Are the New York Knicks the best team in the NBA? Over the past few weeks, they\u2019ve sure looked like it. After falling behind the Atlanta Hawks 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs, New York has rattled off 11 straight wins, by a margin of about 24 points per game, to reach its first NBA Finals since 1999.<\/p>\n
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After the Knicks dismantled the Cleveland Cavaliers last night to win the Eastern Conference finals, New York fans gathered to celebrate outside Madison Square Garden, when the game had been played in \u2026 Cleveland. Imagine what the scene will look like if the Knicks win it all.<\/p>\n
Our Rohan Nadkarni breaks down the Knicks\u2019 run below, and Spain\u2019s Lamine Yamal is our World Cup spotlight of the day. For more NBA and World Cup coverage, as always, check out the NBC News website<\/a>.<\/p>\n NBA Playoffs<\/p>\n With the New York Knicks back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, the question now is, can they actually win a championship as they last did in 1973?<\/p>\n Remember, the Knicks entered the playoffs under significant pressure to win. Last year, New York fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after he guided the team to the conference finals, which at the time was the team\u2019s best postseason finish since 2000.<\/p>\n \u201cOur organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,\u201d team president Leon Rose said in the statement announcing Thibodeau\u2019s firing.<\/p>\n Rose\u2019s lofty expectations were echoed by owner James Dolan in January.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d say we want to get to the Finals and we should win the Finals,\u201d Dolan said in an interview on radio station WFAN.<\/p>\n The \u201cFinals or bust\u201d talk in New York, combined with the coaching change, makes the Knicks\u2019 complete and utter dominance throughout the playoffs even more impressive.<\/p>\n New York is now only the fourth team to have an 11-game winning streak during the playoffs. Two of the other three \u2014 the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2017 Golden State Warriors \u2014 won a title. (The third, the 1989 Lakers, were swept in the Finals.) What\u2019s perhaps even more impressive, however, is that the Knicks own the best point differential during an 11-game span in NBA history. Not only playoffs, but any 11-game stretch in the entirety of the NBA.<\/p>\n New York has lost only twice this postseason, in the first round, with both losses coming by one point. You could argue the Knicks have already exceeded expectations by how thoroughly they\u2019ve dominated, but they don\u2018t appear ready to take their foot off the gas.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something that New York has been dying for a long time and we\u2019ll enjoy that plane ride. But once we get in those cars and go to our respective homes, it\u2019s going to be back to business,\u201d Karl-Anthony Towns said last night. \u201cWe\u2019re all going to be in the gym tomorrow probably getting shots up, getting treatment, doing what we need to do to get ready for the next series already. We understand that the job\u2019s not done.\u201d<\/p>\n World Cup Countdown<\/p>\n Leading up to the 2026 World Cup, we\u2019re counting down 26 players to watch. Today\u2019s entry is Spain\u2019s Lamine Yamal.<\/p>\n Once described by French legend Thierry Henry as being \u201cahead of the game,\u201d Yamal is a rising superstar of the sport and is widely considered to be the future Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n The 18-year-old has already won three La Liga titles with FC Barcelona, a Spanish Cup, a Spanish Super Cup and a Euros championship in addition to being a Ballon d\u2019Or runner-up.<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t just the statistics that make Yamal a superstar \u2014 though it certainly doesn\u2019t hurt to be one of La Liga\u2019s top scorers.<\/p>\n The teenage phenom is able to complement his obvious technical skills with a flair and maturity in high-pressure situations that is well beyond his years. Spanish national team manager Luis de la Fuente described Yamal earlier this year as being one of those players whom you watch and think that he\u2019s \u201ctouched by magic.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s an aspect of the game that cannot be described in words but can be felt whenever that athlete gets a touch on the ball. Yamal is most likely your favorite player\u2019s favorite player to watch, to steal a somewhat corny adage.<\/p>\n Yamal was born in Spain to a Moroccan father and a mother from Equatorial Guinea. He said he chose to play for the Spanish national team because he wanted to compete in European championships.<\/p>\n This summer will be his first World Cup appearance and he\u2019s coming in riding high after Barcelona won its second consecutive La Liga title a few weeks ago. He\u2019s expected to arrive after a pause in his club play after a hamstring injury sidelined him for more than a month, though Barcelona\u2019s management has predicted that he will be in shape in time for the tournament.<\/p>\n Spanish fans are putting a lot of hope on Yamal as the national team has failed to make it past the round of 16 since winning the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. <\/p>\n Yesterday\u2019s entry was Haiti\u2019s Duckens Nazon. Read about him here<\/a>.<\/p>\n What We\u2019re Reading<\/p>\n Over the weekend, our Andrew Greif attended the inaugural Enhanced Games<\/a>, where drugs don\u2019t get athletes banned. They could get them rich.<\/p>\n As this newsletter arrives in your inbox, Team USA will be revealing<\/a> its World Cup roster.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court sided<\/a> with Brian Flores in his discrimination suit against the NFL.<\/p>\n The Houston Astros combined for a no-hitter last night<\/a>, MLB\u2019s first since 2024.<\/p>\n![\"Knicks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260526-knicks-ch-1047-2a4efe.jpg\")
Knicks fans celebrate winning the eastern conference championship against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 25, 2026 in New York City.David Dee Delgado \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Lamine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260526-Lamine-Yamal-ch-1045-bec76a.jpg\")
Lamine Yamal during the UEFA Euro 2024 Round of 16 game between national teams of Spain and Georgia in Cologne, Germany.Maciej Rogowski \/ LightRocket via Getty Images file<\/p>\n