Ask any fan and they will tell you, the 2025-2026 New York Knicks are staring at their best chance to win an NBA title since the 1999-2000 season, back when they were beaten by the San Antonio Spurs in five games.

And while the majority of this opportunity comes as a result of Leon Rose’s roster building, Tom Thibodeau’s (yes, give him his credit) coaching, and the players’ performances, we would be kidding ourselves not to mention the absences of both Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum due to season-ending injuries.

Those injuries have helped to position the Knicks at the top of the Eastern Conference, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But it won’t come easy. The Knicks fired Thibs after losing in six games to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and hired veteran coach Mike Brown to bring the orange and blue to a place they haven’t been in twenty-five years. The spotlight in New York is always bright, even without the finals or bust expectations. That being said, if this team gets off to a slow start, the pressure surrounding Brown will be massive.

Leading up to a new season, the Knicks, with a new coach, will have to adapt in how they approach games in terms of strategy, rest, and personnel. Here’s a look at the top three questions facing the 2025-2026 version of the New York Knicks.

To me, there is no bigger question than who Mike Brown will select to be a part of the Knicks rotation? How many players will he play on a nightly basis? And who will he value on the roster, as currently constructed?

Over the course of the 195 games Mike Brown was in charge of the Sacramento Kings from 2022-2024, he generally favored a nine-man rotation, with a 10th player sprinkled in sporadically. During the 2022-2023 season, Brown frequently experimented with the Kings’ rotation up until the 40-game mark, and I expect he will do something similar with the Knicks for at least 15-20 games.

During Knicks Media Day, Brown spoke about playing faster, and that “getting to the corners quickly” will help the Knicks to push the pace. I know there’s a lot fans that loved the double-big lineup featuring both Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, but I just don’t see that coming to fruition, at least in the early part of the season.

Furthermore, during his introductory press conference, Brown spoke about “paint touches” as a point of emphasis for his guards and forwards. This conversation came about as Brown was discussing the Knicks’ new additions in Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele. My early-season hot take is that Clarkson might start in favor of Josh Hart.

I think the opening day starting lineup will feature Jalen Brunson, Clarkson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and KAT. The bench will feature Deuce McBride, Malcolm Brogdon (ESPN’s Shams Charania recently reported Brogdon will have a key role in the bench), Josh Hart, Yabusele, and Mitchell Robinson. Landry Shamet will be Brown’s “situational” next man up if someone gets hurt or dips in form.

Based on my prediction for the starting five, you might conclude that Josh Hart won’t be the happiest of campers come opening night. You would be correct. Josh is the ultimate team player, and although he’s reiterated plenty of times that he’s fine with either a starting or bench role, he sees himself as a starter in this league.

One of my main criticisms of Tom Thibodeau was that he didn’t explore Hart with the reserve unit earlier last season. Even though Josh was a good solider, and reportedly suggested the lineup change during the Celtics series, anyone who watched the games, saw that he looked very out of sync and struggled to find his rhythm offensively off the bench.

The other piece of this is: I just don’t think any coach values what Hart brings to the table as much as Tom Thibodeau did. Of course, Mike Brown will value Hart’s ability to push the pace in transition, and his relentlessness in crashing the boards, but I also think Brown will have a much shorter lease for Hart when he’s not doing those things while also being a non-factor on the offensive end.

Ultimately, I think Hart’s effectiveness in adjusting to a new and very different role on the Knicks determines whether he stays long-term or becomes a trade candidate prior to the deadline. Not to mention that Hart recently re-aggravated his surgically-repaired ring finger, which figures to impact his play in the short-term.

One of the major differences fans will see between a Thibs-lead Knicks team and one coached by Mike Brown will be the offense. Gone are the days where the Knicks grind out possessions, especially in the fourth quarter, with a heavy emphasis on iso-Brunson ball. I do believe the ball will move more frequently and that there will be more motion off the ball.

But let’s also give Thibs credit. For all his warts, the team finished the 2024-2025 regular season ranked fifth in offense rating and 13th in isolation possessions per game. However, during the postseason, the Knicks ranked seventh in offensive rating and 6th in isolation possessions per game. The latter was a major eyesore for fans who watched the orange and blue get out-classed by a Pacers team playing at a different pace.

Although Brown used to have more of a defensive reputation when he was coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, it’s possible that his time as an assistant head coach with the Golden State Warriors and Steve Kerr has shifted that philosophy. During the 2022-2023 regular season, the Kings finished first in the league in offensive rating but 24th in defensive rating. Whether that was due to Brown’s emphasis on offense or a lack of personnel to properly carry out his defensive philosophies, time will tell.

Brown will arguably have the two best defensive wings that he’s ever coached in Bridges and Anunoby, along with one of the best defensive centers in the game in Robinson. The pieces are there, but results will depend on how Brown chooses to deploy them.

Overall, I think that Brown will be more willing to experiment with different offensive sets and lineups. As a result, I expect a bit of turbulence in the win-loss column until at least game #20. Knicks fans will no doubt remember the Pacers starting last season 10-15 before Haliburton remembered how to play basketball again on their way to the NBA Finals.

I wouldn’t put too much stock into a slow start as these Knicks and their new head coach become accustomed to each other. This marriage will take time to bear fruit, but make no mistake about it, the bar has been set, and anything less than a deep playoff run should be considered a failure for these Knicks.