Miles McBride has played poorly during the 2026 NBA Finals. It's an unfortunate truth that has caused him to play fewer than 10 minutes in each of the past two games. As the New York Knicks enter Game 5 just one win away from an elusive championship, however, they'll need McBride to continue his run of stellar closeout game performances.
If McBride can unleash his secret weapon as a closeout game specialist, then the Knicks should be able to end a 53-year championship drought.
McBride has scored 11 points through four games of the 2026 NBA Finals. He's done so on 4-of-20 shooting from the field and a 3-of-15 mark from beyond the arc. In more moments than he'd likely prefer to remember, the Knicks' resident sharpshooter has even uncharacteristically bricked wide open jumpers.
The good news for the Knicks, however, is that McBride wasn't playing particularly well before he helped take over their past two closeout games, either.
Between Games 2 and 3 of the Knicks' second round series, McBride shot 2-of-11 from the field and 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. Between the first three games of the Conference Finals, he scored 10 points while shooting 3-of-13 from the field and 2-of-9 from three-point range.
Thankfully, he created quite the precedent when he closed out the second round with 25 points and the Conference Finals with 11 points, two assists, and three steals.
Miles McBride has been excellent in Knicks' past two closeout games
The unfortunate context of McBride's postseason woes is that he faced an uphill battle from the start. He appeared in just six of New York's final 36 regular season games after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia, and is thus perhaps inevitably struggling to achieve consistency in the playoffs.
If there's one consistent trend that can cancel out his struggles, however, it's the simple fact that McBride has stepped up in the final game of consecutive series.
Come Game 5, the Spurs will likely have created a game plan for slowing Jalen Brunson down and containing OG Anunoby. Whether or not San Antonio succeeds in doing so, the Knicks will need other offensive players to step up and take pressure off of the stars.
McBride is as safe a bet as any in that regard, as he shot 41.3 percent from beyond the arc during the regular season and gave the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers fits in previous rounds.
It's been suggested that the Knicks should bench McBride for Game 5, but his history of stepping up in big spots can't be overlooked. It's unfortunate that he's struggled up to this point, but his ability to catch fire and torment teams as a shooter and defender has proven invaluable in past series.
The Knicks clearly shouldn't stick with the McBride gamble if it isn't paying off, but he should be given every opportunity to prove he can keep his streak alive.
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