A great many factors have driven the New York Knicks’ all-time dominant run to the NBA Finals. None is more improbable than their bench going from a perceived fatal flaw last year to a full-fledged superpower now—all in the face of salary-cap limitations that were supposed to nuke their flexibility.
En route to clinching their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 with a Game 4 victory over the Cleveland “Hang the Shot-Quality Banner” Cavaliers, the Knicks’ bench won the second unit battle 58-24. According to stats guru Keerthika Uthayakumar, this is not only the largest differential for the backups this postseason. It is also the eighth time in 14 games the Knicks have won the bench-mob wars—which is eight more times than they had through 18 playoff games last year.
That is a real stat. New York’s bench didn’t outscore their opponents’ second unit a single, solitary time during their 2025 playoff run. That is equal parts brain-bending, and telltale of the Knicks from postseasons’ past.
Not these Knicks, though. These Knicks are headed to the NBA Finals. The ones who have run roughshod over the competition, and the reversed back over them for the sake of thoroughness. Those Knicks, these Knicks, have transformed their bench into a defining strength.
The Knicks don’t get here without their depth
In the interest of fairness, last year’s Knicks bench had a top-10 point differential per 100 possessions during the regular season. That improved to top-five during their playoff run.
Even so, the second unit wasn’t considered a force, at least not one then-head coach Tom Thibodeau deemed good enough to deploy on a regular basis.
These Knicks, Mike Brown’s Knicks, are different. They had the league’s third-best bench point differential per 100 possessions during the regular season. No other team has a better second-unit differential for the playoffs.
That is an absurd development relative to where New York was this time last year. More importantly, it is not a blip on the radar. Even if you dismiss what you watched in the regular season (which…don’t), the likes of Landry Shamet, Mitchell Robinson, and Deuce McBride played meaningful minutes during the highest-stakes time of year.
Prior to the conference finals, the same could be said for Jordan Clarkson, who improbably, impossibly reinvented himself as a defense-first scrappy rebounder. Trade-deadline acquisition Jose Alvarado had a few moments against the Atlanta Hawks, and the Philadelphia 76ers.
We mentioned him already, but “Would the Knicks be here without Shamet?” is a legitimate question that can be asked. If not for Malcolm Brogdon’s sudden retirement in October, he might not even be on the roster. Instead, he’s logged mission-critical minutes for much of the playoffs, reiterating his candidacy for the league’s best bargain.
The Knicks aren’t supposed to be this deep
Credit the players, all of them, all year, for their contributions behind the starting five. Credit Mike Brown for plumbing the depths of this roster more than his predecessor. Even when he was slow to make changes fans wanted, if he made them at all, you knew he wouldn’t shy from shaking things up, including and especially when it came at the expense of any starter not named Jalen Brunson.
Finally, and most definitely, credit the front office piloted by team president Leon Rose and salary-cap messiah and unsung hero Brock Aller for giving Brown more to work with off the bench in the face of ultra-tight margins. New York had less than $150,000 in room beneath the second apron entering the season, and managed to futz and fiddle with the roster at the trade deadline anyway, all without depleting valuable draft equity.
This says nothing of the offseason work. Guerschon Yabusele was a miss, but he was the vehicle through which the team landed Alvarado. The Clarkson and Shamet signings were home runs. Rookie Mohamed Diawara, the No. 51 pick, spent time as a rotation mainstay amid injuries.
Versatility isn’t just borne out of talent. It is also rooted in depth. No one deserves more credit for this run, at all, than Jalen Brunson. The list of thanks after him is long—you might even say as deep as the bench. The same bench that the Knicks wouldn’t be here, four victories away from a title, without.
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