Upon the end of All-Star Weekend on Sunday night, all the dialogue surrounded the new format, celebrity appearances, and controversial comments by people such as Draymond Green. The NBA always tries new things, but the consensus seemed that the league should return to the traditional East/West setup. However, from the Knicks’ perspective, this night was all about their two All-Star starters, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. The duo became the first Knicks to start in exactly 50 years when Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe did it. It’s been 52 seasons since New York won a championship, which is their ultimate goal. Nonetheless, Brunson and Towns earning starting honors was a nod to the tremendous progress the franchise has made.
A Timeline of the Knicks Resurgence
NY Was the NBA’s Worst Team From 2015 to 2020
Although Carmelo Anthony‘s Knicks era lasted until 2017, his final Knicks playoff game was in 2013. After losing to the Indiana Pacers in the second round, NY missed the playoffs in 2014, the first of seven straight seasons. From the 2014-15 campaign until 2019-20, the Knicks held the worst record in the league with a 147-329 mark. That was 13 wins shy of Phoenix, who was the second-worst in that span. Luckily for the starved Knicks fanbase, the misery was about to end.
Julius Randle Signed With the Knicks in 2019
After being shunned by Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, who were rumored to be joining the Knicks that summer, New York was the laughingstock of the league. Although they didn’t know it at the time, the Knicks dodged a bullet when the superstar duo chose the team across the river in Brooklyn. Their consolation prize was Julius Randle inking a three-year deal, taking on the challenge of lifting this team out of the shadows. Success didn’t come immediately, but Randle’s arrival is quietly one of the biggest in Knicks history.
New York Hired Agent Leon Rose as President
The Knicks drafted Mitchell Robinson in 2018 and RJ Barrett in 2019, who became relevant members of the organization’s turnaround. However, everything really changed in the Big Apple when CAA agent Leon Rose was named the successor to Steve Mills as President of Basketball Operations on March 2nd, 2020.
New York was in the midst of another lost campaign, although Robinson and Barrett were surely part of the future. The first big move made by Rose was hiring former Bulls and Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau to lead the team. On draft night 2020, the Knicks took Obi Toppin with the eighth pick and traded for the rights to Immanuel Quickley from OKC. It was early, but New York had started a foundation with those four players.
Thibodeau’s hard-nosed, intense style of coaching rubbed off immediately on the organization. Despite having zero expectations heading into the 2020-21 season, New York rode their incredible defense and hustle, as well as Randle’s breakout season, to the fourth seed in the East and homecourt advantage in the first round. Although they were beaten handily by Atlanta, the franchise was finally back on its feet after breaking the playoff drought.
New York suffered a major setback season in 2021-22 after striking out on risky Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier free agent deals. They missed the playoffs with a record of 37-45. Luckily, their most important move was about to happen.
Jalen Brunson Signed With the Knicks in Summer 2022
Just as with Randle three years prior, the Knicks were mocked for giving Brunson a four-year, $104M contract. People saw it as a consolation prize when they eventually missed out on the Donovan Mitchell trade. Mitchell had seemed destined to end up in NYC and was supposed to be a much better player than Brunson. Very few saw the vision with the former second-round pick. Those who did cite the playoff series a few months before, where Brunson dominated the Jazz without Luka Doncic.
Within a season, Brunson, Randle, Barrett, and a quality group of role players made New York a truly good team. As quickly as he was called overpaid, Brunson suddenly had one of the best-value contracts in NBA history. After Thibodeau went away from underperforming players like Cam Reddish, Evan Fournier, and Derrick Rose in favor of Quentin Grimes, Deuce McBride, and Obi Toppin, NY went 37-22 the rest of 2022-23. The Knicks dominated Mitchell’s Cavaliers in five games to win their first playoff series in 10 years. Miami ousted them in six on their way to the NBA Finals, but the Knicks had returned to relevance.
In the Calendar Year 2024, NY Found Their Final Form
New York headed into 2023-24 with nearly the same roster, just adding Donte DiVincenzo off the bench. However, after an uneven start to the campaign, Rose made the first transformational trade of his tenure. NY traded fan-favorites Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett to Toronto for OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa. Both are key contributors to the 2024-25 Knicks, but Anunoby’s arrival was far more important than even Rose could’ve imagined. In a 12-game sample size with Brunson, Randle, and Anunoby, New York was 11-1 with a historically great net rating. That all ended when Randle and Anunoby went down, leading to a fun season with a disappointing ending in the second round. The Knicks are now 52-20 with OG in the lineup.
In the summer of 2024, Rose dealt five first-round picks to Brooklyn for Mikal Bridges, completing a Villanova Knicks quartet next to Brunson, DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart. However, two months later, DiVincenzo and Randle were traded to Minnesota for Karl-Anthony Towns, forming today’s Knicks. In less than five years, Leon Rose turned a 21-45 Knicks team into a legitimate championship contender for many years. Gone are the days when loyal Knicks fans struggled through endless losing seasons.
They now have a starting five worthy of hoisting the trophy: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Time will tell if they can get it done, but their turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable.
Photo credit: © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
