Nocturnal 
The New York Knicks waited 53 years for an NBA championship. Now they’ve got about 53 weeks to prove it wasn’t a one-off, because recent history suggests the trophy rarely stays in the same city for long.
New York beat the odds to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2026, ending a title drought that stretched all the way back to 1973. It capped a run through the play-offs that saw them beat Boston in round two – a series in which Celtics star Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon – before advancing past Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals. The Knicks then won it all, as noted in reporting from The Athletic and MSN.
But the bigger story, as The Athletic has pointed out, is what that title did to the NBA’s record books. The Knicks becoming champions meant seven different franchises had won the title in seven straight seasons, the longest such streak in league history. Before that, the previous record stood from 1975 to 1980, when six different teams were crowned champions.
A relentless era of change
There hasn’t been a back-to-back NBA champion since Golden State won in 2017 and 2018. Since then, the Raptors, Lakers, Bucks, Warriors again, Nuggets, Celtics and now the Knicks have all taken turns, according to figures reported by the Associated Press via Yahoo UK.
The league actively wanted more unpredictability after Cleveland and Golden State met in four straight Finals from 2015 to 2018. It has got exactly that, and then some – injuries to stars including Tatum, Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard (also an Achilles tear) and Golden State’s Stephen Curry (a hamstring strain) all derailed title contenders during that stretch, showing how fragile a “window” can be in the modern NBA.
Knicks coach and players were well aware of how brutal that run to the top was. Guard Jalen Brunson said after beating Boston: “Upset or not, whatever it is, we beat a great team. They obviously lost a huge piece … but they’re still a great team.”
Minnesota’s Chris Finch and Indiana’s Rick Carlisle, whose teams also made the final four last season, spoke about how hard it is to even get a shot at the trophy. Carlisle said: “You’ve got to have big dreams. You don’t know how often you’re going to be in this position.”
What happens next
The Knicks’ title defence is already under way in preseason. On Monday night they faced a revamped Philadelphia 76ers side, though star names LeBron James, Joel Embiid and All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey all sat out the game as healthy inactives, as reported by ESPN. James joined Philadelphia as a free agent over the summer after a storied career that includes four championships and four Finals MVP awards.
The Sixers, who finished last season 45-37 before being swept by the Knicks in round two of the play-offs, are shaping up as one of several teams hoping to end New York’s reign before it really gets going.
Whether the Knicks can defy the NBA’s new normal and become the first repeat champions since Golden State remains to be seen. With a league-wide trend towards unpredictability, plenty of contenders – from a LeBron-and-Embiid-led Philadelphia side to Oklahoma City, Minnesota and Indiana, all of whom reached last season’s final four – will fancy their chances of making it eight different champions in eight years.
For now, New York holds the trophy and the target on its back. The regular season is expected to get fully under way in the coming weeks, with the Knicks’ first competitive test of their title defence to follow their preseason schedule.
