The New York Knicks finally climbed the mountain in 2026. After 53 years of waiting, the franchise is once again the NBA champion, and Jalen Brunson has gone from beloved captain to Finals MVP.
Now comes the part that is often even harder: doing it all over again.
Former NBA head coach Byron Scott has already offered his prediction for the Knicks’ title defense, and it is not exactly what New York fans will want to hear. Scott believes the Knicks are good enough to remain deep in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but he does not expect them to make it back to the NBA Finals.
“I don’t see that being a repeat where New York is going back there (to the Finals). But, I think New York is going to be in that Eastern Conference finals,” Scott said on his podcast.
That distinction is important. Scott is not predicting some dramatic collapse from the defending champions. In fact, he remains clearly impressed by what New York accomplished and particularly by the mentality of its star point guard.
Scott Still Believes In Brunson
Scott went on to explain why he still expects the Knicks to be a major factor despite his prediction that they will fall short of another Finals appearance.
“I think they are just so tough mentally, as well as physically, and the pitbull, Jalen Brunson, he has that mindset of just carrying people,” Scott said. “When it’s all said and done, they are going to have a shot at it.”
That assessment is difficult to dismiss when you look at what happened last season.
The Knicks did not simply win the championship by cruising through the playoffs. They finished 16-3, posting the second-best playoff winning percentage since the first round became a best-of-seven series in 2003, behind only the 2017 Golden State Warriors.
And Brunson was at the center of practically everything.
New York defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the Finals, with Brunson producing 45 points to close out the franchise’s first championship since 1973.
The Finals themselves were remarkable. The Knicks erased double-digit deficits in all five games, eventually winning four of them, while Brunson led the series in clutch scoring with 22 points in those high-pressure situations.
So when Scott talks about Brunson’s mentality, there is plenty of evidence behind that observation.
The Knicks Have Already Made History
There is another reason Scott’s prediction is interesting: the Knicks are entering a season unlike anything this current group has experienced.
New York spent decades trying to win another championship. Now, instead of chasing everyone else, the Knicks are the team everyone else wants to knock off.
That changes the pressure.
Every opponent will have the defending champions circled. Every playoff series will bring a different level of scrutiny. And instead of being the hungry team trying to prove it belongs, New York now has to prove that its championship was the beginning of something rather than the peak of one magical run.
That does not mean the Knicks are suddenly a weaker team.
If anything, their postseason performance showed just how difficult they can be to eliminate. NBA.com noted that New York went 6-2 in playoff games in which it trailed by double digits, an extraordinary record during the play-by-play era.
That resilience is exactly why Scott still sees them reaching the Eastern Conference finals.
But The Eastern Conference Has Changed
The biggest argument supporting Scott’s prediction may not actually be about the Knicks themselves.
It is about the teams around them.
The Eastern Conference underwent major changes during the offseason, creating a much different landscape for the defending champions. Giannis Antetokounmpo moved from Milwaukee to Miami, while Philadelphia added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown after Brown was traded from Boston.
Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton are returning from Achilles injuries, adding even more uncertainty and potential firepower to an already competitive conference.
That is a lot for New York to navigate.
The Knicks do not have the luxury of assuming the same path will be available again. The teams chasing them have had an entire offseason to study what worked against New York and what did not.
And that is where the defending champion label becomes fascinating.
Brunson Gives New York A Major Advantage
If there is one reason Knicks fans can remain confident, it is Brunson.
The Finals MVP averaged a playoff-best 28.4 points during New York’s 16-3 championship run. He also averaged 26.0 points and 6.8 assists during the regular season.
Even more encouragingly, Brunson has been cleared to return following offseason surgery on his left wrist.
That is significant because the Knicks do not need Brunson to become something he was not last season. They need their leader to continue doing what he already proved he could do when the pressure was at its highest.
His 45-point performance in the championship-clinching game is the obvious example.
But the bigger takeaway is the consistency of his late-game presence throughout the postseason.
The Repeat Question Will Follow Them
Scott’s prediction should not be treated as a declaration that the Knicks cannot repeat. It is one analyst’s assessment of how difficult the Eastern Conference has become.
There is also a difference between failing to repeat as champions and failing to have a successful season.
If New York reaches the Eastern Conference finals, as Scott predicts, that would still mean the Knicks had navigated a brutal conference and remained among the league’s final four teams.
But for a fan base that waited 53 years for another championship, expectations have changed dramatically.
Nobody in New York is satisfied simply with being competitive anymore.
The Knicks now know what it feels like to win it all. They have Brunson leading the way, a championship-tested roster and the confidence that comes from overcoming adversity on the biggest stage.
Still, Scott has raised a fascinating question: can the same team survive an even tougher road with a championship target on its back?
That answer will not come from predictions.
It will come when the Knicks finally step back onto the court.
For now, Byron Scott sees New York going deep, but not all the way back to the Finals. Knicks fans will have every right to disagree, especially after everything this group accomplished last season. The real debate starts when the defending champions begin their title defense.