By Jonah Drew

Record: 53-29

For the first time in a long time, the New York Knicks are not the laughing stock of the NBA. In fact, they are quite the opposite, they are absolutely not to be messed with. This tide began turn when Tom Thibodeau, a hiring that was heavily questioned and still questioned to this day despite his success. What really changed the Franchise though, was the signing of Jalen Brunson. Like the Thibs hiring, the Brunson signing was heavily scrutinized. To say Brunson has proved those doubters wrong would be the understatement of the century. Brunson went from the most overpaid player in the NBA, to the most underpaid in a matter of 2 years. He has overtaken Julius Randle as this team’s number 1 option and now as the king of New York. Brunson’s second year in New York saw the Knicks reach heights they haven’t in a long long time. The Knicks won 50 games and earned the second seed in the eastern conference. Come playoff time, things did not go the way the Knicks would have hoped, they were bounced by a 6 seeded Pacers team in 7 games. It is definitely worth mentioning that the Knicks were not at full strength, Julius Randle was out, OG Anunoby was hurt, Mitchell Robinson was hurt, and Bojan Bogdonovic was hurt. Despite the early exit, 2023-24 was a smashing success for NY, it saw them get OG Anunoby, the escalation of the Nova boys, and steady improvement in all aspects. This offseason has also been a hit for Leon Rose and the rest of the front office. They paid OG Anunoby, they had Jalen Brunson take a historic paycut, and most importantly, they made a block buster move to complete the Villanova infinity stones. They traded a plethora of first round picks across town to bring over Mikal Bridges. I expect Bridges to excel in his role with significantly less offensive creation responsibility. This Knicks defense should be tremendous once again, partly because they play with an unmatched intensity but also because of the defensive ability. Outside of Jalen Brunson and maybe Julius Randle, basically everyone in this rotation is an above average defender, Donte Divincenzo, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, Deuce Mcbride, the list goes on. There was a clear emphasis on defense when this roster was constructed, sort of bucking the trend of the modern NBA. That seems with the Knicks, they are not afraid to go against the grain. They are built on grit, heart, hustle, defense, and depth, all of which seem to be dying arts in the today’s NBA. We will see how far they can zig to the NBA’s zag, but so far, so good.

MVP: Jalen Brunson

Jalen Brunson is officially the king of New York. He took a historic paycut to stay in New York long term while giving Leon Rose and Co. the opportunity to put even more talent around him. Jalen Brunson was not always this king, this superstar, he is today though. He was a second round pick, overlooked due to his stature, despite his illustrious college career at Villanova that featured multiple National titles. At the pro level, he was heavily overshadowed by Luka Doncic. Brunson was productive coming off the bench but nobody could have ever seen what was coming when Brunson came to the big apple. Brunson has blossomed into a true superstar and absolutely one of the 10-15 best players in all of basketball. Brunson is one of the most ball dominant players in the NBA, the Knicks offense goes as he does, he is in the 99th percentile in offensive involvement. Brunson is very unique, despite his small stature, Brunson does a lot of his work around the cup. He loves to get downhill and play at his own pace, for my money, Jalen Brunson has the best footwork in the NBA. He is also one of the best pull-up shooters in the association. He is in the 100th percentile in Mid Range Pull up talent and Mid Range shot creation. On top of all the artistry Jalen Brunson does, he is deadly from down town. He was a 40.1% 3 point shooter on 7 3pt attempts per game. Jalen Brunson is an offensive maestro, despite his poor shot quality, Jalen Brunson is an uber efficient offensive player. Do not be shocked if Jalen Brunson comes out and drops 30 a night this upcoming season, he did it for significant stretches last season.

DPOY: OG Anunoby

OG has always had a spoty bill of health but when healthy, he is one of the most impactful defenders in the game. It is certainly not a coincidence that in the regular season, the Knicks were a crazy 20-3 when OG suited up. OG is one of the more versatile defenders in hoops, he ranks in the 94th percentile in defensive positional versatility. I don’t think anything represents that better than him holding his own on one of the shiftiest guards in the NBA in Tyrese Maxey and one of the most dominant big men ever in Joel Embiid, I doubt there is more than 3 guys in the NBA who can do that. He is in the 97th percentile in perimeter isolation defense. He is also in the 78th percentile in post defense and defensive playmaking. In December, the Knicks had a Defensive rating of 123.6, the worst in basketball. In January, the Knicks had a Defensive rating of 104.4, the best in basketball, that is a wild jump. The Knicks traded for OG Anunoby on December 30th.

Breakout: Miles McBride

Miles McBride is an excellent point of attack defender who really showed flashes of offensive brilliance down the stretch last season. Due to some injuries, Deuce McBride was forced to take on a heavier offensive load in the playoffs. He stepped up nicely, putting up 11 PPG on .536 eFG%. I would like to see McBride improve as a playmaker though, he only averaged 2 APG in the postseason and 1.7 in the regular season. It seems the Knicks share my concern as they made playmaking behind Brunson a priority this past offseason, going out and signing Cam Payne and drafting Tyler Kolek out of Marquette. Deuce took strides as a 3 point shooter, shooting sub 30% in his first 2 NBA seasons but shooting above 40% this past year. I see him as more of a 2 guard, but if he can provide spectacular perimeter defense while being a great tertiary bucket getter, that is a very valuable player, especially off the bench.

Sources

Basketball Index

Basketball Reference

ESPN

nba.com