The Knicks didn’t win the championship in 2025; their eventual defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers extending their title drought to a 53rd season. On their way to the Eastern Conference Finals that season, though, they did thwart the Boston Celtics’ title defense.
New York took the C's down in a six-game series that wound up being the last stand for Boston's championship-winning core. Jayson Tatum’s injury didn’t decide the series — the Knicks had that pivotal game locked up and Jalen Brunson on their side — but Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis began the next season on different rosters. With Tatum sidelined, it was seemingly easy for the Celtics to move on from a proven, championship-winning recipe.
The Oklahoma City Thunder brought the Larry O'Brien trophy out West that year, which opened the door for the Knicks to become the East's next model franchise. The Cleveland Cavaliers just made that official by signing-and-trading for Peyton Watson, which ESPN's Brian Windhorst said was in hopes of building a roster more like New York's.
Knicks flipped script after building to take down Celtics
When the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the team's initiative to load up on wings was directly inspired by a desire to match up better with the current reigning champions. The Celtics, with Tatum and Jaylen Brown on their roster, required that kind of personnel.
"The Knicks are still determined to keep OG Anunoby in free agency, sources tell ESPN, but the ability to resign center Isaiah Hartenstein becomes more difficult now. The Knicks are loading up on wings to match up with the NBA champion Boston Celtics."
Wojnarowski's claim was a rare look into the thought process of the Knicks' front office, infamously unwilling to share any of their philosophy with the media. They were after the Celtics.
Now, the Knicks are the NBA's reigning champs. And the Cavaliers seem to be after them.
Windhorst explained recently that the perception of the Knicks trading so many assets for OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges has flipped, with the previously-questionable moves now serving as blueprints for the rest of the league.
One can't just add water to some athletic, two-way wings and expect a championship roster. The Knicks and Cavaliers have offensive engines and versatile play-finishers in Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, James Harden, and Donovan Mitchell that set the table for role players.
Making sure that some of those role players are switchable wings, though, is a good way to field lineups that can handle the challenges in front of them — regardless of the opposing personnel.
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