LeBron James’ arrival in Philadelphia has pushed the 76ers into the center of the East conversation, but it hasn’t changed the team that should still worry the Knicks most.
FanDuel now has the 76ers at plus-1,000 title odds after the signing, and a projected starting five of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, James, and Joel Embiid is enough to make Philadelphia look like a real problem on paper heading into 2026-27. The Celtics, Raptors, and Pistons also sit among New York’s biggest challengers in the conference odds picture.
Still, those are mostly ideas until the games start. Indiana is different. The Pacers are already a proven postseason obstacle for the Knicks, and somehow they’ve been pushed to the back of the line in the current title chatter.
That feels off, especially when you look at what Indiana has already done against New York. Of the top-10 East teams in the current title odds pecking order, only the Pacers have actually beaten the Knicks’ core of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart in a playoff series. Indiana knocked them out in six games in the 2025 conference finals.
And yet the Pacers are listed dead last in that group.
The strange part is that Indiana may be even better now than it was the last time it crossed paths with New York in the postseason. Yes, the Pacers finished last season at 19-63, but that came after an injury-riddled collapse, not because the talent disappeared.
The backbone is still there with All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam and the soon-to-return All-Star Tyrese Haliburton. The group around them has also improved. Indiana added borderline All-Star center Ivica Zubac at last year’s trade deadline, and Andrew Nembhard took a clear step forward, putting up 16.9 points, 7.7 assists, and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 36.1 percent from three.
When Indiana was healthy last time, it won 50 games, beat New York in the conference finals, and finished just 12 points short of an NBA championship against the OKC Thunder.
If the Pacers are back to full strength early next season, they should be viewed as the Knicks’ biggest threat in the East. LeBron’s move to Philadelphia doesn’t really change that.
In Other News...
Knicks Just Slammed The Door On LeBron And Giannis Talk
The Knicks spent plenty of time as a speculative landing spot for the leagues biggest names, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James both surfacing in the conversation at different points. But after the title run, the discussion has shifted from what New York still needs to how much of the roster already proved it can carry the load, especially with Karl-Anthony Towns giving the offense another layer as a playmaker from the top of the key.
That matters because any real pursuit of a star of that caliber would have come with a steep price in both money and pieces, the kind of move that usually forces a team to part with key starters. Instead, the championship has made the Knicks look far less desperate for a splash, and it has also changed the way the league views their offseason path, with the biggest question now being whether New York even wants to keep chasing that kind of upgrade at all. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Just Got Pulled Into A Wild LeBron And Giannis Twist
The Knicks championship spring changed the way they approached the 2026 offseason, even as two of the leagues biggest names were on the move. Instead of chasing a splashy upgrade, New York stayed content with the roster that had just delivered a title, a decision that helped frame the rest of the market when LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo entered the picture.
Both stars were linked to New York in reports, but the Knicks never moved aggressively once their own championship status gave them a different kind of leverage. LeBron wound up with the 76ers and Giannis was sent to the Heat, leaving the Knicks to watch two headline swings land elsewhere while they kept their focus on defending what they already had. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Silence On Two-Way Deals Has Fans Watching The Frontcourt Closely
The Knicks still have two-way contract openings sitting untouched, and the silence has started to feel deliberate rather than accidental. With rookies and other fringe candidates available, the front office has left itself room to sort through the back end of the roster while keeping an eye on a bigger need up front, a sign this could be more about timing than indecision.
Liam Robbins, Trey Jemison, Jack Kayil and Tyler Nickel are among the names in the mix for those spots, while Kevin McCullar Jr. has been pushed away from that conversation. The more interesting part is what the Knicks may be waiting on before they move, because their frontcourt search has not been limited to the margins and those two-way decisions could still be tied to a larger swing elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]