Following the release of the 2025-26 NBA regular season schedule, the New York Knicks officially know when they’ll have the best chance to prove all of their skeptics and naysayers wrong—or, for that matter, right. It’s a brutal-but-necessary opportunity, and it will come immediately after the 2026 All-Star break, when they face a daunting string of should-be contenders, predominantly while on the road.
For some, the Knicks have little to prove. For others, the burden of proof is reserved for the postseason, where New York is decidedly entering Finals-or-bust territory.
Both slants underestimate the importance of the regular season, and the breadth of criticism the Knicks still face.
Despite making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, New York’s 6-16 record against fellow top-10 teams during the regular season was the catalyst driving gobs of skepticism. Much of it was validated in a near-miss against the Detroit Pistons, and then during an Eastern Conference Finals letdown versus the Indiana Pacers.
This doubt won’t suddenly dissipate heading into 2025-26 just because the team added Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, and might have a healthier Mitchell Robinson. These Knicks aren’t underdogs by any stretch of the imagination, but could stand to make a statement in advance of the playoffs—not an announcement, but affirmation.
The Knicks’ post-All-Star schedule is spicy
After a home-heavy slate to start off the season, nine of the Knicks’ first 14 games after the break will come on the road. During this stretch, they will square off against four of the top-five championship favorites: The Houston Rockets (February 21), Cleveland Cavaliers (February 24), Oklahoma Thunder (March 4) and Denver Nuggets (March 6).
This block of scheduling also features matchups against the Pistons (February 19), Milwaukee Bucks (February 27), San Antonio Spurs (March 1), and Golden State Warriors (March 15), as well as a road back-to-back against the Los Angeles Lakers (March 8) and Los Angeles Clippers (March 9).
It would be a stretch to say this chunk of the regular season will define the Knicks’ entire year. The Eastern Conference affords them a margin for error—the flexibility to stumble through tougher swathes of games, and still rattle off 50-plus victories.
But it would not be a stretch to say this 14-game span will shape leaguewide perception of the Knicks. Matchups against the four title favorites should be especially telltale. New York went a combined 3-7 against OKC, Denver, Houston, and Cleveland last year. That includes an 0-for-6 showing against the Cavs and Thunder, the two teams that the Knicks most likely must go through to bag their first title since 1973.
So if this season is truly going to be different from last year, this will be the stretch that proves it. Or, of course, undermine it.