Would a fully healthy 2020-21 Nets team have enough to knock off the 2026 Knicks in a seven-game series? That’s the kind of NBA question that can eat up an entire group chat, and for good reason.
Brooklyn brings the raw star power. New York brings the championship.
PlayersChoice_ recently threw the matchup out on X, asking which side would win if both teams were fully healthy. The Nets’ group was Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Joe Harris, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan. The Knicks answered with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns.
It’s easy to see why Brooklyn would jump off the page first. Durant, Irving and Harden give the Nets three players who can manufacture a bucket against almost anybody, from almost anywhere on the floor.
Harris only adds to the problem, stretching the defense and opening more room for the stars to operate. That’s a brutal offensive mix in a playoff series.
But the hesitation comes just as fast.
That Nets team never truly got to live together. Injuries, COVID-related absences and other issues kept Durant, Irving and Harden from getting a consistent run on the floor at the same time. Harden came to Brooklyn during the season, and the trio only logged a limited number of games together.
Then the playoffs arrived, and things unraveled against the Milwaukee Bucks. Harden was battling a hamstring injury, Irving hurt his ankle, and Durant had to shoulder an enormous scoring load. Brooklyn still pushed the series to seven games, but the run ended there.
That’s part of what makes this matchup so compelling. The Knicks aren’t just another talented roster - they’re the team that has already been through a title run and come out with a championship. Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, Bridges and Hart have already experienced what it takes when the pressure rises and every possession gets squeezed.
New York also has a clear edge on defense. Brooklyn’s stars would stress just about any opponent, but the Knicks have bodies to throw at them. Anunoby and Bridges give New York real answers for Durant and Irving, while Hart adds the kind of edge and physicality that matters on the perimeter.
Even so, if the debate is strictly about ceiling when everybody is healthy, Brooklyn is hard to ignore. Durant, Irving and Harden are three of the most gifted offensive players of their generation, and that kind of firepower can bend a series in ways a defense can’t always fully control.
Still, talent and team are not the same thing. That’s why this one doesn’t have an obvious answer.
The 2020-21 Nets had the kind of offensive upside that could have been historic, but they never got the continuity to prove it over a full run. The Knicks did.
As a Nets fan, it’s understandable to lean Brooklyn right away. The stars are just that loud. But there’s a real case for New York too, especially with the Knicks already having done what this Nets group never got the chance to do.
Even with all that said, the pick here is still the Nets in seven.
Not because they achieved more. They didn’t.
Not because they were healthier. They weren’t.
Just because Durant, Irving and Harden would probably be too much over the course of a series. There are only so many answers when three different players can take over a game on their own.
And that’s what makes the whole debate so fascinating: the 2020-21 Nets had the talent to be one of the defining teams of their era. We just never got to see the whole thing play out.
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