Kevin Durant didn’t need to be in the building to understand what the Knicks just pulled off in the 2025 NBA Finals. He watched the whole thing, and by the end of New York’s run against the San Antonio Spurs, he was calling it the best championship he’s ever seen as a viewer.
That says plenty about how wild the Knicks’ title run really was. New York, the defending champions, won its first championship in 53 years and did it by stacking comeback after comeback on the Spurs.
The biggest of them all came in Game 4, when the Knicks erased a 29-point hole and pulled out a 107-106 win - the largest comeback in Finals history. OG Anunoby’s game-winning tip-in sealed that one in memorable fashion.
Then the Knicks closed the series in Game 5 with another 107-106 victory to finish off San Antonio.
What stuck with Durant most was the pattern. The Knicks dug themselves into double-digit deficits in all five games, then kept finding a way out. Speaking to Boardroom, Durant said he was skeptical until the very end.
“I remember the Knicks beating them in the In-Season Tournament pretty badly; they played them pretty well,” Durant said. “But San Antonio was hot at the time.
They had just beat the champions. I was just on the fence on if they would win.
[The Knicks] got down every game I'm just like, ‘I don't know.' Then, as they started coming back, I didn't become a believer, to be honest, until the last game.
“I just didn't know. The Spurs would be up 15 points every game. 29 points.
Then, they would just come back and steal the game. That's why it was the best championship, as a viewer, that I've probably ever seen.”
Durant also pointed to the contrast in how the two teams were built. In his view, New York’s veteran makeup mattered when the games got tight and the deficits kept coming.
“Not just because of the Knicks' brand of winning, but just the fashion that they won those games in was insane,” Durant added. “And it really shows you the power dynamic of the NBA.
A veteran team that was put together through trades, through signing $100 million deals, you had to overpay some guys to put the team together verus a team that drafted everybody; a young group. A lot of people would love to see them win.
For the Knicks to do it that way, I felt the Knicks really made a statement,” Durant concluded.
The Knicks will now try to become the first team since Durant and the 2018 Golden State Warriors to win back-to-back titles in 2027.
In Other News...
Mike Breen Identified What Defined The Knicks Under Finals Pressure
Mike Breen stepped into the SNY broadcast booth during a Mets game and used the moment to reflect on the Knicks championship path, zeroing in on the mental side of their 2026 NBA Finals run. What stood out to him was how the group handled pressure as a unit, with playoff-tested veterans and willing role players helping the Knicks absorb the stress of an NBA Finals stage that can rattle even the most talented teams.
Across the first two games against the San Antonio Spurs, New York had to play from behind and still found a way to settle in and make winning plays late. Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart each had their turns carrying the load, but Breens point was broader than any one performance: the Knicks title push was built on collective sacrifice, and that showed up every time the game started tilting the wrong way. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Veteran Big Search Just Got More Interesting In Portland
Portlands backcourt depth took a serious hit with Shaedon Sharpe expected to miss six months because of a torn meniscus, and that kind of injury ripple can alter more than just the rotation. For a Blazers team already juggling its roster, the pressure now falls on the front office to make sure every spot is doing real work, especially after claiming center Micah Potter off waivers.
Potters situation is the one worth watching from a Knicks perspective. Portland is over capacity and already has two centers ahead of him, which could make him the odd man out if the Blazers need to clear room elsewhere. If he becomes available, New York has reason to look closely, because the Knicks still have a need for a veteran big man. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Suddenly Look Like A Real Landing Spot For Kelly Olynyk
Kelly Olynyk is still on the market, and the pool of obvious landing spots has narrowed after Golden State used its final roster openings elsewhere. That leaves the veteran big man weighing a familiar kind of late-summer uncertainty, with a handful of teams still in the mix and the chance of a standard contract looking slimmer by the day.
The Knicks, though, suddenly stand out as a place where Olynyk could actually compete for a spot rather than simply wait for one to open up. A training-camp invite or another non-guaranteed arrangement would give New York a low-risk look at a player who could fit into its center depth, and for Olynyk it would create a real path to stick around if he can make the case on the floor. [Read more 🡒]