Say, whatever happened to those Knicks that were a disgrace to basketball during a 2-9 stretch, which saw them play some of the worst defense the NBA has ever seen?
Wait, what do you mean that team has now been the best defense in basketball for six weeks?
It’s been a weird year. The Knicks are on pace for 52.5 wins, just marginally better than similarly topsy-turvy seasons in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Through 64 games, they’re 41-23… identical to last season. They’re once again winless against No. 1 seeds.
If you looked at it from the periphery, you’d think this is the exact same season with a different tone.
But if we exclude that 11-game stretch of basketball, which, let’s be completely real, isn’t representative of this team, they’re playing at a 61-win pace. The stretch did happen, and it represents over 15% of the season, but even the most pessimistic Knicks fan cannot seriously think that a team that’s currently sixth in defensive rating is in any way similar to what they did during that stretch.
The Knicks started 23-9 (24-9, the NBA Cup counts to me, dammit!). They’re 16-5 in their last 21 games. That’s 39-14. That’s ridiculously elite basketball.
What’s the best Knicks team you’ve ever watched? Are you old enough to remember Clyde Frazier and Willis Reed winning championships in the early 1970s? Did you watch Patrick Ewing’s glory throughout the late 80’s and 90’s? Was Carmelo Anthony your introduction to Knicks playoff basketball? Do you hold really, really fond memories of the January 2024 Knicks?
I’m not arguing that the 2026 Knicks are better than any or all of them, as they can still embarrass me depending on how the last 18 games and playoffs go. That said, I’ll provide some stats that put them in some company that you’re going to want to see to believe.
Defense
Mike Brown: Defensive guru?
Probably not, but the way the Knicks have played defense with guys like Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson playing big roles is certainly notable. Towns, specifically, has tremendously improved defensively in several aspects and has had individual games of brilliance
As previously stated, the Knicks are tied with the Celtics for the sixth-best defensive rating in the NBA. They never truly had a bad defense under Tom Thibodeau, but the only year it was this good was in 2020-21, where the team sold out to muck up games with lineups that included Elfrid Payton, Reggie Bullock, and Nerlens Noel. This team has more offensive firepower in Brunson and Towns’ pinkie toes than that team had, especially considering Julius Randle’s playoff woes.
They’re just 0.3 back of the Heat for the fourth-best defense. They’ve been better as the game goes on, sporting the league’s best defensive rating by a considerable margin in fourth quarters. When the team needs it most, they’re putting the clamps on. The dream of having defensive wings like OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges is being realized, potentially to a degree never thought conceivable.
The Knicks have held 13 opponents under 100 points, fourth in the NBA. They’ve held 23 to under 105, third in the NBA. Among the teams they’ve held under these numbers:
Nuggets (1st in ORtg, 103 points)
Celtics (2nd, 89 and 95 points)
Hornets (4th, 101 points*)
Spurs (6th, 89 points)
Thunder (8th, 103 points)
*This was before the Hornets magically became elite
It’s not just the Nets, Wizards, and Kings. They’ve been doing this to elite offenses, especially recently.
The last few Knicks’ teams to have a defensive rating as good compared to the league average as this one?
January 2024
2020-21
2011-122
The entire 1990s
Dominance
Few things are more satisfying than a blowout. Usually, you can rely on games against undermanned teams like the Wizards, Jazz, and Nets to pick up an easy win, and the Knicks have done that. But what’s separated this team from others? They’re blowing out good teams, too.
It ended in a 10-point win, but the Knicks took the Celtics behind the barn in October, leading by as much as 24.
In early November, they boatraced Minnesota with a hobbled Anthony Edwards. They’ve blown the Raptors out repeatedly, and even the competitive games eventually see a massive run make the final result look uncompetitive. For a while, that was about it. That was until a month ago.
In the last 30 days, the Knicks have blown out the Celtics (by 22), the Sixers (by 49), the Spurs (by 25), and the Nuggets (by 39). You can add whatever context you want, these are still very impressive victories to come by this margin.
The Knicks have won 14 games by at least 20, 11 games by 25, seven games by 30, four games by 35+, two games by 40, and one by 50 this season. The only team that matches or exceeds them in any of these categories is OKC.
Here are the last Knicks teams to accomplish these numbers (remember: we still have 18 games left):
14 by 20+: 2024-25 (15)
11 by 25+: 1969-70 (11)
7 by 30+: 1969-70 (7)
4 by 35+: 1993-94 (4)
2 by 40+: 1993-94 (2)
1 by 50+: Never
In the last five categories, the Knicks have already tied the franchise record. In all of the seasons that meet the same criteria as the current Knicks, they made the NBA Finals (1970, 1973, 1994).
Consider the following, all of these things have happened in Knicks’ blowouts in the last month:
- Worst loss by the Sixers since 2015, worst loss in 480 all-time meetings with the Knicks
- Worst loss by the Spurs this season, only loss for the Spurs since late January (14-1)
- Tied for the worst home loss by the Nuggets ever (2/2/1998 vs CHI), worst loss of Nikola Jokic’s career, worst Nuggets loss since January 2015
In about 1,000 words, I have, in a way, compared this team to the 1998 Bulls, 1970 Knicks, the 1994 Knicks, and a few others. Surely, all of these comparisons will be received well!
