Some fans of the New York Knicks waited as many as 53 years to see their favorite NBA team win another championship. In Mike Brown's first year at the helm, the team ended their title drought.
It only took Leon Rose five years to turn the 21-win team he inherited into a contender, and six to turn them into a champion. Partly due to efforts by the league to increase competitive parity, the Knicks' championship made them the eighth different NBA Champion in the last eight seasons. And their path there wasn't exactly conventional — they were the second team in NBA history to reach the mountaintop with a starting lineup that didn't include a single player they drafted themselves.
The league instituting things like the second apron and a new draft lottery system will make it even harder to build a contending roster without hitting big-time on draft picks. Rose and his front office may have built the Knicks into a contender just in time for the new CBA to help turn them into a dynasty. How many of those one-time champions over the last seven seasons had a starting five consisting entirely of 29-to-31-year-olds signed at least through the next season?
53 years may have been the perfect wait for a Knicks title
On the Third Apron podcast, co-hosts Yossi Gozlan and Sam Quinn went over Quinn's twice-yearly front office rankings for CBS Sports. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics had ruled the top of the list throughout its existence, thus far.
The Knicks' championship was enough to push Rose's group into Quinn's second overall spot, displacing the front office led by Brad Stevens that just stole Mitchell Robinson away in free agency. On the show, Gozlan contextualized the league's efforts to spread talent around its 30 teams (and counting) while also explaining how the changes have thrust teams around the league into action.
"Statistically, this Knicks team had one of the best playoff runs ever. Rarely can you see teams build like this. And now the league's changing the rules with the draft, making it so much harder. They're trying to spread the talent so hopefully more teams can build like this. But, you really need to know who to target. Teams are trying to lock up all their players now with extensions," Gozlan explained.
New York technically still has to make sure that they lock both Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart up to long-term deals. The pair of title-winning starters are signed through the 2026-27 season and each has an option on their deal for the 2027-28 campaign. Hart's option puts things in the Knicks' hands; Towns' does not.
Especially after winning a ring, though, it's hard to imagine that they won't find a way to keep both players around. New York's core has certainly earned the right to stay together. Once they've signed their entire starting five for several seasons to come, though, Brown's group will be able to focus on basketball — and trying to start a new trend by going back-to-back.
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