Category: Basketball

The Knicks are only four wins away from their first NBA championship since 1973, a long, aching wait that’s tortured generations of fans. Falling short of that goal, even to a Western Conference juggernaut in seven games, would be a disappointment offering no consolation prize to the mecca of basketball.

Still, it’s important to note that what the Knicks have accomplished on this run is nothing short of historic, no matter how it ends. They’ve already etched their names in the record books, whether a ring comes with it or not.

Since losing Game 3 of the first round in Atlanta, New York has rattled off 11 consecutive playoff wins, taking three straight against the Hawks before sweeping the 76ers and Cavaliers. That’s tied for the third-longest postseason winning streak in NBA history. One more win would tie the 1999 Spurs at 12, and three would pass the Warriors at 15. 

The wins alone are impressive -- over a Hawks team that had the third-best record in the NBA post-All-Star break, a Sixers team that had just toppled the Celtics with their three stars, and a Cavs team that has been a perennial top seed and acquired James Harden ahead of the deadline. 

But the way the Knicks have won has been in a category of its own.

New York avalanched these teams, with 10 wins coming by 11 or more points -- they beat Atlanta by 16, 29, and 51, before two additional 30-point victories over Philadelphia and another against Cleveland.

The degree to which the Knicks are skating by in the postseason is unmatched -- their 262-point differential in their 11 consecutive wins is the largest in any 11-game span in NBA history, regular season or postseason.

We’re at the stage where the competition is at its fiercest, every flaw is magnified, and the Knicks managed to look more dominant than any team ever. They also broke a few more records on the way.

No team has ever led by 47 points going into halftime of a playoff game until these Knicks did it against the Hawks in a closeout Game 6. A couple of games prior they tied the record for the most threes in a postseason game with 25.

Then there was Game 1 against Cleveland, when New York fell behind by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter before improbably coming back and winning in overtime. That was the second-largest fourth quarter comeback in the history of the NBA playoffs, amid a streak of the greatest string of blowouts in the postseason.

The individual accolades haven’t met these standards after multiple record-breaking feats by Jalen Brunson in previous playoffs, but that’s kind of the point. The Knicks are truly playing team-first basketball, with each individual sacrificing to be the most optimal versions of themselves in pursuit of winning.

They haven’t even done it in one particular way. It took mid-series adjustments against the Hawks and Cavs to continue this run unabridged. Now the Knicks are in the Finals for the first time in 27 years, as the first NBA Cup Champions to do so, and the first team in franchise history to pull off multiple sweeps.

These things may not mean much at the moment to Knicks fans salivating over the Larry O’Brien trophy, and even less so if the Knicks were to lose. But after decades of toiling, failed promises, and broken rebuilds, it should.

Should New York fall short in the Finals, as tragic as that outcome would be to some, it shouldn’t take away from the magnitude of the run that got them there. Few teams have exhibited this type of command over a conference in such style, and that should be commended.

More than the streak and insane blowouts, the real history is the Knicks managing to break a quarter-century curse and rebuild themselves back into a contender with good management while finding the superstar hidden in plain sight. 

Welcome to our annual Lakers season in review series, where we’ll look back at each player on the team’s roster this season and evaluate if they should be part of the future of the franchise. Today, we continue our series with a look at Nick Smith Jr.

Back in September, when the Hornets waived Nick Smith Jr. and the Lakers pounced to sign him to a two-way contract, he instantly became the latest in a string of “second draft” prospects the team would try to nurture and develop into a contributor who could impact their roster.

As a former first round pick, Smith was the exact sort of player the Lakers have tried to add to their system in the past, targeting pedigree and potential as a potential pathway towards someone who could viably make the main team and possibly even stick in the rotation.

Smith, to his credit, ultimately did turn his two-way opportunity into a standard NBA deal right before the regular season ended. Whether he’s able to turn that end-of-year deal into something more lasting remains to be seen, but after a year in JJ Redick’s system, he at least has a firm idea of what it will take to earn the sort of trust that can allow him to stick.

How did he play?

Though on a two-way contract for most of the regular season, Smith appeared in 30 games for the Lakers and averaged 6.8 points and 1.0 assists on 43.8% shooting from the field and 39.5% from behind the arc. The outside shooting was encouraging, showing a nice ability to hit shots both as a spot-up option and off the dribble, mostly out of the pick and roll.

Smith mostly got chances at the end of games in garbage time, but did show real pop in a couple of longer stints over the course of the year when the Lakers were dealing with injuries. In what was his highlight performance of the year, Smith helped a Lakers unit down all three of Luka Dončić, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves win a road game in Portland on the second night of a back-to-back.

In just under 27 minutes off the bench, Smith connected on 10 of his 15 shot attempts overall, including five of his six shots from behind the arc to score 25 points to go along with a team-high six assists. Playing against a physically strong and stout Blazers defense, Smith used his quickness and off-the-dribble prowess to create separation and get to his jumper over and over again.

Smith would have a similar performance nearly two months later when he again got thrust into the lineup with Reaves out injured, helping the Lakers blow out the Kings with a 21-point effort fueled by 8-of-14 shooting from the field that included five made 3-pointers.

It wasn’t this way all season, of course. Smith did spend the majority of the year racking up DNP-CD’s and was even passed over by fellow former first round pick Kobe Bufkin when the Lakers originally filled their open 15th roster spot. But Smith stuck with it, proved ready to play hard when his number was called later in the year, and ultimately did get his contract converted when the Lakers waived Bufkin before the regular season ended.

What is his contract situation moving forward?

Smith is on a non-guaranteed minimum contract for next season, making it unclear if he’ll be on next season’s roster or not. In the summer of optionality for Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office, it would not surprise me if Smith’s contract is voided before its June 29th guarantee date in order to generate an additional sliver of cap space for the team to go into the marketplace with.

There’s also a possibility of Smith’s guarantee being pushed back into July where the Lakers would have a better understanding of what their roster construction might be or whether they would need the extra bit of cap space waiving Smith would open up.

Either way, the very nature of Smith’s contract creates uncertainty for his future with the team.

Should he be back?

Smith showed enough potential offensively as a shot maker to consider bringing him back for a longer look to see if he can stick with the team. He’d need to show he can compete harder on defense and become more consistent as a catch-and-shoot player, but I wouldn’t mind seeing him in training camp fighting to make the team.

While I’m not sure it’s possible or if he’d be amenable to it, pushing the guarantee date in his contract back to December or January where the Lakers could essentially give him the chance to make the team with a strong training camp and at least stay on through the initial transaction period that happens on December 15 could be a happy medium for both sides.

This would allow Smith to continue to learn and grow in the Lakers system and show he’s ready for more, but also give the Lakers the sort of flexibility they covet to maneuver as they’d like in free agency and the trade market.

You can follow Darius on BlueSky at @forumbluegoldand find more of his Lakers coverage on the Laker Film Room Podcast.

Welcome to our annual Lakers season in review series, where we’ll look back at each player on the team’s roster this season and evaluate if they should be part of the future of the franchise. Today, we take a look at Adou Thiero.

Over the past several years, the Lakers have been hit-or-miss with their draft picks. Max Christie and Bronny James have been the best selections, but 2023 first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino is out of the league and Dalton Knecht remained glued to the bench this year.

Their most recent selection, Adou Thiero, was a player the franchise clearly desired as they moved up twice in the draft to pick him at No. 36.

Now that his first year in the NBA is done, let’s assess how successful it was or wasn’t.

How did he play?

For Thiero, being available to even suit up was a challenge. He missed all of training camp and the start of the regular season while recovering from surgery on his left knee. Thiero also missed time midway through the year after suffering an MCL sprain.

When he was ready to play, minutes were hard to come by. This was a combination of monitoring his health and the Lakers being a win-now team, which doesn’t allow a rookie to play through mistakes.

When he did play, it was usually in garbage time. Thiero only had two games during his rookie year in which he played 20 or more minutes.

Still, in those short stints, he showed promise. Thiero has athleticism and explosiveness that can’t be taught. He leaned on his strengths and lived in the paint. On his 31 shots, 21 were at the rim.

In his limited play, Thiero had some monstrous slams, showcasing the vertical spacing he provides whenever he is on the court.

His defensive moments were an adventure, but he has the speed and strength to eventually become a respectable player on that side of the ball if he puts in the time. Right now, he was at least an active defender.

It was an encouraging sign of where Thiero is in his career that Lakers head coach JJ Redick gave him some run come playoff time. LA was shorthanded with Luka Dončić out during the entire postseason run and Thiero played in both series against the Rockets and Thunder.

He did well in those minutes and didn’t look like a rookie overwhelmed by the moment. Thiero was still able to get to the rim, score and be a ball of energy for the team.

What is the contract situation moving forward?

Thiero is on a rookie deal, so not only is he locked in for next season and a club option after that, but it’s at a modest number at $2.1 million for the 2026-27 season.

This is a standard rookie contract, but it’s great that the Lakers have a cost-controlled player and someone with tremendous upside on the roster.

Should he be back?

Thiero should absolutely return next year.

He is a solid prospect, and given how injured he was and his limited minutes, there is no telling how good he can be. Now that he’s healthy and ready for an offseason in the gym and at Summer League, he’ll have a chance to put in the appropriate amount of time into his game.

The only way Thiero leaving makes sense is if a team like, say, Milwaukee, demands him in exchange for the Lakers acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo. This is exactly how the Lakers lost Christie, who was part of the Luka Dončić-for-Anthony Davis trade.

This will be a big summer for the Lakers and Thiero. If things go right, he can build off his rookie year and have a huge sophomore season. Now that he’s healthy, he’ll have every chance of making that happen.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

What a roller coaster this series has been. San Antonio and OKC have been taking turns winning over the last four games in blowout (or at least blowout-adjacent) fashion, which makes it really difficult to judge which team holds the edge at any point in time. Having said so, last night went about as well as it could for the Spurs, and we can be hopeful that the success they enjoyed will translate (even if only partially) to Game 7. In the meantime, let’s review some box score stats:

Note: Now that we’ve moved into the postseason, the reference period used for grading changes from the set of regular season games since 2012-2013 to the set of postseason games since 2012-2013. Unless otherwise noted below, this set DOES include play-in games. As of the end of May 28, 2026, this group include 1,200 games.

Factors that decided the game

• The factors deciding this game were really simple. First the Spurs had an excellent foul differential (-7), which allowed them to earn a FTA margin of +13. Even though their FT% differential was mildly negative, they still outscored OKC by 10 from the charity stripe.
• On top of that, San Antonio had excellent FG% (+9.36 percentage points) and 3P% (+11.59 percentage points). The Thunder had a volume advantage from field overall (because the Spurs went to the free throw line far more often), but San Antonio still recorded FGM and 3PM margins of +6 and +5, respectively. As a result, they outscored OKC from 17 from the field.
• From an overall box score perspective, everything else was more or less a wash. The turnover battle was (mercifully) dead even, and the only other notable box score margin was the Spurs edge in defensive boards (+11). However, this latter edge was mostly the byproduct of OKC shooting more often and much less efficiently, resulting in lots of defensive rebounding opportunities for San Antonio.

Rare Box Score Stats

• OKC recorded just the fifth instance in 1,200 postseason games since 2012-2013 in which any team (winner or loser) had FG% and 3P% values no better than 37.23% and 25% (respectively) while shooting at least 91.67% from the free throw line.
• It’s not very uncommon for a player to log 18+ points, 6+ rebounds, and 4+ assists in a playoff game; in fact, it’s happened nearly 2,500 times since the 1996-1997 postseason. However, Dylan Harper became the FIRST player in that period to do so in just 22:04.
• Wemby’s stat line is much rarer, as only 36 other postseason player performances since 1996-1997 have included 28+ points, 10+ rebounds, 2+ steals, and 3+ blocks. However, Victor and Dylan had similar nights in that Victor also set the timing record for achieving these values, with a total playing time of just 28:25.
• SGA recorded just the fourth performance in which a player took 18+ shots and had a plus/minus of -28 or worse in under 28.3 minutes of play.
• Here’s a wild stat to end with: Prior to last night, no team had achieved a playoff performance in which at least 15 players played and everyone had a positive plus/minus.

What are Team Graded Box Scores?

Very briefly, these box scores grade winner-loser differentials for basic box score statistics, with the grade being based on the winning team’s differential relative to other NBA winners during a defined reference period. Think of it like a report card for understanding how a given winner performed relative to other winners. The reference period used runs from the start of the 2012-2013 season to the latest date of play, including only games in the same season category (i.e., regular season and playoff games are not compared to each other).

Data Source: The underlying data used to create these box scores was collected from Basketball Reference. In all cases, the data are collected the morning after the game is played. Although rare, postgame statistical revisions after data collection do occur and may affect the results after the fact.

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Former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was indicted on new bribery charges on Thursday after federal prosecutors alleged that he accepted $100,000 to manipulate an NBA game. 

Key Takeaways

• Terry Rozier was charged in a Brooklyn court on Thursday.
  
  
• The superseding indictment adds to his wire fraud and money laundering charges. 
  
  
• The former NBA player’s lawyer claims his client’s innocence.  

Rozier was charged in a Brooklyn court through a superseding indictment, which adds to previous federal allegations of wire fraud and money laundering. Rozier, who was arrested in October 2025 as part of an FBI takedown of multiple gambling operations, pleaded not guilty to the original charges and had attempted to have his case thrown out in December that year. 

His attorney, Jim Trusty,told the Associated Press that the latest indictment “just confirms that our motion to dismiss was righteous – new charges, new theories, but all just a sad effort to make something stick.”

Rozier is still out on a $3 million bond. He was placed on leave following his arrest and missed the entire season. The Heat released Rozier at the end of this NBA season.  

The payment plan

Federal prosecutors said in April that they planned to bring new charges against Rozier, which include defrauding the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets, as well as sportsbooks FanDuel and DraftKings. 

The bribery indictment came hours after bettor Marves Fairley told prosecutors that he agreed to pay Rozier and his longtime friend Deniro Laster $100,000 if Rozier left a game in March 2023 early while he was playing for the Charlotte Hornets. 

Rozier removed himself from the contest with a lower leg injury. He was not on the injury report before the game. His early exit allegedly helped a group of bettors cash over $250,000 worth of under bets on his player props. 

The Hornets guard scored five points, recorded two assists, and hit one 3-pointer, all below his season averages and the prop totals set for that game against the New Orleans Pelicans. However, because Rozier recorded four rebounds, going over his betting total, the co-conspirators agreed to a $70,000 payment.  

Laster allegedly met Fairley to collect the bribe money in Philadelphia and then drove to Rozier’s house, where the co-conspirators counted their payment. Some of the bettors included in the scheme were also part of the Jontay Porter scandal that rocked the NBA in 2024.   

Fixing games

Fairley, a social media influencer,pleaded guilty to seven charges, all related to the illegal betting scheme. Fairley allegedly helped fix games in the Chinese Basketball League, the NBA, and college basketball, a scheme that spanned nearly 40 players from 17 NCAA schools. 

He admitted to paying an unnamed NBA player, who prosecutors believe is Rozier. 

“There are some desperate men in this case with terrible criminal records and tons of exposure, and they know what to say to please these prosecutors,” Trusty said about Fairley’s claim.

Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones was also arrested in October for his role in informing bettors of nonpublic injury information on NBA stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Jones pleaded guilty in Aprilto betting scheme charges and for helping recruit players to a mob-run, rigged poker game, and he faces sentencing in January. 

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

With all eyes on Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference Final between the Thunder and Spurs we’re looking for insight — the deep, analytic analysis that will tell us whether Oklahoma City has a chance to go back-to-back and potentially start or dynasty, or if Victor Wembanyama will punch his first ticket to the NBA Finals.

We’re also looking to the carpeted stairs of a tastefully decorated suburban home to find out what a trick-shot-making corgi says about it all. Over on Instagram, “aircorg,” otherwise known as “Steph Furry,” has correctly predicted all six games of the Western Conference Finals so far. The corgi knew the Thunder would go up 3-2 before the Spurs answered back in Game 6, which is exactly what happened.

Who is his Game 7 pick?

The canine is calling a Spurs victory in Game 7. That might really make fans in San Antonio feel good, but in looking at the past predictions of aircorg I have serious doubts this pupper has innate psychic abilities. In fact, I think the corgi might be a fraud and this is all just random chance.

Understand that this revelation brings me no joy. We take accusations like this very seriously, and wouldn’t run a story like this unless we were quite sure this corgi was a fraud. So, before you write to my editor, please allow me to show my work.

There have been a lot of predictions from the corgi in recent years, but I chose to use Super Bowl LX as a starting data point. Aircorg correctly predicted that the Seahawks would win, good boy — but moving forward the results were far less compelling. Here are the corgi’s prediction records for each sport, from the Super Bowl moving forward:

NFL: 1-0
NBA: 12-7
MLB/WBC: 0-1
NHL: 7-8
NCAA: 22-10
Soccer: 18-14

Overall: 60-40

A 60-40 split is fine … for a dog. It’s barely better than a coin flip. While aircorg had an impressive run in the NCAA tournament and is on a tear in the NBA right now, the dogs truly struggled in the play-ins and early rounds.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t love the dog, but his ability to make picks is shaky at best. I’m just here to protect you, dear reader, from taking a second mortgage out on your house and wagering it all on the advice of a trick-shot-making pupper.

As the Sixers prepare to make the 22^nd pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, we want to bring up another name that Philadelphia drafted in the 20s within the last decade. It just so happens that Landry Shamet is still playing basketball as the 26^th pick by the Sixers in 2018, now with the Knicks and playing about 15-20 minutes per night off the bench for New York in the postseason.

Shamet’s game logs for the Knicks in these playoff rounds look a bit sporadic — and we’re certainly not attempting to condemn the Sixers for including Shamet in the Tobias Harris trade back in February 2019. It feels like letting Isaiah Joe and Julian Champagnie go for nothing have elicited stronger condemnations from Sixers fans as both Joe and Champagnie have turned into rotation players in the Western Conference Finals. For what it’s worth, Oklahoma City and San Antonio have done a good job developing lots of players so the surges from Joe and Champagnie should probably be mostly attributed to what their current franchises have done for them and not necessarily what the Sixers didn’t do.

But that’s not the case with Shamet. Even though he did not even play one full season with the Sixers, Shamet came right in and did what many would probably like the 22^nd pick in this year’s draft to do for the team. Having played three years of college basketball at Wichita State, Shamet was an instant bench contributor for the Sixers in 2018-19. It was a Sixers team that was (surprise, surprise) coming off a second-round loss in the 2018 playoffs and looking to accelerate towards contention. Shamet would average 20.5 minutes per game in the regular season with the Sixers and shoot 40% from the three-point line and 81.5% from the free throw line. He was looking like a pretty solid use of a late first-round pick.

However, as the 2018-19 season trudged along, Elton Brand felt the team needed more top-end talent and decided to cash in some bench pieces for Jimmy Butler and Harris. The irony is that Philadelphia was eliminated by a Toronto team that was mostly built on the depth it had behind Kawhi Leonard in 2019. Other recent champions like Milwaukee and Denver have seen rotations go 7-10 players deep behind their own superstars. It feels like New York, San Antonio and Oklahoma City are all similarly constructed now. So, Philly’s forever search for more stars doesn’t seem to have aligned with the way the league has trended.

As Shamet’s NBA career continued, he’s mostly been the same player he was in his short time with the Sixers, though he’s dealt with injuries. Between stints with the Clippers, Nets, Suns and now Knicks, Shamet has appeared in 64 playoff games, coming off the bench in the majority of those games. He’s a 37% three-point shooter in the playoffs. This is not an example of a late bloomer or someone who just found his way onto the right roster where he could be developed properly. This is someone who from the day he was drafted eight years ago has been the same useful NBA reserve.

To reiterate, Philadelphia’s trade for Harris and inclusion of Shamet in the trade back in 2019 was entirely understandable. The big mistake the Sixers made was re-upping with Harris on the big contract they gave him in the summer of 2019 when he was a free agent. For as unpopular as Harris was in Philly, he gave them a better chance to win in the 2019 playoffs than Shamet would have.

We’re simply asking the question if you’ve ever found yourself missing a player like Shamet in recent postseasons or if some of those feelings started to introduce themselves during the Knicks series this past season watching Shamet play for New York. Whether you miss Shamet or not, as we sit here eight years after the Sixers drafted Shamet, the Sixers are once again preparing for a draft pick in the 20s in which they hope to get a bench player that can help them build a deeper roster for future postseasons.

New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson plans to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals after having surgery for a broken right pinkie finger, according to ESPN.com.

Robinson plans to wear a brace on his right hand. Robinson was injured sometime during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers and appeared to favor his right during the third quarter.

Robinson finished Game 4 with eight points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes of action as the Knicks routed the Cavaliers to complete the sweep and earn their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1999.

The eighth-year favorite has been a key contributor for the Knicks off the bench, averaging 5.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks during New York's playoff run.

The Knicks will begin Game One of the NBA Finals on June 3 on the road against either the San Antonio Spurs or the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Federal prosecutors alleged on Thursday that former NBA player Terry Rozier arranged a $100,000 payoff to leave a game early as part of a plan shared with bettors. Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York filed a superseding indictment hours after co-conspirator Marves Fairley pled guilty to two charges related to the NBA wagering scandal.

Fairley told the court that he paid a player — whom the government has identified as Rozier — for the information. An initial $100,000 payout Rozier was to receive was later negotiated down to $70,000.

Rozier was charged in October with conspiracy wire fraud and money laundering. The government added sports bribery and honest services wire fraud conspiracy on Thursday. According to The Athletic, Rozier’s lawyer denied the claim and said he would pursue a motion to dismiss the case.

“The new indictment confirms that our motion to dismiss was a good one — it’s just new charges and new theories trotted out in the hope that something sticks,” Rozier attorney Jim Trusty said, perThe Athletic.

Rozier pled not guilty to the wire fraud charges in December and was released on $3 million bond. Since then Fairley is the second co-conspirator to change his plea to guilty. Damon Jones, indicted on wire fraud charges in the NBA scandal and a high-stakes poker scheme, pled guilty last month.

More than $250,000 placed in rigged bets

The new indictment also spells out details of NBAPA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and Uniform Player Agreement, highlighting violations. The new indictment reads that the agreements “required players to ‘refrain from gambling on NBA games, point shaving or other attempts to fix the score or
outcome of an NBA game, or providing confidential team or league information to individuals
involved in gambling.'”

Rozier, then a prolific scoring guard for the Charlotte Hornets, is accused of leaving a March 23, 2023, game early due to a lingering lower leg injury. He shared the information with a friend and gambler, Deniro Laster, who in turn shared it with other gamblers, including Fairley. Laster, Fairley, and “Co-Conspirator 1,” according to court documents, discussed via text Rozier’s plan to exit early and their own plans to use that information to place bets against his statistical performance.

Fairley allegedly also shared the information with co-conspirator Shane Hennen, who in turn passed it along to a network of bettors, resulting in placement of more than $250,000 in “under” bets on Rozier for the game. In addition, two people in Rozier’s “close circle” placed $4,800 worth of bets on Rozier’s “under” totals. Not all of the bets paid, and Rozier ultimately agreed to accept $30,000 less than originally planned, according to the new indictment.

Rozier also allegedly agreed to give Laster part of the bribe.

The Hornets lost the game in question to the New Orleans Pelicans, 115-96. Rozier played 9 minutes, 34 seconds in the game and scored 5 points. During the 2022-23 season, Rozier averaged 21.1 points and 35.3 minutes of playing time per game.

In the new indictment, federal prosecutors outlined the scheme:
In exchange for an approximately $100,000 bribe, ROZIER agreed with co-conspirators, including the defendant DENIRO LASTER, Marves Fairley and Co-Conspirator 1, that ROZIER would withdraw early from a to-be-determined game purportedly on the basis of his injury so that co-conspirators could bet on the information before it became public. ROZIER also agreed to give LASTER a portion of the bribe. LASTER communicated with Fairley and Co-Conspirator 1 using encrypted applications to keep them updated as the anticipated game grew closer. Meanwhile, Fairley and the defendant
SHANE HENNEN lined up individuals who were poised to bet on the inside information once
ROZIER identified the particular game he would withdraw from.

Two other conspirators have NBA ties

About five days after the game, Fairley and Laster traveled to Philadelphia to collect payouts from Hennen for the wagers on Rozier and other “fraudulent” bets. Prosecutors allege that Rozier set up and paid for Laster’s flight. On March 29, 2023, per the filing, “Fairley gave LASTER tens of thousands of dollars in cash as payment for the non-public information that LASTER had obtained from ROZIER and had provided to Fairley regarding ROZIER’s plan to exit prematurely from the March 23 Game.”

From Philadelphia, Laster drove to Rozier’s North Carolina home, and the two counted the money. Prosecutors also detailed information gathered and fraudulent bets made on at least six other games involving co-conspirator Eric Earnest, Jones, and others.

Though all of the defendants and co-conspirators are not named in the latest indictment, Earnest, Fairley, Jones, Timothy McCormack, Long Phi Pham, and former NBA player Jontay Porter are identified. Nine others are identified only as “co-conspirators,” including one who was an NBA player and one who played in the NBA from 1997-2014 and was “an NBA coach since at least 2021.” Three others are relatives of Laster, Hennen, or Rozier.

In addition, court documents reveal that the fraudulent wagers were placed with four sportsbooks, including two that are official sports betting partners of the NBA. The league lists DraftKings and FanDuel as its “official gaming partners.”

Rozier, who was traded to the Miami Heat on Jan. 23, 2024, was placed on unpaid leave by the NBA last October due to the gambling charges. He was waived by the Heat on April 10.

To start, here’s a breakdown of the 2026 Executive of the Year voting:

There are a lot of good executives here. If you look leaguewide, of the nine teams that won at least 50 games, eight of them are on this list.

Who’s missing? The Knicks, of course. Only one other team won at least 47 games and saw its executive not earn a single vote: Minnesota.

Fast forward to late May, and despite five different teams in the East having an executive on this list, none of them are in the NBA Finals, but Leon Rose is. You’d think at some point, awards like these would no longer value the regular season in such a way, but how else would we show how highly we think of Brad Stevens?

Individual awards are temporary. Banners are eternal. Even if the NBA Cup banner will never be hung, the 2025-26 Knicks will forever be represented in the rafters at Madison Square Garden, regardless of what happens next.

And it’s all thanks to Mr. Rose.

When James Dolan hired Rose to succeed Steve Mills as the Knicks’ President of Basketball Operations on March 2, 2020, the organization was in a bleak, bleak place. They were just over a year removed from trading their young All-Star on a rookie contract because of his lack of long-term belief in the organization, and had a foundation banking on several late lottery picks and 2019 No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett to move into the future.

Rose had never worked in an NBA front office, but had decades of experience in basketball as an agent with CAA, which had many star connections. Some of the best players in the league had Rose in their inner circle in the past, so the hope among fans was that he’d leverage those connections to make the Knicks a destination after years of being spurned by elite talent.

The day he was hired, the young Knicks took down a veteran Rockets squad led by James Harden (go figure) at Madison Square Garden behind 27 by Barrett and a double-double off the bench by Mitchell Robinson. Despite how bleak this roster looked, those two were your foundation.

Nine days later, their season abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Leon Rose era was already in chaotic and uncharted waters before he had even gotten a chance to furnish his office at 34th and 7th.

With no invitation to the bubble when life got more normal, his first offseason began without much of an in-person evaluation period. Interim head coach Mike Miller was shown the door, and the search began for the team’s 13th head coach in 20 years since Jeff Van Gundy was canned in late 2001. There are a lot of directions they could’ve gone.

They interviewed, in some capacity, the likes of Ime Udoka, Jason Kidd, Kenny Atkinson, Jahmal Mosley, Will Hardy, Mike Brown (hmm, whatever happened to him), and more, offering all different types of styles. Developers, young coaches, analytical coaches, offensive coaches, defensive coaches, star target coaches, etc.

Ultimately, in a list that included plenty of faces looking for their first head coaching job, he went for a retread, hiring Tom Thibodeau to take his “dream job” after up-and-down tenures in both Chicago and Minnesota. While their last attempt at hiring a defensive coach failed miserably in David Fizdale, Thibodeau was more respected in the mediascape and showed right away just how serious Rose was about ending the cycle of mediocrity.

Thibs’ scheme required buy-in, effort, and conditioning. For a young team, it might be hard to adapt to, but he made the early-2010s Bulls and late-2010s Timberwolves grow up. Why couldn’t he do it here? It was an edict to get out of the doldrums and start building something competitive.

But going into 2020-21, the team wasn’t expected to be competitive. Rose’s first-ever draft saw the Knicks drop from 6th to 8th in the lottery and select Dayton forward Obi Toppin, who was considered the best player available. This, to date, has been Rose’s only lottery selection, so the fact that multiple talented players like Devin Vassell and Tyrese Haliburton went behind him stings, but oh well. Drafting a talented combo guard in Immanuel Quickley at No. 25 doesn’t hurt.

Drafting Toppin clearly indicated that the conglomerate of power forwards the Knicks signed after striking out on three pitches in 2019 free agency was not part of the future vision. Taj Gibson was waived, Bobby Portis’ team option was declined, and Julius Randle was pretty clearly on the trade block as an expiring contract. The team waived Elfrid Payton, only to re-sign him a few days later.

Rose was also a big fan of wheeling and dealing. He swung multiple trades on draft night to maneuver around the board, ultimately selling the team’s second-round pick for a 2023 Pistons 2nd. He’d acquire a pair of 2nds from the Utah Jazz to eat Ed Davis’ modest contract before flipping him to the Timberwolves for filler and another 2nd. Three seconds just to ship Davis from Utah to Minnesota is good business.

On the margins entering his first season, he signed veteran role players Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, and Austin Rivers, while eventually bringing back Gibson to continue mentoring the young Robinson in January after waiving OG Nova Knick Omari Spellman. Despite what we know now, this season was supposed to be a continuation of a rebuild that saw the team enter 2021 with another crack at a top pick.

That didn’t happen. Instead, Thibodeau’s system ignited a fire into the ragtag mix of youth and veterans that charged them to an unlikely 41-31 record and No. 4 seed. Randle took himself off the trade block with an unbelievable season, finishing eighth in MVP voting while winning Most Improved Player. Everyone on the team was a sniper. They had the third-best defensive rating in basketball. Even as COVID restrictions limited fans, the energy was palpable as they broke the eight-year playoff drought out of nowhere.

Adjusting to the sudden reality of a potential Knicks playoff team, Rose swung a masterful midseason trade, sending certified bust Dennis Smith Jr. and a 2021 Hornets’ 2nd to the Pistons for Derrick Rose. He additionally grabbed another two seconds in a midseason trade that shipped out Rivers and Ignas Brazdeikis. D-Rose immediately stabilized a point guard position that had Elfrid Payton eating up too many minutes from Quickley in Thibs’ veteran system, and put the Knicks in a serious position.

But the reality check came hard and fast, as Trae Young became the first true Garden villain of the 21st century and the clock struck midnight on Randle’s Cinderella run. The magic ended as quickly as it began, but there was new hope surrounding the franchise.

The sudden bolt into playoff contention rewired the brains of everyone in the organization. There have been many cases of young teams overreacting to a strong season after years of misery, and it has led to negative blowbacks (the 2023 Giants still give me pain). Unfortunately for Rose, he wasn’t immune.

The flexibility the Knicks had in the 2021 offseason was mostly used to re-sign guys like D-Rose, Noel, and Burks to multi-year deals. They picked up Randle’s team option and gave him a new $120 million contract. But with the team’s offense being a major sticking point in the playoffs, Rose elected to give $72 million to Evan Fournier and, after being bought out by OKC, a one-year deal to former All-Star and New York native Kemba Walker.

In the draft, Rose continued to wheel and deal, drafting a talented quartet that included Quentin Grimes, Deuce McBride, Rokas Jokubaitis, and Jericho Sims while picking up a conditional 1st and two more future second-round picks.

Expectations were as high as they’d been in eight years ahead of the 2021-22 season. The season started brilliantly with a double-overtime win over Boston and a Christmas revenge game against the Hawks, but misery sank in over time. The offensive additions weakened the team’s defensive identity. Randle regressed, as did several veterans who were just given big extensions. D-Rose missed most of the season with an injury. The team sank to a miserable 37-45, missing the play-in and dooming the Knicks back to the lottery for the eighth time in nine years.

The first major inflection point had been reached in his tenure. Many outside voices believed the Knicks rushed a rebuild and urged them to build around their smattering of young players. Barrett took a step forward in 21-22, while guys like Grimes, Quickley, and Toppin showed promise when given time to cook. The vitriol surrounding Randle reached an all-time high as his relationship with the fans grew toxic.

At this point, he had to decide what path to take with the team. Does he tear it down and “Play the Kids”, or does he take a big swing in the offseason to patch the holes in the foundation? The Spurs and Jazz were starting to tear things down, freeing up both Dejounte Murray and Donovan Mitchell in the trade market. Murray was a strong defender with an ability to score, but the real prize was bringing the New York kid home. It would take a hefty sum, but for the first time in over a decade, there was a star that wanted to call the Mecca home.

Rose was adamant about pushing forward to return to the playoffs in 2023. He sent a sizable contingent (including Randle, for some reason) to sit courtside to watch Mitchell in his first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks. With Luka Doncic sidelined with injury, he’d have a chance to show that he’s the top dog in this series and win it by himself for the Jazz.

But Mitchell wasn’t the one they were solely there to see. Doncic’s second-in-command just so happened to be Rose’s godson, who has deep ties to the organization through his agency and his childhood. Jalen Brunson stole the show that series, scoring 41 points in Game 2 and averaging 27.8 points across a six-game series victory. With all the connections, coupled with his father being hired as an assistant, it was a match made in heaven when Brunson hit free agency on June 30.

The problem was that the Knicks had zero cap space, and Dallas would likely not be very cooperative towards a sign-and-trade. To fit his contract, they’d need to open up $30 million, which isn’t an easy task. It cost the team their lottery pick, as a complicated web of trades saw the team trade back from No. 11 to No. 13 (collecting multiple conditional firsts in the process) and then flip the pick that became All-NBA center Jalen Duren, along with Walker, to the Pistons for basically nothing. A week later, Burks and Noel met the same fate as salary dumps.

With that new cap space, Brunson was inked to a $104 million contract, the largest-ever free agent deal for a non-All-Star. That gamble was widely criticized, especially when it would seem to complicate the pursuits of Murray and Mitchell. The rest of the day was spent rewarding the homegrown Robinson with a $60 million extension, while signing his backup in analytical darling Isaiah Hartenstein for just eight million per year.

Rose didn’t match the Hawks’ offer for Murray despite a warchest of picks. When Danny Ainge asked for the moon and the stars for Mitchell, he balked at it, too. He didn’t want to give up foundational young pieces like Barrett, whom he rewarded with a $115 million extension. Twice, he stayed frugal when he had a chance to add an All-Star guard, hoping that his acquisition of Brunson and overall roster reshuffling could return the team to the playoffs.

23 games into the 2022-23 season, things weren’t changing. The Knicks were 10-13, and the sharks were circling. So much so that Rose privately started to consider a coaching change as the good graces of Thibodeau’s first year started to fade. For the first time, his job security started to feel in serious danger. What if all of these moves didn’t work out? Would Dolan emerge from his multi-year slumber to take a sledgehammer to the operations?

Thankfully, we never found out. Brunson emerged as a bona fide superstar, forming a formidable tandem with a rejuvenated Randle to revitalize the Knicks’ offense. The defensive fortitude of Robinson and the rising Grimes made the starting five solid defensively despite its natural shortcomings. With the deadline approaching once again, Rose had a decision to make.

And, once again, he made the right move in adding to the roster. Just before the deadline, he flipped the malcontent, benched Cam Reddish, and traded a first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers to acquire Brunson’s college roommate, Josh Hart. His addition would bring a spark on both ends of the floor, as he’d prove to be a dynamo in transition, add a new element to the team’s already gigantic rebounding advantage, and give them the hustle and glue guy they sorely lacked.

That team finished 47-35, obtaining the No. 5 seed. In a twist of fate, they matched up with Mitchell’s Cavaliers in the first round and knocked them out in five games, with Brunson outdueling the New York native and Hart tormenting the Cavs with his hustle. The series win marked the first for the Knicks in a decade, but the good feelings dissipated when Brunson’s supporting cast completely failed him against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in the second round.

But the calculus was now significantly easier going forward. The foundation was there and stabilized, no longer relying on outlier performances from veterans on contract years and data that suggested Randle was closer to an all-star than he was to what he was in 21-22.

The 2023 offseason was rather quiet. After trading away their draft pick, the team was essentially muted in the NBA Draft for the first time in quite a while. With Randle’s contract and his performance justifying his role on the team, Rose cut bait with his only ever lottery pick, flipping Toppin for two seconds. He used the savings to sign yet another Villanova product to the mid-level exception, inking Donte DiVincenzo to a four-year contract to add perimeter shooting to a team that was very mid-range and paint-oriented with its three best players in Brunson, Randle, and Barrett.

The start of the 2023-24 season was uneven. There were highs, there were lows, there was a feeling of stagnation. You knew the Knicks were good, a step above what we saw the last 20 years, but you knew they were limited in terms of upward trajectory. With Quickley due for a new extension soon and the team’s ceiling being rather low, Rose made a bold move. Out went the team’s two best young players for a non-All-Star on an expiring contract.

OG Anunoby is one of the league’s best 3-and-D wings, so it was no surprise that he would eventually field the largest contract in franchise history that offseason, but it’s never an easy sell to fully commit to contention by shedding the best young talent on your team. Rose doubled down on this by trading Fournier’s buried contract and the diminished Quentin Grimes for Bojan Bogdanovic and OAKAAK Burks just before the trade deadline.

On the night of the OG trade, Rose made one of his niftiest moves as POBO, extending seldom-used guard Deuce McBride to a three-year, $13 million deal to replace Quickley as the team’s backup point guard. It’s fair to say that it went pretty well.

For a month, the Knicks looked like the best team in basketball. Randle, Brunson, and Anunoby fit together like a glove. The emergence of DiVincenzo as one of the best volume shooters in the league, coupled with the steadiness of Hartenstein on both ends, made the January Knicks a dominant force to be reckoned with, but that all changed when Randle went crashing to the floor on a drawn charge attempt by Jaime Jaquez Jr. on January 28.

Randle would never wear the orange and blue again. Injuries to Anunoby, Bogdanovic, Robinson, Hart, and eventually Brunson saw the team fall apart in Game 7 of a second-round series against the Pacers. An exciting season came to a close, but the Knicks felt like a legitimate player going forward in the Eastern Conference.

This momentum motivated the front office to continue adding pieces. The war chest had been slowly accumulating over the years, to the point where the Knicks had the most future picks of any top-tier team outside of the surging Thunder. With no true 1A emerging on the trade market and wonky fits being passed over yearly, Rose chose a bold move. The war chest would be unloaded… for another non-All-Star role player.

Mikal Bridges is a different flavor of 3-and-D wing. He isn’t quite as impressive a defender as Anunoby, nor as strong, but he possesses a better ability to handle the ball and was a better matchup for the league’s premier guards. He was also a Villanova graduate, further strengthening the Nova Knicks bond. Four unprotected first-round picks, along with an excess Milwaukee pick and a pick swap, is an extremely hefty price, but it was time to push the chips in.

Why? Well, the newly established second apron was quickly approaching. Anunoby was about to ink a $212 million contract. Brunson was extension-eligible. Randle was extension-eligible. While Rose’s cap expert, Brock Aller, was incredible at circumventing the aprons, the time to go all in was now. They couldn’t wait another offseason or two without risking the aprons breaking up the core.

Speaking of all in, there was one big move left to be made. Karl-Anthony Towns is a CAA client, someone that Knicks brass has been eyeing up for years as Minnesota gravitated towards No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards as its franchise face. The tires had long been kicked for a move, but nobody expected it to come days before training camp started in late September. For everything they meant to the franchise and fans, Randle and DiVincenzo were gone. The Big Bodega was in.

The Knicks were all in. While Brunson had taken a massive pay cut to gain flexibility, the team now had two players on $200 million contracts and another two who would be on $150 million deals to go along with two others making over $15 million per year. They built their roster to beat the defending champion Celtics, but those Celtics thrashed them four times in the regular season. The starters looked clunky all season, the offense never felt dominant, and the defense wasn’t able to be elite with two bad defenders. Going into the playoffs, there was real concern.

Then, for a while, it went away. A gritty, six-game series win over the Pistons and an unbelievable upset over the Celtics had fans dreaming of the team’s first NBA Finals trip of the 2000s. All that stood in the way was a Pacers team they knew they should’ve beat the year before. What could go wrong?

It turns out, everything. Rose built the team to conquer the Celtics, but they were not prepared for the run-and-gun Pacers, who ran them out of the gym in a six-game series that was over much earlier than it seems. While the Knicks reached their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years, the season felt underwhelming.

And so, we reached the second major inflection point. Serious flaws with this roster were presented, and many felt like a big change might be necessary to shake things up. There was also the case of Tom Thibodeau, to whom the franchise was indebted after helping return them to relevance. But his issues were abundant. The starters were gassed, his scheme wasn’t modern on either end of the floor, and the locker room was split on him.

It was a tough decision, but Rose and Dolan decided to fire Thibodeau just one year after giving him an extension. To replace him, the front office went on a lengthy coaching search that briefly made the team a laughing stock, but they settled on Mike Brown, an offensive coach who would maximize this team’s offensive potential.

The roster stayed mostly intact, even when the Bucks came calling after Giannis Antetokounmpo made it clear to their brass that he wanted to be a Knick. There wasn’t much the Knicks could offer, but the fact that those talks didn’t get serious implies that they weren’t willing to make the move at all costs.

It’s been a rocky season. The Knicks have looked unbeatable one day and hard to watch the next, but they’ve found their stride at the right time. 11 consecutive wins in the postseason for the team’s longest winning streak, regardless of time of season, in 13 years. Sweeping their way to the NBA Finals against the team led by the man you almost acquired via trade four years ago. Finally reaching the place that seemed unattainable six years ago.

The journey has been exhausting. Dealing with big market expectations has been a chore for every decision-maker for every New York franchise for decades, but the Knicks were a different beast. Rose was considered a savior for several years, but as the Knicks stagnated a tier beneath the true contenders, he traded fan favorites and future flexibility for win-now pieces.

He faced multiple serious inflection points. He had to decide whether he was going to commit to prolonged rebuild or trying to turn things around fast. When the 2021 Knicks’ bubble burst, he had to decide whether it was worth it to continue trying to win or to retool around the young guys. He had to decide whether it would be wise to spend the team’s assets on a star guard in the trade market. He had to decide whether to fire Thibodeau or retool the roster after last season’s disappointing finish.

He had to make bold moves. Signing Brunson to a nine-figure contract was widely criticized by the NBA community. He made all in move after all in move to raise the team’s ceiling high enough to compete for a championship. He fired the most accomplished head coach the franchise had seen this century after the team’s best season in 25 years.

He’s not without his mistakes. The one lottery pick he’s ever had was spent on a permanent role player. He’s traded picks that became Ajay Mitchell, Tre Johnson, and Jalen Duren. He’s passed on the likes of Herb Jones, Jalen Williams, and Tyrese Haliburton. He signed Evan Fournier to a massive contract in an overreaction to 2020-21.

But perhaps his greatest strength is his patience. It’s extremely easy to overreact to things. If he had listened to the fanbase, the team would’ve built around a core of Quickley, Toppin, Reddish, and Barrett and been doomed to 35 wins forever. He knew not to trade Randle at an all-time low in 2022. He didn’t pull the trigger on enticing stars over the years just to finally accomplish a decade-long mission goal. He gave this roster patience, not disbanding them after one year or giving up on them when things looked extremely bleak at the deadline.

Leon Rose’s vision has culminated in things beyond what any fan could’ve imagined in 2020. He’s done this with one singular inherited player still on the roster, one lottery pick, and a whole lot of creativity. Consider where he’s built this roster from:

• Jalen Brunson: signed in free agency on a four-year, $104 million deal that was widely considered an overpay. Extended on a 4/156.
• Mikal Bridges: acquired via trade from Brooklyn for five first-round picks, Bojan Bogdanovic, and filler salary (thanks, Brock Aller!). Extended on a 4/150.
• Josh Hart: acquired via trade from Portland for Cam Reddish and the No. 23 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft (Kris Murray). Extended on a 4/80.
• OG Anunoby: acquired via trade from Toronto for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. Extended on a 5/212.
• Karl-Anthony Towns: acquired via trade from Minnesota for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
• Jose Alvarado: acquired via trade from New Orleans for Dalen Terry and two seconds.
• Deuce McBride: drafted No. 36 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. Extended on a 3/13.
• Jordan Clarkson: signed in free agency on a veteran minimum in July 2025.
• Landry Shamet: signed in free agency on a veteran minimum in September 2024.
• Mitchell Robinson: inherited from Steve Mills.
• Mo Diawara: drafted No. 51 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft.
• Jeremy Sochan: signed in the buyout market in February 2026.
• Tyler Kolek: drafted No. 38 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.
• Pacome Dadiet: drafted No. 25 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.
• Ariel Hukporti: drafted No. 58 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.

In the end, Rose has built something that has proven to be an outlier in the NBA. The Knicks weren’t built through a massive free agency haul like superteams of old. They didn’t rely on tanking for a half-decade and getting lucky in the lottery over and over again. They built their team meticulously in an innovative way, assembling a group of players who were cast off for deficiencies, imperfections, and players who were misvalued in one way or another.

Regardless of how the NBA Finals go, the Leon Rose era has been a resounding success. He’s completed one of the great turnarounds in NBA history, with as little ammunition as any executive in league history.

After a historic 11-game winning streak in the playoffs, the Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years. And it’s fair to ask where this Knicks team ranks among the greatest squads in the franchise’s history. 

The Knicks had a really strong regular season, winning 53 games. The playoffs have been even better, with New York winning its the last 11 playoff games by a 262-point differential -- an NBA record. 

With this Finals run still in progress, let’s look at where the 2025-26 team stacks up against the best Knicks squads past and present. 

Regular season record, playoff record, opponent strength, and memorable moments were all factors in these rankings.

Here are the top five Knicks teams ever...

No. 5: 1992-93 

The 1998-99 team, which was the first No. 8 seed to advance to an NBA Finals, deserves an honorable mention. But the only team on this list to not make the NBA Finals, the 1992-93 Knicks, was memorable. New York finished with the second-best record in the NBA at 60-22. The Knicks had the top-ranked defense, which propped up an offense that was ranked just 22nd.

Fifth in net rating, the Knicks were led by All-Star Patrick Ewing. John Starks emerged as a full-time starter by the second half of the season and was second on the club in scoring.

New York went 7-2 in the first two rounds before the ultimate showdown with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, with the Knicks having homecourt advantage in the Conference Finals. The swing moment of the series was Game 5, when Knicks forward Charles Smith was stuffed on four consecutive shot attempts in the waning moments of a deflating 97-94 loss at home. New York would’ve taken a lead if Smith converted. Chicago closed out the series in Game 6.

No. 4: 1952-53

Going 47-23 during the regular season, the Knicks had the best record in the Eastern Division and the second-best mark out of 10 teams. New York was led by All-Stars and future Hall-of-Famers Carl Braun and Harry Gallatin. 

The Knicks swept the Baltimore Bullets in two games and beat the Boston Celtics 3-1 before dropping the final four games to the Minneapolis Lakers in a 4-1 NBA Finals loss. But the combined success in both the regular season and the playoffs gives this group a spot in the top five.

No. 3: 1993-94

After multiple years in the shadow of the Bulls, New York was an instant title favorite for 1994 when Jordan announced his sudden retirement.

Bolstered by strong play from three All-Stars in Ewing, Starks, and Charles Oakley, and a midseason trade for point guard Derek Harper, the Knicks finished tied for the third-best record in the NBA at 57-25.

After two seven-game series in the first three rounds, New York got to the NBA Finals for the first time in 21 years. Facing the Houston Rockets, the Knicks held a 3-2 series advantage after five games. But a game-saving block from Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon on Starks -- who was taking a potential title-clinching three-pointer -- gave the Rockets Game 6 before Houston closed it out in Game 7.

No. 2: 1969-70

New York’s first truly dominant team came in 1969. Led by Willis Reed and Walt Frazier, the Knicks won 23 of their first 24 games in the regular season on their way to setting a franchise record with an NBA-high 60 wins.

The playoffs saw the Knicks beat the Bullets 4-3 and the Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 before advancing to the NBA Finals. The Knicks needed seven games to defeat the 46-36 Los Angeles Lakers. 

Part of the reason for the long series was a torn thigh muscle Reed suffered in Game 5. He famously returned briefly for Game 7, and Frazier led the Knicks to a championship with a remarkable 36 points and 19 assists in the clincher.

No. 1: 1972-73

The last championship squad for the franchise, this Knicks team ranked third in offensive efficiency and fourth in defensive efficiency during the regular season. With a 57-25 record, the Knicks had the fourth-best record in the NBA.

The playoff run was of supreme quality. The Knicks had the top net rating (plus-4.9) in the playoffs, per Basketball Reference. After defeating the 52-win Bullets in five games, the highlight of this Knicks team’s run came in the Eastern Conference Finals against the 68-14 Celtics, when the Knicks won 94-78 at the Boston Garden in Game 7. New York then vanquished another 60-win juggernaut with a 4-1 NBA Finals win over the Lakers.

The Knicks' starting lineup was stacked. Its starting five of Frazier, Earl Monroe, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, and Reed is the last championship team to have all five starters make the Hall-of-Fame.

Final say

Regardless of a win or loss, a competitive NBA Finals would vault this current Knicks squad easily into the top five. 

Thanks to a top 10 finish in both offense and defense during the regular season and a historically dominant run in the playoffs, the 2025-26 Knicks are quickly moving up the list as one of the top teams in franchise history.