“Knicks in 5” hasn’t stopped the doubters in the NBA.
Only one of the league’s 30 basic managers picked the Knicks to win the championship this season according to the annual GM survey printed Thursday on NBA.com, which is the fewest for a defending champ since Toronto in 2019-20.
In the case of the Raptors, Kawhi Leonard — the Finals MVP — had just left in free company for the Clippers.
Jalen Brunson and the Knicks have a good time during the trophy ceremony after their NBA championship win over the Spurs last season. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
But these Knicks are returning the whole beginning lineup that helped set the league report for optimistic level differential in the playoffs.
The Spurs, whom the Knicks toppled in the 2026 Finals, acquired 50 % of the GM votes for the next champion. The Thunder were second with 43 % of the votes. The Knicks and Sixers each acquired 3 % — or just one vote.
The GMs weren’t allowed to decide their own groups or gamers.
Despite the lack of religion in the Knicks to repeat, 60 % of the GMs picked New York to emerge from the East — which was nicely above the No. 2 Sixers at 23 %. It was the first time in the survey’s historical past — which dates to 2002 — that the Knicks were picked to win the convention.
But the league’s decision-makers clearly don’t believe New York can topple the West champs, particularly the Spurs or Thunder.
For the classes about particular person gamers and coaches, Jalen Brunson and Mike Brown acquired lots of love.
Most notably, Brunson was voted as the NBA’s greatest chief with 53 % of the votes, nicely above the 20 % for Stephen Curry. It offered Brown an alternative to reward his staff captain.
“He studies the game, and that helps a lot,” Brown said. “He walks the talk. He works extremely hard, and he strives for perfection from himself. And when you do that — and when your peers see you do that and you’re looked upon as the best player on the team — it gives credibility to tell somebody else when they’re not giving their all, when they need to be better. But just as importantly, he’s not afraid. Because as a leader, sometimes you have to be on an island.”
Brunson was also voted second for the prime clutch participant in the NBA, behind Curry. Brunson was also third for future greatest coach.
Brown took third for greatest present coach (behind Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and OKC’s Mark Daigneault) and fourth for prime motivator (behind Spoelstra, Boston’s Joe Mazzulla and Golden State’s Steve Kerr).
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