Jalen Brunson isn’t interested in letting the New York Knicks get comfortable.
Fresh off a championship run that ended a 53-year title drought, the Knicks are heading into next season with all the attention that comes with being the team on top. But Brunson’s message is plain: the ring is in the past, and the work starts over now.
In a recent conversation with Kendrick Perkins, Richard Jefferson, and Channing Frye on the Road Trippin’ show, Brunson said the Knicks have to tune out the noise and reset their mindset.
“We have all these people telling us how great we are. We won in New York, and everyone in New York is up on their high horse, everyone saying the best things about us, even though in the middle of the year they were probably saying the worst as well,” said Brunson on the Road Trippin’ show.
“When we were 2-9. So it was definitely like a roller coaster of a ride, but it’s important for us to come into the season and be like, ‘All right, that’s over with.’
Right? We don’t want to speak of the trophy, we don’t want to talk about the trophy, and we don’t want to see the trophy, right?
We want to come in with the same mindset, if not an even tougher mindset than we had last year.”
That kind of reset is exactly what back-to-back champions need. It’s been more than eight years since the last team repeated, when the 2018 Warriors did it, and since 2000 there have only been four teams to win consecutive titles: the Shaq - Kobe Lakers, the Kobe- Pau Lakers, the LeBron -led Heat, and the Warriors dynasty with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant.
The challenge now is bigger than it used to be. The game is played at a faster pace, the new CBA rules have changed the landscape, and the league has more quality teams than ever. That has created a level of parity that makes staying on top feel even harder than winning the first one.
For the Knicks, the upside is obvious. Practically everyone is back, which gives them a clear path into 2026-27 with a proven formula already in place. If they stay healthy and avoid major setbacks, they should be right back in the championship conversation.
Karl-Anthony Towns has already shown a willingness to sacrifice to keep the group together at center, and Brunson remains the engine. Last season, he averaged 26.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. If New York is going to stay ahead of teams like the 76ers, Cavaliers, and Heat in the East, it’s going to need that version of Brunson again.
There are some concerns after he played through injuries in the playoffs, but nothing in the source material suggests the Knicks should be written off. Quite the opposite: as they’re built right now, they look dangerous, and they’re carrying the burden that comes with being the reigning, defending NBA champions.
In Other News...
Knicks Championship Window Suddenly Comes Down To Leon Rose
The Knicks finally broke through in Mike Browns first season, ending a 53-year championship drought and giving Leon Rose immediate validation for the roster he assembled. What made the title run especially striking was how little of the core came through the draft, a reminder that this front office leaned on veteran talent and shrewd team-building to get over the top.
Now the challenge shifts from celebration to preservation, because the hard part of keeping a title window open is often less about finding stars than keeping them aligned. New York still has important work to do on the contract front, with Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart both needing to be locked in beyond their current team control, and the next steps will say plenty about how Rose plans to sustain what the Knicks just built. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Could Lose A Crucial Championship Piece For One Frustrating Reason
Miles McBride has become one of the Knicks more important supporting pieces, but his long-term future in New York is already looking uncertain. With the team expected to keep operating under salary cap pressure tied to owner James Dolan, the guard is on track to finish out the final year of his current deal rather than work out an extension, a setup that puts the Knicks in a familiar bind when it comes to retaining useful role players.
For a team trying to stay in the championship conversation, losing a dependable guard because of finances would be a frustrating outcome even if it is not yet a done deal. If McBride does reach free agency, there should be no shortage of interest, with the Brooklyn Nets, Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies among the clubs that could come calling, leaving New York to weigh whether it can afford to keep one of its more valuable pieces in place. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Core May Hinge On Two Stars Making One Sacrifice
The Knicks offseason math is starting to come into focus, and it is not especially forgiving. With Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart both nearing extension territory, the front office has to weigh how much of its core it can keep intact while still leaving room to build around it. The broader question is familiar in todays NBA: contenders often survive not just on talent, but on whether key players are willing to ease the financial pressure long enough for the roster to stay balanced.
In New Yorks case, that means the conversation may center less on pure market value than on the sacrifice required to keep the group together. Towns remains one of the most important pieces on the roster, while Hart has become the kind of connector every contender needs, and both situations could shape how long this version of the Knicks can stay together. The model is clear enough, but the hard part is whether the numbers end up matching the teams championship ambitions. [Read more 🡒]