The New York Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in the 21st century last year, after winning 51 games, their most in a season since 2012-13. One would assume that the Knicks would improve their win total in the 2025-26 season and make a push for their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000, specifically given the injury issues plaguing the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers.
Yet, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey expects the Knicks to underachieve in the new NBA season with a record of 51-31, while making a case for teams such as the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers to challenge them for the one of the top-3 seeds.
“Every member of the New York Knicks lineup that led (by a massive margin) the league in total minutes last season (Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns) is back,” wrote Bailey. “That alone should have Knicks fans encouraged about the possibility of a second straight 50-win season, but that’s not all.
“New York also added Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson to a bench that includes Mitchell Robinson. That should lead to meaningful improvement over last season’s second unit.”
Knicks Had Strong Offseason
As Bailey noted, the Knicks added Yabusele and Clarkson to bolster their second unit after they finished dead-last in the NBA in bench scoring last season, averaging just 20.6 points per game from a league-low 12.0 minutes.
So, shouldn’t the additions help the Knicks improve considerably? Bailey explained why he doesn’t see the Knicks improving their win total from last season.
“There are only so many wins to go around, and being higher than consensus on one team might mean shaving a win or two off other teams,” he reasoned.
“That and what feels like a small likelihood of New York being as healthy as it was last season made the Knicks one of the victims of the finite leaguewide win total.”
Will Knicks Benefit From Injuries?
With the Celtics and Pacers set to be without their best players, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, respectively, the Knicks may have a golden opportunity to reach the NBA Finals. That seems to be the common consensus from notable NBA analysts.
“The entire Eastern Conference order has been reshaped by three Achilles injuries,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said in June, via NJ.com.
“If you’re going to break through, it’s now,” Knicks analyst Alan Hahn said.
The Athletic’s Zach Harper also believes the Knicks are primed to reach the NBA Finals in 2026.
“Once Tatum went down, the conversation turned to how wide-open the East could become,” Harper wrote.
“Teams saw what the Pacers did in their march to nearly winning a title and had to think they could emulate such a run, even if it’s a little foolish to believe you can wave a magic wand and just immediately create culture.”
The Knicks (+800) own the fourth-shortest odds to win the NBA title, behind the Thunder (+225), Nuggets (+700) and Cavaliers (+800), per ESPN Bet. Their over/under win total has been set at 53.5 games ahead of training camp.
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