The New York Knicks look to be rivaled by a select array of teams in the league to win the 2026 title.
Knicks just below top-5 in rankings for new season
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey ranked the Knicks behind five teams in his Power Rankings:
”This year’s roster has a little more depth, though, thanks to the additions of Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele. And early indications from coach Mike Brown suggest the offense may also be a bit more varied,” Bailey writes.
”More on-ball and creative opportunities for the rest of the rotation will make the Knicks a tougher out this coming spring.”
New York obtained +1000 odds to win the championship in the new campaign. The five teams that ranked before them were the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, as well as the No. 1 team — the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The bevy of strong players in their unit is what gives the Knicks an upper hand over most of the field in the league. New York’s forecast for the new season seems bright beyond that, though.
Easy road to the Finals awaits Knicks in 2025-26
The Knicks will have an easier road to the Finals with their new lineup of players in 2025-26. The Eastern Conference is worse heading into the year.
Mainly, the Indiana Pacers will be free of Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) for the year, for all the wrong reasons. The Boston Celtics will also see Jayson Tatum (Achilles) sit for most of the campaign.
Those two teams are New York’s biggest rivals. They’ve also bested the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs in 2023, plus saw the 64-win team miss the Conference Finals, where they themselves reached.
Thus, with winning vanguards, coupled with a reserve unit that can be a featured lineup in the league, New York will be much better in 2025-26 for a run at the championship.