For the NBA, once the regular season ends, the playoffs begin. Once that happens, teams that are known for dominating the regular season may fall short to less dominant teams in the postseason. For example, the #1 seed Detroit Pistons fell in a seven-game series to the #4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers. Or perhaps the #1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder also fell in a close seven-game series to the #2 seed San Antonio Spurs.
The point is that regular-season success doesn’t always guarantee post-season success, but for the New York Knicks, they took that claim and made the NBA think twice on it. The New York Knicks came into the 2025-26 season and finished with a record of 53-29, placing them third in the Eastern Conference and fourth overall in the NBA. This year’s Knicks were known for their dominant offense, finishing third in the NBA during the regular season with a rating of 119.8. Their defense also finished ranked seventh in the NBA with a rating of 113.3.
This team looked great with superstars like Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns destroying teams both offensively and defensively, but can this team replicate the same overall team efficiency they produced in the regular season?
Well, for their first round against the #6 Atlanta Hawks, it was questionable. They looked rusty against the Hawks and ended up allowing the Hawks to lead the series 2-1, with both wins being by a one-point differential. Things weren’t looking too good for the Knicks, but like a flick of a light switch, it all changed in game four.
The Knicks would make a series of comebacks, beating the Hawks in six games. They would also beat the Hawks in the final game of the series, 140-89, giving this game significance as the fifth-largest victory in NBA playoff history, with a point margin of 51.
After the Knicks sent the Hawks back to Atlanta with clipped wings, their next opponent was the #7 Philadelphia 76ers, who had just upset the #2 Boston Celtics in a long seven-game series. With the Knicks previously plucking the Hawks, you’d think they’d cool down just a little. Instead, the Knicks beat the 76ers so badly that Ben Franklin was rolling in his grave. The series ended just as quickly as it started, with the Knicks taking the series in a 4-0 sweep.
Moving to the Conference Finals, the Knicks were up against the #4, Cleveland Cavaliers, and long story short; it ended in a similar fashion to the 76ers. The Cavaliers previously upset the #1 Detroit Pistons, but proceeded to get absolutely destroyed by the Knicks, leading to another 4-0 sweep. So, just like that, after just barely losing to the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks would breeze through the bracket, going 8-0 combined against the 76ers and Cavaliers, but now they had to face a behemoth.
On the other side of the bracket, the San Antonio Spurs were fighting through their side, even taking down the former NBA Finals champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The NBA Finals matchup was set between the Spurs and Knicks; would the Knicks finally lose a game to their opponent? Well, yes, they did, but only one. That’s right, even with Victor Wembanyama as the Spurs’ star player, they couldn’t take down the Knicks’ elite offense. The Knicks would take the first two games before losing the third game at home. That loss gave Spurs fans hope that they could come back, but it was short-lived. The Knicks would win the final two games in which they were down by double-digit deficits, even setting a record in Game four for the largest comeback in Finals history, overcoming a 29-point deficit.
The New York Knicks would win the series 4-1, becoming the second team in NBA history to win 13 consecutive playoff games. Fans were ecstatic, the team was overjoyed, and when the smoke cleared, the NBA Finals trophy was hoisted up, and New York City erupted in celebration.