The New York Knicks are heading into a new season with the spotlight fixed squarely on them, and the message from inside the room is clear: one championship is not enough.
Jalen Brunson, the Finals MVP, said the Knicks are already locked in on what comes next as they prepare for their opener against the Philadelphia 76ers. He told SNY: “Every year is a new year to attack something.
When people say we’re ‘defending the title’…that’s one way to look at it. It’s something we’ve won, we’ve put it in our past, and now we’re just trying to attack another.”
Landry Shamet echoed that same mindset, stressing that the group has not crossed off its goals just because it reached the top once. Also speaking via SNY, Shamet added: “None of us are satisfied with just this championship. We’ve got things we’re still striving towards. 0-0 starting tomorrow.”
That attitude matters because the Knicks are trying to do something the NBA has not seen since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018: win back-to-back championships.
The celebration in New York after the Knicks’ Finals win over the San Antonio Spurs in June 2026 was the kind of moment that lingers. It marked the franchise’s first championship in more than 50 years and set off a summer the organization won’t forget anytime soon. But the glow of that title is giving way to the grind of repetition.
What gives the Knicks a real chance is how much of the title team is still together. The core remains intact, with Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns all back. The biggest change is Mitchell Robinson, who entered free agency and signed with the Boston Celtics, one of the Knicks’ Eastern Conference rivals.
New York responded by adding Andre Drummond and James Wiseman for depth, but Robinson’s departure is still a notable loss.
Still, there will be plenty for Knicks fans to soak in on opening night at Madison Square Garden. The banner will go up, and that alone figures to bring plenty of emotion. Once that moment passes, though, the new-look 76ers will make sure the focus shifts quickly back to basketball.
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76ers Already Have A Joel Embiid Problem They Couldnt Hide
The season opener offered a reminder that the 76ers biggest question may not be about their stars, but about what happens when Joel Embiid has to take a breather. Against the Knicks, Philadelphia looked exposed behind him as Adem Bona and Jabari Walker had a tough time dealing with Andre Drummond, a matchup that quickly turned into a problem the Sixers could not paper over for long. Injuries already have thinned the center group, and the team had to get creative just to survive stretches without its anchor in the paint.
Philadelphias depth chart at the position now feels like something worth watching closely, especially if the early-season rotation has to lean on stopgap answers more than expected. The Sixers can live with a lot when Embiid is on the floor, but the opener showed how quickly the matchup can tilt once he is not, and it left an obvious question hanging over the roster: whether this team will need to find more reliable help at center before those minutes decide a game again. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Nurse Still Has A Knicks Grudge The 76ers Havent Settled
The 76ers have already made their presence felt against New York once this season, walking out of Madison Square Garden with a 106-100 win that spoiled the Knicks ring and banner ceremony. For Philadelphia, it was more than just an early-season road victory. It was the kind of result that still carries some extra edge for a team that has spent time looking back at what happened against the Knicks in the playoffs.
Nick Nurse has not completely let go of that loss in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and the frustration around it still lingers as the two teams measure themselves again. Philadelphia has also reworked its roster with Jaylen Brown and LeBron James in the mix, giving the club more ways to navigate the season if Joel Embiid misses time. Even so, the Knicks remain a familiar source of unfinished business for a coach who clearly has not moved on from the last postseason meeting. [Read more 🡒]
Paul George Just Reopened An Uncomfortable 76ers Debate
Paul Georges first night in Boston looked a lot like the kind of performance the 76ers spent a season hoping to see more often. In the Celtics season opener, George poured in 38 points and added five rebounds, three assists and five steals, immediately looking like a player with more room to operate than he ever consistently found in Philadelphia. The fit was different from the start, with Boston putting him in a larger role and giving him the freedom to play like a primary option alongside Jayson Tatum.
For the 76ers, it reopened an uncomfortable question about what exactly went wrong during Georges time in Philadelphia. Injuries were part of the answer, but so were the team dynamics around him, which never seemed to let his game breathe in the way it did against his new backdrop. If this is the beginning of a resurgence, it only sharpens the sense that the Sixers may have watched a different version of George emerge just as he moved on. [Read more 🡒]