The New York Knicks players during their training for the upcoming season on Aug. 27, 2025. The Knicks fired Head Coach Tom Thibodeau ahead of the season. Photo courtesy of @nyknicks on Instagram
The NBA offseason is just about wrapped up with preseason starting in one month. The New York Knicks made a handful of moves — the highlight was firing Head Coach Tom Thibodeau. Many are conflicted about whether this was a good decision. Thibodeau’s key mistake in the 2025 playoffs was trusting his starting five. The lineup of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns looks great on paper, but opponents caught onto their schemes rather quickly. The Indiana Pacers took advantage of the starting five’s heavy minutes and ran them out of the gym. Fit for their name, the Pacers dominated the Knicks in fastbreak points in all six games of the Eastern Conference Finals.
When the Knicks were put in a 2-0 hole after statistically one of the worst losses in NBA history, Thibodeau finally made the change and decided to play a nine-man rotation. Thibodeau is known for small rotations, so seeing this in a do-or-die situation was very surprising. Delon Wright and Landry Shamet lived on the bench for the entire season in New York, but when their number was called, they delivered. The veterans combined for a +14 in Game three, helping the Knicks steal game three on the road. Thibodeau waited over 90 games to try something new by using his bench and realized it worked. However, it was too little, too late.
In early July, New York hired Mike Brown as their new head coach. The former Sacramento Kings head coach is looking to change the outlook for his new team. The two-time coach of the year started his welcome introduction with a bold statement: “Our goal is to build a sustainable, winning culture that leads to championships.”
The Knicks made a few moves in free agency. Guerschon Yabusele, the French star in the 2024 Olympics, signed a two-year, $12 million deal with New York. The former Philadelphia 76er averaged 11 points on 38% from downtown. The Knicks will give Mitchell Robinson help by being able to balance out the bench minutes for the 7-footer.
New York also signed Jordan Clarkson to the veteran minimum. The 33-year-old averaged 16 points last season for the Utah Jazz. The Knicks hope that Clarkson will be a spark off the bench and will be the new leader for the bench unit. The guard has been known to be a pest against New York, averaging 15 points per game against them, posting a 25-point game in their last matchup in January.
Lastly, Mikal Bridges signed a four-year, $150 million contract extension with the Knicks. After an incredible postseason, the Knicks locked up Bridges. After a long season of fans ridiculing the Knicks for trading five first-round picks for someone who averaged under 20 points the season prior, it did not help Bridges’ case that he averaged even fewer points in his first year in the Big Apple.
The New York Knicks players during their training for the upcoming season on Aug. 27, 2025. The Knicks fired Head Coach Tom Thibodeau ahead of the season. Photo courtesy of @nyknicks on Instagram
In the playoffs, he proved to the people he is worth every penny. In games one and two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Bridges’ enormous defensive efforts against Boston Celtics’ stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum helped the Knicks upset the defending NBA champions. In game one, Bridges snatched the ball out of Brown’s hands, not letting him get a shot off to tie the game in overtime. In game two, Bridges deflected Tatum’s kick-out pass to win the game. These two plays alone helped the Knicks make their first conference finals since 2000. Bridges must pick it up on the offensive side this season if he wants to prove the doubters wrong.
New York is tied for the third-best odds at winning the 2026 NBA Finals and is tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best odds to make it out of the Eastern Conference. ESPN has the Knicks going 54-28 as the second seed in the East behind a 59-win Cavaliers team. The Knicks tip off their season against the Cavs and will also host them on Christmas Day.
The Knicks open the NBA preseason on Oct. 2 in Abu Dhabi against the Philadelphia 76ers.