NEW YORK — The sample size remains relatively small, but through the opening weeks of the 2026–27 NBA season, the New York Knicks have not looked much like a team capable of defending its hard-earned championship crown. Instead, Madison Square Garden has played host to a ballclub that often resembles a group still reeling from a championship hangover, trying desperately to rediscover the grit and rhythm that defined their magical run to the Larry O’Brien Trophy just months ago.
At 3-1 since suffering an alarming 0-3 start, the Knicks have steadied their record on paper, but that modest turnaround offers little comfort to a demanding fan base. A closer inspection reveals that two of those recent victories came against the Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets, both of which currently sit near the very bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with matching 1-6 records. Meanwhile, New York’s early defeats feature two sobering setbacks against the Philadelphia 76ers and another loss to the Boston Celtics—two of the primary roadblocks standing directly in the way of the Knicks’ aspirations for back-to-back titles.
Reflecting on the team’s ongoing struggles to find an offensive identity and sustain momentum, star center Karl-Anthony Towns offered a blunt assessment of the situation. “We just haven’t played our best, and we haven’t executed at a high level,” Towns said.
History serves as a stern reminder that New York is currently pedaling uphill against formidable historical trends. Across decades of NBA play, only one team has ever managed to start a season 0-3 and ultimately recover to capture the championship by the end of the year. That solitary precedent belongs to the legendary 1990-91 Chicago Bulls, who famously shook off their winless three-game start to eventually punctuate their campaign by dispatching the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
For the Knicks, however, living dangerously has practically become a stylistic trademark. New York’s dramatic postseason march to the 2025–26 NBA title was forged through a series of improbable, heart-stopping comebacks that tested the nerves of every supporter in the five boroughs.
During the Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks found themselves trailing the Cleveland Cavaliers by a daunting 22 points with less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 1, only to mount a furious rally and find a miraculous way to win. Later on, during the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, the script followed a similarly harrowing pattern. San Antonio managed to build leads of at least 14 points in three separate games of the series, though New York ultimately persevered to claim the championship in five games.
The peak of these theatrical escapes came in Game 4 against the Spurs, when San Antonio seized a commanding 29-point advantage at 81-52. Refusing to fold, New York engineered a stunning comeback that culminated in a thrilling 107-106 victory, sealed when forward OG Anunoby tipped in a missed shot with just 1.2 seconds remaining on the clock.
Yet, relying on heroic late-game rallies has proven to be a dangerous habit rather than a sustainable strategy. Too many times this season, the Knicks have fallen behind by double digits early in contests, and too many times, the well has run dry before they could catch up. In an alarming trend, New York has trailed by at least 10 points in each of its first six games of the new campaign, exposing an alarming tendency to sleepwalk through opening quarters.
Veteran utility man Josh Hart addressed the perplexing issue during a recent conversation with reporters, acknowledging the mental and physical toll the slow starts are taking on the roster. “I wish I could tell you that one,” Hart told The Athletic when asked why New York has continuously faced double-digit deficits. “If I could tell you that one, and the reason why, then maybe it would stop happening. I think we all have a great will to win. I think sometimes it takes us a little longer to find a game, whether that’s the flow, fatigue, whatever it is."
Hart continued to emphasize the urgency of correcting these habits before they become deeply entrenched flaws. “We have to do a better job of finding the game early, making it easy and then not relying on double-digit comebacks because it’s taxing.”
That sluggish tendency was on full display yet again during Monday night’s matchup against the cross-town rival Brooklyn Nets. The Knicks sleep-walked through three quarters of play, looking uninspired and disjointed while finding themselves trailing by four points heading into the final frame. Fortunately for the home crowd, New York finally woke up just in time to orchestrate a late surge, pulling out a 103-90 victory. The win marked the Knicks’ 15th consecutive triumph over the Nets, extending a local dominance streak that first began back in 2023.
Despite walking away with the win, the players themselves were quick to downplay the final score, noting that the underlying flaws of the team remain entirely unaddressed.
“The issues are still there,” Hart said bluntly after Monday night’s victory. “I think defensively, we were solid. I think this year, for the most part, our defense has been pretty good. Obviously there have been some lapses. But our offense has to get in a better flow, and that’s kind of what’s holding us back right now. So a win doesn’t erase the problem or erase the issues. We got to figure those out and get better.”
Fortunately for head coach Tom Thibodeau and his squad, the team is staring down a considerably more forgiving schedule for the majority of November, presenting an ideal window for the roster to find its collective footing, iron out the offensive kinks, and reestablish the dominant identity that brought a title back to Madison Square Garden.
Until then, the Knicks and their supporters can take solace in the simplest reality of the professional basketball calendar: the ultimate destination—and the eventual winner of the Larry O’Brien Trophy—won’t be determined until the warm nights of June.