The New York Mikals are your NBA Champi- I mean, the New York Knicks are your NBA Champions. This has honestly come as quite a shock to me. The Knicks were not the championship favorites coming into the season, the playoffs, the Conference Finals, or even the NBA Finals.
I, like many foolish people, watched the Western Conference Finals thinking that I was watching the deciding series of the playoffs. Surely either the Thunder or the Spurs would take down any team in the East over the course of seven games, right?
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Apparently not.
I am elated by this outcome, though. Not only do I love to see the Spurs lose, but I loved watching one of my all-time favorite Suns win a chip. Most of all, though, I love what this outcome tells us about the NBA in the modern era.
SAN ANTONIO, TX – JUNE 13: Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks poses for a portrait after winning Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
When I think of the NBA, I think of dynasties. I think of Magic and Bird, Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Duncan, LeBron, Wade, Steph. I don’t think of Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups. The NBA, more than any other sport, is defined by its dynasty-building superstars. That is the image that has skyrocketed the NBA brand to its current popularity.
But, the NBA has implemented many changes in recent years to break the chain of dynasties and lead us to our current parity paradise. The most impactful of these changes was the second apron, forcing teams to break up talented cores and make tough choices about who to keep. In many ways, this new parity era has taken the NBA away from its previous dynasty-heavy identity to something more akin to the MLB.
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Until very recently, when the Dodgers decided to ruin the game I love, the MLB playoffs have been defined by an “every team has a chance” spirit. If your favorite team made the playoffs, they could get hot at the right time and beat any other team. The Arizona Diamondbacks experienced this in 2023, making a run to the World Series in a season where they went just 84-78.
Every now and then you get a big run in baseball. The Yankees will rip off three in a row here, the Red Sox will win two in three years there. But for the most part, every playoff team has a shot. In the NBA, this isn’t usually the case.
Let’s take a look at the last seven NBA champions going into these playoffs:
Four of these seven, OKC, Boston, Denver, and Milwaukee share a commonality. Each of these teams, I would argue, were at the beginning or middle of their championship window. Milwaukee was closer to the end than any of us knew, but would have probably had a longer run if it weren’t for injuries.
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The Warriors were clearly at the end of their window when they won in 2022. The Lakers title, though legitimate, was won in the bubble so I don’t want to use it to identify any trends. Finally, the Raptors window closed after Kawhi Leonard left town for the Clippers.
For each of the other four, I looked around the league after they won and asked, “Who could possibly beat this team next season?” For Milwaukee and Denver, I thought their best players were simply unbeatable. For Boston and OKC, I thought their systems were unbeatable.
But all were beaten.
And now we have an NBA champion in the New York Knicks that looks a lot like the Texas Rangers, who beat the Diamondbacks in 2023, and that is strange. Much like the Diamondbacks themselves, the Rangers weren’t really in contention before their 2023 title run, and haven’t really been in contention since. They simply got hot at the right time and went on an incredible run.
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Since the Bulls dynasty ended almost 30 years ago, the New York Knicks are just the fourth team to win a title that “wasn’t supposed to be there” (2019 – TOR, 2011 – DAL, 2004 – DET). Every other champion could have been considered a contender going into their title year(s).
Oh, the Knicks were good, and have been for years now. But the Raptors, the Mavericks, and the Pistons had all been good going into their title years too, and they weren’t expected to win either.
The difference is the environment. The Raptors won a title in the Warriors dynasty years, the Mavericks in the Boston/Miami years, and the Pistons in the Spurs/Lakers years. Everyone knew that the following season, one of the big dogs was likely to find itself back on top the food chain. It isn’t like that anymore. The Knicks have won an NBA championship in what could have been the second year of an OKC dynasty or the first year of a Spurs dynasty, but wasn’t. Next year, it could be Miami, Atlanta, or Indiana that gets hot at the right time and beats the next “unbeatable” team.
But, this isn’t Bright Side of the Knickerbockers, so why should Suns fans care that the Knicks won a title?
You should care because it means this ship may not have to sink after all. It means that the Suns can find their way to a title in the Devin Booker era. It could be the Suns who do the impossible and beat the unbeatable, like the Knicks did this season.
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New York found their guy, Jalen Brunson, and surrounded him with the pieces he needed. They got long, defensive wings, a stretch big, and a deep enough bench. They built around him well with the pieces that fit best alongside him, and it paid off.
The Suns did this once with Booker as well. They gave him a point guard to run the offense, stretch bigs off the bench, long defensive wings, and paint defense. It resulted in the Suns’ first NBA finals run since the Barkley era.
I have been a bit doom-and-gloom since the Suns traded away Kevin Durant. Though trading him away was the right call, I thought it meant the end of the possibility of the Devin Booker era championship parade.
Now, the New York Knicks are champions. Their best player is a small point guard who many thought would never be able to be the best player on a championship team. Brunson certainly has his limitations, but the Knicks mitigated them through excellent teambuilding.
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If they can do it, so can the Suns.
The offseason has begun, Suns fans. Given the current roster construction, it is likely to be a quiet one but you never know what could happen. I am holding out hope for a Jalen Green trade, but if you fire up the trade machine, you’ll find that the right move is a bit difficult to find.
Still, the right moves may be out there. If Brian Gregory can pull them off, the impossible may just become possible.
The next major offseason domino is on June 23rd, when the NBA draft comes around. Curious who the Suns might be drafting?
