The New York Knicks are coming off their best season in 25 years, but they still have some doubters to prove wrong.
Over the past several seasons, the Knicks have been one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and that was confirmed by the team’s first appearance in the conference finals since 2000. While New York was unable to overcome the Indiana Pacers’ magical run, it is still set up to have another shot at an NBA Finals appearance next season.
Although the Knicks made some solid additions in the offseason, they are still set to ride into the 2025-26 campaign with the same core. Most importantly, the Knicks will begin next season relying on their same stars.
While New York’s stars just made their way to the Eastern Conference Finals, not everyone is sold on their play. In Bleacher Report’s recent ranking of the NBA’s best Big 3s, Greg Swartz left the Knicks out of the top five.
Listing the trio of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby in the honorable mentions section, Swartz explained that the third guy in the equation didn’t change much, but that Towns’ defensive issues make it difficult to rank the Knicks any higher.
Sure, Swartz is right about Towns’ defensive shortcomings and New York’s plug-and-play wings, but the Knicks’ pairing of Brunson and Towns is simply too good offensively to be left out of the top five. With the LA Clippers’ Big 3 of Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Bradley Beal making the cut, it’s hard to understand how the Knicks didn’t make it, regardless of any explanation given.