The New York Knicks attribute their championship success to strong teamwork and open communication within the team. After facing early challenges in the playoffs, they adapted by shifting Karl-Anthony Towns into a facilitator role at the elbows, which was a collaborative effort between him and the coaching staff. This season, head coach Mike Brown emphasizes embracing adversity early to build resilience, with players like Jalen Brunson stressing unity and mutual support as keys to their continued success.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
The on-court breakthrough was born off the court.
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breakthrough → bear → court
The Knicks hit another gear during the postseason last year, particularly after falling to a 2-1 series deficit to the Hawks in the first round.
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Knicks → hit → round
So much has been written and said about how the Knicks subsequently pivoted to an offensive system that featured Karl-Anthony Towns as a “hub” and facilitator at the elbows, a decision that sparked one of the most dominant championship runs in NBA history.
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that → write → history
Towns told Mike Brown and his assistants that he wanted the team to give him a chance at the new role.
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team → tell → role
Assistant Chris Jent, who is in charge of the Knicks offense, was also involved, pushing for the Towns-centric system.
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who → push → system
Collaboration and the willingness to try new things were major considerations during the coaching search ahead of last year, which resulted in Brown taking over.
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Brown → try → year
And it’s hard to argue that it didn’t play a significant role in the championship run.
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it → ’ → run
The Knicks’ effectiveness in communicating with each other during the playoffs helped fuel their championship.
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effectiveness → communicate → championship
“I think as a group,” Jalen Brunson said, “we figured out that we need each other to win, obviously, and we need each other to be on the same page.
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other → think → page
The early adversity is hard to remember considering the Knicks won 13 of their last 14 games — many in blowout fashion.
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Knicks → remember → fashion
But there was a time, after three games in the first round, when it was DEFCON 1 around the team.
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it → be → team
It tested their mettle, but they came together and brought out the best in each other.
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they → test → other
It’s why Brown actually wants more hard times.
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Brown → ’ → times
“A lot of people tend to shy away from adversity,” Brown said.
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Brown → tend → adversity
“And especially early on, because you get scrutinized, and sometimes it can be tough dealing with that.
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it → scrutinize → that
I actually, I yearn for it.
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I → yearn → it
I yearn for it early, because I want to make sure that not only myself, but we as a group can handle it.
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myself → yearn → it
“And early on, especially when you have a new group, it’s tough to deal with.
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it → have → group
It’s extremely tough to deal with, but that will make you better, dealing with it earlier, as you go along throughout the course of the season because you have not only examples to lean on, but you still have your standard.”
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you → ’ → standard
Brunson and Josh Hart’s friendship is well-documented, but that the Knicks as a whole are genuinely so close to one another — and are all on the same wavelength, with a comfort level with each other — is a real advantage.
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are → document → other
They can handle the bad times — and more importantly, use them to get better.
“The first couple of weeks or whatever of the season is going to show us who we are and where we are,” Brunson said.
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Brunson → handle → us
“No matter what we’re doing, whether we’re playing great, playing bad, how are you going to be able to learn?
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you → do → what
We’ll find a way.
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We → find → way
We’ll hold each other accountable, just like we did last year, and then we’ll be better.
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we → hold → ?
Ten of the top 11 players in minutes played last year are back, with the only departure being Mitchell Robinson.
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departure → play → minutes
In a league where the last eight champions failed to repeat, it gives the Knicks reason to believe they can buck that trend.
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they → fail → trend
“Second year with Mike and all of our assistants, terminology is the same, we’re moving quickly into certain things [during training camp] that we weren’t even close to scratching at this point [last year],” Landry Shamet said.
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Shamet → move → point
“That alone, all that, just from the team perspective, just breeds confidence as well.
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that → breed → confidence
You’re stepping into a familiar environment and you feel good about one another.
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you → step → one
“We’re just exploring, implementing some things and seeing what worked and if we can build on top of it.
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we → explore → it
But for the most part, kind of knowing what formula works and how can we get back up to that speed as quickly as possible?
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we → know → speed
And from there, having a second year, having a second year in the offense adds some flexibility for some variability.
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having → have → variability
I think it sets us up nicely.”
Team chemistry has a real impact.
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chemistry → think → impact
The Knicks are as close as they come.
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they → come → ?
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