Monday marks the unofficial start of the New York Knicks' quest to defend their 2026 NBA title. The team has a preseason bout scheduled against the Philadelphia 76ers, whose fans will surely be excited to watch their new-look squad host the league's reigning champs. They were treated to a scrimmage and media availabilities on Saturday, where Jaylen Brown and LeBron James got buckets in blue and red for the first time.
Knicks fans, however, will have to continue to wait to see their beloved starting five get back to work. They'll make a short appearance in Monday night's game, according to Mike Brown. But that'll be it.
"Yeah, I'll probably use them. But, you know, not much," the coach told reporters on Saturday, according to SNY, at the team's practice facility in Tarrytown.
The coach is right in his approach (say that three times, fast). Aside from the San Antonio Spurs, for obvious reasons, New York has had the shortest offseason of any NBA team. The preseason is a great opportunity for teams, like the 76ers, to shake off some rust and begin working together as a group. The Knicks, however, are returning the same starting five that just finished beating out everyone else's. For them, the rest is worth the sacrifice in reps. Brown clearly understands that.
Knicks will spend all season balancing winning and rest, once again
The Knicks certainly did end their 53-year drought without an NBA Championship. They did not, however, progress past needing to strike a balance throughout the regular season between pouring themselves into games competitively — and saving their players from themselves, in a sense, by limiting their playing time in relatively inconsequential matchups.
Brown did an excellent job of this throughout the 2026 campaign, getting sophomore guard Tyler Kolek at least some run in 62 different regular season games (and the NBA Cup Championship, of course). Perhaps most notably, the coach developed rookie wing Mohamed Diawara throughout 69 regular season appearances (including seven starts). The Frenchman went from a complete unknown into someone who just inked a new, four-year contract shortly after becoming an NBA Champion.
It's players like these, and the team's two-way talent like incoming rookie Tyler Nickel, that need preseason burn more than the Knicks' exhausted starters. New York also has one more roster spot to fill and five veterans on Exhibit 9 contracts likely eager to hit the court and prove their worth.
In a packed Eastern Conference, the Knicks will certainly be looking to benefit — once again — from homecourt advantage throughout the postseason. They'll need to take regular season matchups seriously to make that happen.
Brown will likely not be planning to play any of the team's youngest players heavy minutes in those games. 82 games can be a grueling grind, though.
Opportunities will arise for reserve pieces to make impacts. Kolek was ready when his name was called in Las Vegas, on Christmas Day, and against the Los Angeles Lakers. Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado just spent four series proving it in the playoffs. Preseason games can help the Knicks figure out who they can trust in those situations going forward.
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