Inside the Knicks’ Secret Formula That Could Finally End Their Title Drought

New York sports fans expect championships, but, of course, teams in the Big Apple don’t always deliver. The Knicks were prime examples for decades. Until, that is, Leon Rose started assembling a team – sometimes going outside the box – that developed into NBA champions.

For the first time in 53 years, the New York Knicks are NBA champions. And while it may seem like all this happened with an amazing run after trailing early in a first-round playoff series, their achievement was years in the making.

Since being named team president in 2020, Leon Rose has transformed the franchise from league-wide laughingstock to, well, champions. Having closed last decade with seven straight losing seasons, they’ve been to postseason in five of the six seasons since 2020-21.

Rose had a vision, and he’s executed it wonderfully.

This postseason, the Knicks went 16-3, winning 15 of their final 16 games after being down 2-1 against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. Their run included sweeps of the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers, and was completed by a 4-1 dispatching of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

Here are the five key steps to the team’s masterful turnaround under Rose.

Step 1: Identifying the Right Face of the Franchise

It all starts with the NBA Finals MVP, Jalen Brunson. Since signing with the team in 2022, he has been one of the best players on the planet.

However, it wasn’t always this obvious. Many people scoffed at the notion of paying an undersized guard who started less than half of his games in his first four seasons over $100 million, but Rose and the Knicks saw the vision.

Not only has Brunson put up gaudy numbers – he’s averaged 26.3 points and 6.8 assists in four seasons with the Knicks – but he is also what a franchise player should be: calm, confident, resilient, and most importantly, all about winning.

Also, let’s not forget that in 2024, Brunson did not pursue a super max contract and basically took a $113 million pay cut to make building the Knicks’ roster possible.