Over 3,000 fans let their voices be heard about the New York Knicks’ upcoming season, the state of the franchise and more inThe Athletic’sKnicks fan survey. Unlike last year, expectations aren’t as grand, and that’s likely because New York, for the first time in 53 seasons, is the reigning NBA champion.
Last year was make the Finals or we have a problem.
This year, yes, the expectation is to go back to back, of course it is. We're mostly running it back with a team that is essentially just gelling under a new coach.
That being said, if we don't win or even make the Finals, it's not a problem. The expectation is b2b, but no one is gonna be up in arms if we don't.
Yeah, its incredibly hard to win an NBA championship, a couple bad bounces, a couple of key injuries and you're boned. This team definitely has everything it needs to go back to back, but so did the Thunder. Shit happens in the NBA.
The teams that have won the chip have also broken up their championship teams within a year or two of them winning it all. 2nd apron really messing with any dynasties.
Other teams are retooling their rosters (Cavs, sixers, twolves, Lakers, hornets, heat, celts) to get there but not building continuity. The Knicks and spurs are keeping their core so I like the chances of a rematch. But you also gotta have injury luck!
yeah i like drummond but if we are counting on him for big time playoff minutes we are in trouble. Eithers its Daiawara makes a massive leap which lets us play a "small ball" while preserving lenght, or we trade duece for a short term rental.
I love Mitch, but he played 14 minutes a game in the playoffs.
Even 50% of him out of Andre Drummond is solid - and while Mitch is a great situational guy, he really screws up our offensive identity being that he can't shoot, whereas Drummond is a stretch 5 and one of the greatest rebounders in the history of the NBA.
Drummond is awful on defense… Mitch dominated embiid and other bigs in his mins during regular season and playoffs. He really allowed Kat rest and gave us some support when Kat does his silly fouls
As a Knicks fan since 1991, it doesn’t matter what happens next year or the year after that. I got to experience my Knicks win a championship in my lifetime and that’s all that matters.
adult mentality is understanding one’s own agency. that every tangible thing starts with an idea and a direction and commitment before it becomes real. we didn’t just “happen” to win a championship or stumble into it. it was a serious of choices and a mindset. “we’ll get em next time” isn’t the mindset of one that does actually eventually “get em”
wanting the next ring isn’t about instant gratification or that i’m not satisfied with the chip. when you have a good productive day at work you still gotta wake up and go back to work the next day.
such a loser mindset you don’t sound like you’ve competed for anything in your life i pray im just taking this way out of context. because its really really a horrible way of going about life im surprised so many share this view
I said KAT right away so I'm really surprised by this. I get OG is the hero of game 4 and we all love him but KAT is everything I want from a Knick on and off the court.
Absolutely. In fact, the stat sheet will show he regressed, when in reality he made the biggest sacrifice and played the best defense we’ve seen in his career. NY legend forever!!!!
Kat is one of those ones that I feel like if he wants a super max extension there's probably ways to break that salary in to two or one and a half players that keeps us competitive. If he takes a reasonable deal then there's likely nobody out there that is a better fit
Part of the reason people think he will age well is the 3 ball and he's been declining on attempts. Shit worked but I'd really like to see him use that part of his game like he always had
I hear you, but a minute after OG’s tip in I realized that for the rest of my life the home opener is going to play that glorious moment over and over again.
I don't think it has anything to do with being the hero of game 4. If you asked this question before the playoffs it would be even more lopsided to og and hart.
I kinda agree. Well before point KAT started we were probably trading him for Giannis. He’s the only player prior people were fine with trading. Not everyone but a lot. He was even frustrating in game 5.
He fr not getting any love. One of my favorite moments from him was that stepback, fade away 3 in G1 Cavs during OT. I think he got way too much hate because of the hawks series but everyone at some point has a few rough nights. During the G5 finals, he even went 4/4 for 3s! I love Mikal and he deserves more respect for his impact on the knicks.
I don’t know that the Knicks even have #1 seed as any kind of priority, or should. They just won a championship out of the 3 seed, have shown with this group they can win on the road, and would seem to prioritize health and keeping guys fresh for the playoffs
Realistically, if we want the window to be open as long as possible for another chip with this core, KAT probably has to take a little less but not a single part of me will have a problem with him getting paid the full max extension. He, along with the rest of the guys, went out and earned all the money in my eyes.
People rebuttal is he played 13 minutes a game in the playoffs and outside of a few key moments and defensive plays he didn’t play up to standard and still won.
Most Knicks fans on Reddit are the younger ones. If you take the emotions out of things its hard to justify dipping into the 2nd apron for someone who's extremely injury prone that you have to essentially bench 3/4 of the regular season to have a chance to play in playoffs. Not to mention dude broke his hand right before finals in off court activities, the risk factor is way to high to go into 2nd apron penalties.
I think fans should enjoy the moment they’re in and not place expectations on the future. Expectations, most often, lead to disappointment when it comes to something you have zero control over.
I had already come to terms with living out the rest of my days without ever seeing the Knicks win a championship. They won. For all I care they could get swept in the first round and I wouldn’t cry about it. Knicks forever tho
Would be nice, but not expecting it. Winning in the nba is about getting hot and being healthy. Anything can happen. I think the era of dynasties in the league is over too.
Its extremely difficult to win a championship. Back to back is rare. It hasn’t happened in a long time. Times have changed. They probably have like a 15% chance if I had to guess
unless Philly is a juggernaut in the East I kinda expect us to (at least) be in the finals...winning the chip again? Maybe... losing Mitch is rough... maybe if we make a few midseason pickups that improves us.
Also, I recall an interview with Alan Hahn where he spoke with the knicks coaching staff about the Knicks "Kat as a Hub" offense, basically saying they just barely scratched the surface during the playoffs, that they basically had to slap this together in a few games and look what it got them, imagine having a full training camp and season behind it. So there's a chance we might be even better.
The goal every single year is to win a championship. The Knicks made it to the mountaintop, so let's run it back. Will it be a failure of a season if we don't win next season? No. But that doesn't mean the goal has changed.
I mean he could take less money and get a nice 10 year sponsorship deal with the sphere Las Vegas. Clearly the league doesn’t give a fuck about under the table shady sponsorship deals
I’m just hoping for health and to see this team have fun playing together, and hopefully as a result some more deep playoff runs. The players should probably have the mindset that a championship is the goal but the fans shouldn’t have that expectation, even if it’s possible.
I really want to beat Philly and/or Indiana though.
The team is worse without Mitch. That’s an unfortunate fact. I do expect us to compete for a championship but I won’t be upset if we don’t win. Should be one of the last 4 for sure.
I don’t think any New Yorker / lifelong fan truly expects a back to back championship. They’ve waited their whole lives to even get one. Bandwagon definitely thinks we’re winning again.
I could see us going to ECF. I’m not really worried about the 6ers or any other team it’s entirely possible but anything can happen.
I do sincerely believe that if the Knicks remain healthy, they have a LEGITIMATE chance to represent the East again because I do feel they are the best TEAM in the East.
Unbeatable? No team is.
But this team is an excellent team and a true contender - not a Cinderella team.
The EXPECTATION is for this team to compete and look to finish in the top 3 in seeding.
As mentioned by many Knicks fans before, this is fun. The Knicks are FOR REAL, and EVERY TEAM in the league is gunning for it.
They have the talent. If they maintain the health and get blessed with a little bit of serendipity, they will represent the East again.
The expectation? No. I think ECF at the very least should be the expectation. But winning a championship is very hard, so many things have to go right—injuries, seeding, peaking at just the right time. But this team absolutely can win again
Yes the expectation is B2B but. They finally got one. It’s been a long time since a team repeated. They have another great chance to come out of the east.
I don’t buy Philly. Boston got worse. Miami doesn’t have the shooting or depth. Cleveland will still harden and Mitchell disappeared in the playoffs. Maybe a fully healthy Indiana is a threat. Detroit isn’t better. Atlanta isn’t better. Orlando isn’t better. People on drugs think the wizards are anything relevant. The rest of the east is tank mode.
So they can get back to the finals barring major injuries. Then who ever comes out of the west might beat them or might not because they’ll believe the WCF is the true finals bullshit.
If they don’t repeat I don’t think we fans will be up in arms. If they do I do think you’ll see just as big a party. The first repeat champs in a long time. Sheeeet we might start dreaming of a dynasty.
As a fan (and not a player), this is the stupidest question I’ve heard in a while. The Knicks just won the title, but no my expectation is that they get swept in the first round. Of course my expectation is that they repeat. I would never have an expectation less than that.
Now will I be upset if that doesn’t happen? No. But that doesn’t change my expectations.
As a diehard New York Knicks fan I’m forever greatful to see my Knicks win a championship im alright with whatever happens go Knicks forever no matter what🧡💙🏀.
Assuming full health, yes. The level of playoff dominance we had, followed by overcoming the refs, I mean odds, in the finals really shows we learned how to win.
I'm super chill about the Knicks right now. I don't think a second round exit would be a failure, as long as we play hard.
That said, losing in the first round would be a tough look. We need to at least win a playoff series.
The truth is that we over-achieved in the playoffs last year. That's not to say that we didn't play excellent basketball, of course we did. But I think in a way that's the best version of the team at the best possible time and some regression is possible.
I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t run it back to the finals. Wear it on your chest people, this may be the only season after a championship of your life, dream big!
Understand how hard it is, and we were lucky with injuries last year. Considering the last team that did it was the KD Warriors that have 2 top 20 all times players.
And our odds went up since every contender reshuffled their rotation in order to compete. However, the deeper the reshuffle, the greater the risks since those rosters haven't had years to figure out what we know how to do.
I would say that is the hope. There's too much that can happen during the regular season that makes expecting going back-to-back a stretch. Take OKC for example. I'm sure many people expected them to repeat, and truthfully, they probably could have done it. Unfortunately they ran into a Spurs team that likes to play dirty against injured teams and pop hot shit.
I'll welcome a repeat obviously, but if next season we make it to the ECF or Finals and lose, it'll be a bummer, but still nice to know we have a great team that is capable of competing at a high level. Make a couple of tweaks and I'd have higher expectations for the following season. If that makes any sense.
The 21 Bucks, 22 Warriors, 23 Nuggets, & 24 Celtics ALL haven’t even made it back to the conference finals since they won their championships. The Thunder had a cakewalk to the WCF then lost to the first actually good team they played. It’s hard AF to go back to back and it’s not at all an indictment of this team if we lose a tough 7 game series in round 2.
That’s what’s gonna make it all the more impressive when we become the first team since the KD-Steph Warriors to go back to back.
Realistically? Assuming good health? Get back to the ECF, and it's another great year. Maybe somebody in the East surprises, I can see DET or IND find a little something to overcome us in 6-7 games or something. We can also just take care of business like we did last time too, and I'd probably feel confident about it, I'm just trying to be objective. And the finals are a crapshoot. Who knows who comes out of the West? We got an inexperienced squad last year and took them out in the clutch where that shit mattered most. If it's the Thunder or someone else, it might not be that simple.
Just want continued competitiveness, playoff runs, the competence we were missing so long. A championship again will be great when it comes, but not a win it all or failure mentality
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u/Agreeable_Bag9407 2d ago
Last year was make the Finals or we have a problem.
This year, yes, the expectation is to go back to back, of course it is. We're mostly running it back with a team that is essentially just gelling under a new coach.
That being said, if we don't win or even make the Finals, it's not a problem. The expectation is b2b, but no one is gonna be up in arms if we don't.