The Knicks needed their backup center in a hurry on opening night, and they learned almost immediately that the issue is bigger than one game.
Just 3 minutes and 15 seconds into the 2026-27 season, Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his second foul against the Philadelphia 76ers, forcing Mike Brown to go to Andre Drummond. The veteran big man made his debut in orange and blue at Madison Square Garden and wasted no time making his presence felt, blocking a Joel Embiid mid-range jumper and, according to the Knicks, logging the third-fastest double-double by a Knick in the play-by-play era, which dates to the 1996-97 season.
There was a catch, though: Drummond was spent by the second half. Brown said he likely kept the center out there too long, and that helped drag down Drummond’s effectiveness later in the night.
Against a team like Philadelphia, though, Brown was left with few choices. The Knicks’ only other center option is James Wiseman, an intriguing project who was, by all indications, headed toward Europe at the start of the offseason because NBA interest was thin.
Brown had already made clear during training camp that the Knicks needed more depth in the middle. He also said in the preseason that the big-man options on hand were not “projects,” but players ready to contribute at the NBA level.
Still, he wasn’t about to throw Wiseman into the fire against Embiid in Game 1. Even with a third center on the roster, the Knicks’ depth concerns remain real.
The roster churn up front only sharpened that point. New York’s first free-agency period as reigning champions went sideways when Mitchell Robinson signed with the Boston Celtics, and the 76ers then took advantage of the Knicks’ refusal to go beyond the second apron to land Ariel Hukporti with a deal that pulled him away from Madison Square Garden.
Towns remains one of the league’s best centers, no question. But he’s also been the NBA leader in offensive fouls for three straight years, and the Knicks want more of his playmaking from the top of the key to keep him out of the paint, where those fouls tend to pile up on drives. That version didn’t show up much against Philadelphia.
It’s only one night, and there’s no reason to hand out sweeping verdicts in October. Still, the challenge is obvious. Brown will need to find out what Wiseman can provide, and if that’s not enough to back up Towns and Drummond, Leon Rose and the front office may have to start making calls.
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It made for a sharp reminder of how much the Garden can still turn into a referendum on star power, especially when James has long talked about the idea of playing and even finishing his career there. But this is also a fan base that has grown more attached to its own team after recent championship success, and the nights hostility did not stop with James, as Philadelphia center Joel Embiid also drew chants from the crowd. [Read more 🡒]