It has become impossible to make a sane basketball case that leaves out Jalen Brunson and the Knicks’ supporting cast.
New York’s title run should have settled the conversation. Leon Rose’s front office identified Brunson as a championship-level No. 1 option, watched him outduel Donovan Mitchell in the first round of the NBA Playoffs for the second straight year, and then kept making the kinds of hard roster decisions that eventually brought an NBA Championship to New York City. Even after that historic closeout performance and the broader playoff run that came with it, Brunson still gets treated like a player who needs to prove himself all over again.
The strange part is that the same thing happens to the rest of the roster. That is where the logic starts to break down.
The Knicks won the NBA Cup, had the best defense in the league during the postseason, and won the NBA Championship. If Brunson is not one of the five best players in the league, and if Karl-Anthony Towns is not in the top 20, then how exactly did this happen?
And if both of New York’s biggest offensive names are supposedly shaky defenders who cannot stack up to players like Luka Dončić, then why aren’t OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart getting more credit for propping up the whole operation?
The simplest answer is that people have been talking past the evidence. For 53 years, Knicks skeptics have not often had to wrestle with their own arguments.
The team’s results were always there in front of them, even when the process was questioned. Now Brunson has helped turn that around, and the critics are left with an uncomfortable choice: underrate one key piece of the championship puzzle, or admit the whole group was better than they wanted to believe.
New York did not stumble into the trophy. The path to the title was built on a series of bets.
The Knicks gave up RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to put Brunson and Julius Randle next to OG Anunoby, the league’s best 3-and-D wing. They then used much of their available draft capital to add another elite defender in Mikal Bridges, a player who did not need the ball to make an impact.
Before the newly formed quartet of Villanova alumni could even take the floor together, the Knicks moved Donte DiVincenzo to bring in Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves, aiming for flexibility underneath the second apron.
That move looks much harder to defend now that Towns has an NBA title as Brunson’s No. 2 while Anthony Edwards is still chasing one. New York, though, can live with how it turned out.
The results backed up the aggression. Brunson’s Knicks improved their regular-season record in each of his first four seasons with the team.
Their playoff runs also got deeper each year: a Game 6 loss in the 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals, a Game 7 loss in the same round in 2024, and a six-game exit in the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals. Then came the 2026 NBA Playoffs, when New York lost only three games total on the way to ending a 53-year title drought.
After a rough first three games, the Knicks rolled through everyone else.
Brunson has never looked like the prototype. He is not the tallest, strongest, or most athletic player on the floor.
None of that has stopped him from working his way to the top, just as he once did twice at Villanova. And with that 45-point NBA Finals closeout performance still fresh, the case is plain: he is one of the NBA’s best players, full stop.
Still, FanSided’s NBA99 list had Brunson at No. 7.
Towns checked in at No. 24.
Anunoby landed at No. 39, behind Zion Williamson, Stephon Castle, and Alperen Sengun.
So maybe the Knicks really did win the 2026 NBA title with luck, without a top-five player, without a top-20 co-star, and without elite complementary pieces around them. Or maybe the championship still was not enough to get some analysts to stop sleeping on New York.
Knowing them, Brunson and the Knicks probably do not mind one bit.
In Other News...
Knicks Opener Put One Early Rotation Battle In The Spotlight
The Knicks season opener against Philadelphia did more than leave them with an early loss. It also offered a first look at how the back end of the rotation might shake out, and one of the clearest questions coming out of the night centered on Miles McBride. After an uneven offensive showing and a reduced workload, his role is already worth watching as the staff sorts through how many minutes are actually available behind the main pieces.
There are a few other roster wrinkles worth keeping in mind, too. James Wiseman did not play, but the current state of the backup center spot could still create an opening for him if the Knicks decide they need another look there, while Tyler Koleks path to a larger role looks crowded after veteran Jose Alvarado held up well. It is still early, of course, but the opener gave New York a reminder that some of its most interesting decisions this fall may not involve the headline names at all. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Young Core Just Got A Timely Boost From A Familiar Name
Dink Pates path back into the pro game turned quickly after the 2025 NBA Draft left him undrafted and initially headed to Providence College to preserve his NCAA eligibility. Once he was ruled ineligible for college basketball, he landed with the Knicks G-League affiliate on an Exhibit 10 contract, giving New York a familiar young name back in the organization and another developmental piece to track.
For a team trying to build a deeper young core while working around limited draft assets and roster pressure, the move carries some real value. The Knicks have been looking for every chance to add talent to the pipeline, and Pates return gives them a player they already know well enough to slot into that broader development plan. [Read more 🡒]
Andre Drummond Buzz Is Giving Heat Fans Plenty To Talk About
Andre Drummonds season opener against his former team gave the Knicks a familiar reminder of what he can still do on the glass. He finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds, a solid showing in a game that naturally carried a little extra edge for both sides given his past in New York.
After the game, though, the chatter moved well beyond the box score. A social media account sparked plenty of reaction by alleging Drummond is dating fitness influencer Sophia Zeilstra, and the post quickly caught fire among fans. There has been no verified or public confirmation of that relationship, but the rumor has already become part of the conversation around a night that was supposed to be about basketball. [Read more 🡒]