Draymond Green does not believe the New York Knicks are legitimate championship contenders, and he’s not afraid to tell you why: Jalen Brunson, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
While riffing on a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show, the four-time NBA champ explained why he doesn’t have one of last year’s Eastern Conference finalists on his title-hopeful ladder (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports):
“The Knicks, I just personally don’t believe that they’re contenders. I don’t think they have what it takes to win at the highest level. I think you can stifle their offense, and make it hard on them. Also on the defensive end, any time you have a couple guys on the floor at the same time, that are really key guys, who don’t really want to defend, it makes it tough to win at the highest level.”
It does not take a rocket scientist wearing a monocle to see through Green’s thinly veiled shots. He is clearly expressing doubt about Brunson and Towns as a playoff pairing.
Draymond Green isn’t necessarily wrong about the Knicks
People will be conditioned to push back against this stance considering the source. And in fairness, not everything Green says is totally accurate.
New York’s offense was easy to bog down under Tom Thibodeau. Mike Brown is now the head coach, and already instilling plenty of variability. The results are not blowing anyone away, but systematic overhauls take time. The Knicks have plenty of indicators pointing toward an eventually higher peak, right down to the types of jumpers they are so far missing.
Green’s note about the defense with Brunson and Towns is totally legitimate. Even if you don’t support the absolutism with which he packages his opinion, you can’t build a counter-argument that’s truly Teflon. The Knicks themselves are still trying to figure out whether they can defend at a high level with Brunson and Towns on the floor.
Across last year and so far this season, including the 2025 playoffs, New York is allowing 1.18 points per possession whenever its star duo shares the floor. That is right around bottom-10 territory.
The Knicks have plenty of time to prove Green wrong
The ceiling on New York’s defense with Brunson and Towns is not necessarily capped at what we’ve seen. The Knicks have steps they can take to continue insulating them.
Playing more of Deuce McBride with OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges is a good start. Mitchell Robinson’s return gives the Knicks an effective backstop to work alongside Towns, though it isn’t immediately clear how many minutes the dual-big setup will play each game.
Staggering patterns also go a long way. Brunson and Towns won’t be playing every minute of every game together.
The primary question, of course, is what happens during crunch time in the playoffs. Depending on the matchup, the Knicks may not be able to get away with Towns next to their offensive engine, not even if Robinson is alongside.
Or, hey, maybe they can. We can’t be sure. Time and larger samples will be the tell-all.
In the meantime, while Green’s feelings on the Knicks cannot be entirely disproven, altogether disqualifying them as a title contender this early into the season and a new coaching regime is beyond extreme.