8 Eastern Conference Championships

Lore & Background

In the 2025 NBA Cup, the Knicks won East Group C with a 3–1 group stage record to advance to the knockout stage for the third straight year, also doing so as a group winner for the second straight year, by clinching the tiebreaker over the Miami Heat via their head-to-head victory on November 14. In the knockout stage, they defeated the Toronto Raptors in the quarterfinals, the Orlando Magic in the semifinals, and finally the San Antonio Spurs in the championship round, winning the Cup title. The Knicks finished the tournament with a 6–1 record, becoming the first Cup champions to win the tournament title without a perfect record. In a span from December 31 to January 19, the Knicks had a 2–9 stretch that featured two separate four-game losing streaks, their longest since the 2023–24 season. Following a loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Knicks closed out the month with a five-game winning streak, which included a 120–66 victory over their rival, the Brooklyn Nets, which also broke a franchise record for the largest victory margin in a regular season game. On March 30, the Knicks clinched the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season following a Philadelphia 76ers loss to the Miami Heat. On April 9, the Knicks improved over their 51–31 record from the previous season with a win over the Boston Celtics. They finished the regular season with a 53–29 record, placing third in the East. In the first round of the playoffs, the Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks in six games, advancing to the conference semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. The series concluded with a record-breaking game where the Knicks set an NBA playoff record for the largest halftime lead (47 points) and a franchise record for the largest playoff margin of victory (51 points). They would later sweep the Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semifinals and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals (New York's second straight appearance) to clinch their first NBA Finals berth since 1999. The Knicks faced the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals, which was a rematch of the 1999 Finals and this season's NBA Cup championship game. The Knicks had also won a franchise-record 13 straight playoff games, which stands as the second-longest single-postseason winning streak in NBA history behind only the 2016–17 Golden State Warriors, spanning from a first-round game 4 victory follow

In Their Own Story

The air inside Madison Square Garden is thick with the scent of floor wax and anticipation. It is May, the playoffs have reached their fever pitch, and the scoreboard glows red against the darkened arena. A veteran center wipes sweat from his brow, looking toward the tunnel where the crowd's roar vibrates through the hardwood. He remembers the ghosts of '70, the weight of Reed's limp, and the fire of '94. Tonight is not just another game; it is a chance to add an eighth star to the banner above the rafters. The referee blows the whistle, the ball hits the floor with a sharp crack, and history waits once again for New York.

Reader's Guide

The Knicks entered the draft with a single second-round pick, which originally belonged to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Knicks acquired the selection from the Oklahoma City Thunder via a 2024 trade; it conveyed as a more favorable pick because Memphis finished with a worse record in the 2024–25 season than the Boston Celtics, the pick's first trade destination before such condition was added. The team had originally held another second-round selection, but it was forfeited due to tampering violations related to the free agency signing of Jalen Brunson in 2022, following three consecutive drafts that each featured only 58 total picks due to various teams—including the Knicks in prior years—being penalized for free agency violations. They had also traded their original 2025 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in 2024 as an exchange for Mikal Bridges. With the 50th overall pick, the Knicks selected Kobe Sanders, but immediately traded his draft rights to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to the 51st pick, Mohamed Diawara, and to Luka Mitrović.

Did You Know?

• The Knicks won the NBA Championship for the first time since 1973, their third title in franchise history.
• The Knicks became the first team to win the NBA Cup, win a playoff series, make the Finals, and win the NBA championship in the same season.
• In game 4 of the Finals, New York achieved the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, overcoming a 29-point deficit to beat San Antonio 107–106.
• The Knicks set an NBA playoff record for the largest halftime lead (47 points) and a franchise record for the largest playoff margin of victory (51 points) in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks.