Mike Brown appeared to tip his cap when he revealed that rim protection would be a top priority during the crafting of his starting lineup. Based on available personnel alone, it appears as though Brown has inadvertently confirmed that Mitchell Robinson will be starting in 2025-26.
Questions will inevitably be presented about what that means for the 2024-25 starter who will need to be moved to the second unit, but Robinson's status seems all but determined.
New York finished the 2024-25 season ranked No. 20 in points allowed in the paint. That was due in no small part to Robinson missing 65 games due to injury, as he previously operated as the team's trusted source of rim protection.
Brown's recent comments about his intention to generate improvement in the area of rim protection seem to point directly at Robinson returning to the starting lineup in 2025-26.
“We have rules; we want to make sure we protect the basket first & we want to declare ball but while declaring the ball, load & make that paint look crowded. Then you want to find the most dangerous guy..”
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) September 27, 2025
-Mike Brown on defense. More from Brown, OG here: https://t.co/A5XRkp6sEm
With a new-look lineup seemingly on the way, the Knicks have positioned themselves to make drastic improvements in a critical area.
Knicks' focus on rim protection means Mitchell Robinson likely starts
It's fair to believe Robinson would've been a starter in 2024-25 if not for the injuries that robbed him of a vast majority of the regular season. He played just 17 games this past year after appearing in 31 during the 2023-24 campaign.
Robinson had started 170 of his previous 193 regular season games, however, and likely would've continued to appear in previous head coach Tom Thibodeau's lineup had he been healthy.
Brown now appears intent on bringing that vision to life with a frontcourt that leans heavily toward creating interior dominance. Towns would play the 4 in this scenario, which is a position he's comfortable operating and thriving at.
Towns played 63 percent of his minutes at power forward in 2023-24, when he and center Rudy Gobert helped the Minnesota Timberwolves reach the Western Conference Finals.
The hope in New York appears to be that Towns can develop similar chemistry with Robinson. In that scenario, the Knicks would have a sharpshooting offensive specialist who can score at all three levels working alongside one of the most dominant offensive rebounders in the NBA.
Defensively, they'd have a duo that can excel in a similar manner as Towns' 9.8 defensive rebounds per game in 2024-25 would complement Robinson's rim protection and versatility.
Such an approach would also create flexibility in the rotation, with one of OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, or Josh Hart operating as the sixth man. The bench would instantly improve and minutes could thus be distributed more evenly than they were in 2024-25.
One could argue that Towns has the capacity for defensive excellence, but based on what's known about his style of play, Robinson appears to be a likely starter in 2025-26.