Many New York Knicks fans believe they can now die in peace. The moment they thought might never occur in their lifetime finally did this past June, when the Knicks were the last team standing for the first time since 1973.
The Knicks, a team that was the butt of many jokes for decades, are the reigning NBA champions. It doesn’t get any sweeter than that. It may be hard to feel any better, but it would sure be nice to both play and eliminate the Indiana Pacers at some point during the 2027 NBA Playoffs.
Pacers looking to get back on track with their star point guard back
The Knicks and Pacers were huge rivals in the 1990s. Reggie Miller. Patrick Ewing. Rik Smits. John Starks.
The rivalry reconvened—first in the 2013 playoffs, and then in back-to-back postseason matchups in 2024 and 2025. Indiana came out on top in all three of those series.
On Wednesday, ESPN ranked the top 10 NBA rivalries to watch in the 2026–27 season. Coming in at fourth was Knicks vs. Pacers. With Indiana getting the upper hand the last three times the teams met with high stakes, it would make the year after the championship feel extra good if the Knicks could be the ones to eliminate their rival.
The 2024 Eastern Conference Semifinals saw the Knicks become too injury-depleted. Julius Randle got hurt during the regular season and missed the playoffs. Bojan Bogdanovic was out for the series. Mitchell Robinson only played in Game 1, and OG Anunoby injured his hamstring late in Game 2. He valiantly came back for Game 7, but he didn’t even last five minutes.
The 2025 Eastern Conference Finals started with Indiana’s absurd Game 1 comeback, led by flamethrower Aaron Nesmith. Regulation ended with Tyrese Haliburton’s long two-pointer bouncing off the back of the rim, going high in the air before splashing into the net. The Knicks would lose the series in six games.
While the Knicks were crowned NBA champions last season, the Pacers are coming off a year in which they went just 19-63. Of course, Haliburton missed the entire season with a torn Achilles, but he will be back for the upcoming season. Indiana will also have a full season of Ivica Zubac in the middle after trading for him last February.
The Eastern Conference is as loaded as it has been in years. Good luck trying to predict the six teams that reach the playoffs without needing the Play-In Tournament. That being said, it would sure feel good for both the Knicks' players and fans if these two clubs met once again in the postseason and New York took care of business.
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