Justin Tatum didn’t exactly defend his son’s team when he stepped onto the Ultimate Dads Podcast.
The father of Celtics star Jayson Tatum unloaded on Boston’s roster, calling it “sh*t” while explaining why he wouldn’t pick the Celtics to win the 2027 NBA Finals. The comments came amid an offseason that has already drawn plenty of heat, with the Celtics making a series of controversial moves that included sending out Jaylen Brown for what the source described as “mere pennies on the dollar” and turning to aging veterans like Mike Conley Jr. as well as high-risk free agents such as Mitchell Robinson, the former Knicks big man who remains beloved but injury-prone.
That left Tatum sounding anything but optimistic about Boston’s title chances. When LaVar Ball pressed him for a pick, Tatum let out a heavy sigh and said, “realistically, I might say New York might run it back.”
It’s not a wild answer. The Knicks are coming off a title run and are bringing back most of the core that powered that historic postseason, one that featured a plus-283 point differential. That kind of dominance makes New York a natural team to circle again.
Justin Tatum is hardly the only one who sees the Knicks as a real threat to repeat. The odds-makers have them among the top three favorites to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2027.
Still, the road to another championship is steep. Even with New York’s core intact, the league hasn’t seen a repeat champion in nearly a decade. The last team to do it was the Stephen Curry- and Kevin Durant-led Golden State Warriors in 2018.
So yes, the Knicks have a case. But in a league loaded with challengers like the Nuggets, led by Nikola Jokic, and an Oklahoma City team that could push toward dynasty status, running it back is a lot harder than it sounds.
In Other News...
Knicks Title Buzz Cant Hide A Long-Term Roster Problem
The Knicks can enjoy the title buzz that has followed them, but the longer view keeps circling back to the same problem: a roster built to win now is not especially friendly to staying elite later. The Second Apron makes it harder to keep adding around the edges, and the front office is staring at a future in which the cost of retaining the core starts to climb while the teams supply of young, low-cost contributors remains thin.
That matters because New York does not have much margin for error if it wants to remain a contender beyond the next couple of seasons. The safest path is usually a pipeline of younger players who can absorb minutes, develop, and eventually fill bigger roles without crushing the cap sheet, and the Knicks have not really lived in that space. If they want this era to last, they may need to make a stronger commitment to those players now, even if it means sacrificing some short-term comfort. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Champion Trey Jemison Had Another Huge Celebration This Summer
After helping the Knicks capture their first NBA championship since 1973 during the 2026 season, Trey Jemison had another reason to celebrate this summer. The New York big man and his wife, sports broadcaster Alex Jean Glover, marked their marriage with a Western-themed wedding reception in Tennessee on Aug. 21, a fittingly festive cap to a year that already changed both his professional and personal life.
The reception carried extra meaning because the couple had kept part of their love story under wraps before inviting family and friends to share in the celebration. By the time they gathered in Tennessee, the marriage was already official, and the night became less about introductions than about finally bringing everyone into the story. For a Knicks player fresh off a title run, it was another memorable chapter in a summer that did not exactly slow down. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks May Regret A Cost-Cutting Move At The Worst Position
The Knicks have spent plenty of time trying to thread the needle financially, but this is the kind of move that can come back into focus once roster needs start stacking up. Earlier this year, New York traded out of a first-round slot and slid back into the second round, a move clearly aimed at trimming the cost of another rookie-scale deal while keeping the front office flexible for the future.
What makes the decision harder to ignore now is the profile of the player who went off the board in that spot. Cameron Carr looks like the sort of wing this roster can always use, a promising 3-and-D type with the physical tools to matter on both ends. With key players heading toward free agency, a cost-cutting call at one of the games most valuable positions may be the kind of small move the Knicks end up measuring against a much bigger need. [Read more 🡒]