BlattNews

By Wyatt Blatt

New York City, New York, 5/24/26:

For the first time since 1999, the New York Knicks are set to return to the NBA Finals. Following their loss in five games to the San Antonio Spurs, the Knicks slipped into mediocrity and irrelevancy, not making it back to the Eastern Conference FInals until 2025 when they lost in six games to Tyrese Haliburton’s Pacers. 

Following the signing of young point guard Jalen Brunson in 2022 as well as several other key moves like trading for small forward OG Anunoby and center Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks have made the playoffs in four straight seasons. In that span since 2022 the Knicks have won six playoff series, with three of them coming in 2026 as they beat the Hawks in six and swept both the 76ers and Cavaliers to make it to the Finals where they will face the winner of the Oklahoma City versus San Antonio.

In this year’s run New York fans, rabid as ever, have rallied behind Brunson who’s leading the team with 26.9 points per game in the postseason as the Knicks lead the NBA playoffs with the highest total points per game by a team at 119.9 across 14 games played, with a starting five built around offense and shooters Jose Alvarado and Landry Shamet coming off the bench. Since a tight start in their first round series against the Hawks, the Knicks have gone 8-0 with five especially dominant performances in their past five games, scoring 144 points in a closeout game four against the 76ers and mostly shutting down the Cavaliers despite Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell averaging 27.3 points in that series.

Looking ahead to the Finals, Knicks fans seem confident in their chances whether they play Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder. Local Knicks superfan and Jalen Brunson glazer Stavros Koudellou said in an exclusive interview with BlattNews “F*ck Oklahoma City, f*ck the Spurs, and most importantly, f*ck Trae Young. KNICKS IN SIX”, embodying the belief, however realistic it may be, that fans have in this team.

BlattNews has more to come on the coverage of the NBA Finals, stay tuned following the conclusion of the Western Conference Finals for an expert analysis.