
Jalen Brunson undoubtedly heard a few “Break a leg” wishes as he prepped for his weekend appearance as the guest host of “Saturday Night Live.” But it was the state of Brunson’s wrist that was the focus of Knicks fans’ attention.
The point guard’s left wrist, on which he had surgery in July, is fine for the coming rigors of camp and the season. Brunson earned the Finals MVP award after averaging 28.4 points in the playoffs and scoring 45 in the Game 5 clincher in San Antonio. The left-handed shooter had played through discomfort during the Knicks’ run.
“It was painful,” Brunson said. “I did what I had to do to make sure I was right. … I feel good. We’ll see.”
Asked how this triumphant offseason played out for him, Brunson said: “It was the longest, shortest summer ever, but it was well worth it.”
2. No extension yet for KAT
Towns is eligible to sign a contract extension worth as much as $272 million over five seasons, but the player and his reps haven’t come to terms with the team. Asked about the current impasse Monday, Towns said: “I’ve made it known that I want to play here. I’d like to get it done.”
He also indicated that letting negotiations linger into the season might be distracting. “I think in this situation there’s no [comfort] to be had,” he said.
Josh Hart and Miles McBride also are eagerly awaiting extensions. One factor that could be complicating the process: Brunson in July 2024 signed a four-year, below-market $156.5 million deal that ranks as a bargain now but enabled the front office to make personnel moves thanks to payroll flexibility. Paying the price now for a title team could limit the Knicks’ maneuverability.
3. No Mitchell, no problem?
In his healthiest season in three years, Robinson was a force for New York from start to finish. He averaged 4.2 offensive rebounds and made 72.3% of his field-goal attempts. Per 36 minutes played, he averaged 16.1 rebounds overall and 7.7 on the offensive end.
But money propelled him to sign with the Celtics, boosting an East rival even as the Knicks lost the services of the 28-year-old 7-footer. Boston gave Robinson a three-year, $47 million deal.
“That’s my guy,” Brunson said. “It’s definitely difficult, but you love to see someone [get] generational wealth.”
Towns said he was surprised to see Robinson leave. But he referred to veteran replacement Andre Drummond as “one of the best rebounders of our generation” and “someone I’ve been a fan of.” Drummond, 33, averaged 5.8 offensive boards per 36 minutes last season backing up Joel Embiid in Philadelphia.
Other players joining this year’s Knicks squad on short-term deals include John Konchar, Bruce Brown, Drew Eubanks, Ochai Ogbagi and James Wiseman.
4. Rundown of Brown’s second acts
For anyone hoping to learn from history, Brown’s four previous head coaching stints offer a mixed bag of outcomes in Year 2. He followed up his 50-32 record in 2005-2006, his debut season with Cleveland, by repeating that record and leading the Cavaliers to the 2007 Finals.
With the Lakers in 2011-12, Brown coached them to a 41-25 mark in the post-lockout season. But he lasted only five games, to 1-4, before being fired the next fall.
Back in Cleveland for 2013-14, Brown didn’t get a second chance, getting fired after the Cavs went 33-49. That’s when the team hired European coach David Blatt, then had LeBron James make his surprising return to the franchise.
Brown started hot in Sacramento, guiding the Kings to a 48-34 finish and their first playoff appearance in 17 years. He was named NBA Coach of the Year for that performance. The following season, Sacramento won just two fewer games but missed the postseason.
Said Brown of this title defense: “Keeping your core is always something that’s exciting, especially when that core has had success. But we have to understand this is a new season, new team and we’re going to face new challenges.”
5. Knicks go ‘lights out’ on Day 1
Josh Hart answers a question in the dark at Knicks Media Day.
It had nothing to do with style of play or a review. The power literally went out at the practice facility during Media Day, with Hart finishing one answer in the dark.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
