New York Knicks

The New York Knicks exist at the intersection of sporting mythology and decades of institutional failure, and somehow both realities are equally true. Founded in 1946 and winners of championships in 1970 and 1973, the Knicks play at Madison Square Garden — the 19,812-seat cathedral of basketball in Midtown Manhattan that remains the most famous arena on the planet despite the franchise spending most of the last fifty years being unworthy of it. The Garden deserves better. It usually does.

Under Mike Brown, who replaced Tom Thibodeau in July 2025, the Knicks have achieved something that seemed impossible for most of this century: genuine relevance. The 51-31 finish in 2024-25 and the third seed in the East were built on Jalen Brunson’s transformation from solid starter to bona fide superstar. Brunson does not play basketball so much as wage war — undersized, relentless, and utterly fearless in the moments that matter most. The additions of OG Anunoby’s elite defence and Julius Randle’s versatile scoring have given New York a roster that can actually justify the hysteria that the Garden generates on a nightly basis.

The Knicks are the NBA’s most culturally significant franchise, and that is not hyperbole — it is economics. The New York market, the Madison Square Garden brand, and the celebrity courtside culture create a gravitational pull that no other franchise can replicate. When the Knicks are good, the entire NBA benefits. When they are bad, which has been embarrassingly often, the league loses a protagonist. Australian fans see the Knicks on ESPN broadcasts with a frequency that reflects market power rather than merit, but for the first time in decades, the basketball justifies the airtime.

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The Knicks enter 2025-26 as genuine Eastern Conference contenders, and the fact that this sentence can be written without irony represents one of the most significant developments in recent NBA history. Brunson is the reason. The Garden is the stage. And the combination of those two elements on a January night against a rival produces an atmosphere that Australian fans can feel through their television screens via Kayo Sports. The Knicks’ global brand guarantees the broadcast slots. For the first time in far too long, the product is worthy of the packaging.

VS — Chief sports columnist, australiafootball.com