With the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, the energy emanating from the Big Apple has been passionately positive since the final buzzer sounded in Cleveland. That's exactly why Thursday's report that center Mitchell Robinson has a broken finger felt like such a curveball.
According to Fred Katz and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, Robinson injured his right pinky finger and there's no timetable on when he might return. That's a brutal blow for these Knicks, especially with Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs still in the mix as their potential NBA Finals opponent.
Having Robinson healthy was going to be a large part of New York's gameplan for the NBA Finals, regardless of their opponent. Through load management, the Knicks were able to help keep Robinson healthy throughout the entire season thus far. But now, right before their biggest playoff series of this century thus far, they got dealt a rough hand of cards.
Knicks get brutal Robinson injury news at the absolute worst time
In the wake of The Athletic's report, The New York Post's Stefan Bondy issued a confirmation – along with an editorial note. After verifying the injury, and that it was to Robinson's right pinky finger, Bondy opined that the Knicks' lack of a timetable wasn't exactly a harbinger of the worst case scenario.
Putting out a timetable that already guaranteed New York's longest-tenured player would miss the NBA Finals entirely would certainly have been worse. The scribe's argument is fair.
Whether the Knicks get Robinson back, or not, this is an unfortunate wrench in their plans. Any interruption of the team's record-setting momentum is going to be an unwelcome bit of news, particularly at this time of the season.
Getting Robinson through the entirety of the regular season, and the first three rounds of the playoffs, without any season-derailing injuries was a legitimate success from the Knicks' award-winning training staff. That's what makes it burn even more to find out that he didn't actually make it out of that third round at full strength.
Whether Knicks play the Thunder or the Spurs, they need Mitch Robinson
Regardless of which team won 2026's Western Conference Finals, the Knicks were always going to need Robinson to help anchor their defensive efforts against them.
It's fair to say that Robinson's size would be especially useful against Victor Wembanyama, the giant quickly taking the league by storm. But his rim protection is just as valuable against a driving threat like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Knicks were intentional all season long about their utilization of Robinson, making sure to prioritize his long-term health (and their playoff potential) over relatively meaningless regular season contests.
The plan was working, until now. Knick fans will understandably be on the edge of their seat waiting for updates, as the verdict has yet to arrive on whether or not Robinson will have to miss any of the NBA Finals.
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