For Knicks, it's a dose of reality (and no banner) after NBA Cup championship
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 18: Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks attempts a shot while being guarded by Andrew Nembhard #2 of the Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on December 18, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images
INDIANAPOLIS
The Knicks celebrated the NBA Cup title as if they’d won an NBA championship. As the confetti flew, some of the players — and coach Mike Brown — believed it would merit a banner rising to the rafters to commemorate the franchise’s first championship in 52 years.
But the organizational decision was that the Knicks would be the first team to win the Cup and pass on the banner. “The organization is incredibly proud of the players and staff,” a league source said, “but ultimately is focused on big stuff in June.”
As the Knicks convened at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday to resume the regular season, there were signs of the playoff-like march the team had taken, sitting out Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson as they took on the Pacers. And there was an acceptance that memories would have to do.
“It was just an organizational decision at the end of the day,” said Brown, who was an assistant with the Spurs when they won an NBA title in 2003 and an assistant on three of Golden State’s championship teams. “I will say any time you can be the last one standing in anything you do, it’s an honor. I’ve been lucky and fortunate to do it four different times, having a chance to do it six different times with three different teams. And this is no different.
“It was a great run. Our guys got a taste of something that can be special at the end of the day for us, where there is a different type of pressure than the regular season. And we all feel good about it. I feel good about it. But it was an organizational decision.”
This certainly seemed counter to Brown’s thoughts before the Cup championship game, when he spoke of the prestige it would bring, and even afterward, when he pointed to the imaginary rafters and a banner as he described how history would see this team. But the decision wasn’t his, and maybe they will move past this as just a stepping stone along the way to bigger things.
“I didn’t talk to them specifically about it,” Brown said. “But what I did tell them was exactly what I just said: Hey, it was a heck of a run. We can cherish this. We can talk about this for the rest of our lives. We can talk about it with our grandkids at the end of the day. But there’s more to this season.
“This is a taste of what we can do. We can’t afford to get comfortable because of winning it at this point in the season. And so we got to get back to work. And it’s going to be tough because everybody is human and it’s natural to accomplish something like that and then relax to a certain degree, thinking you’ve arrived and now it’s time to take a deep breath. No, no, no, no, no. Now there’s an extra target on our back. And we have to live up to what we believe the expectations are, starting yesterday.”
As Brown noted, the target may be on the Knicks’ backs in a way it wasn’t before the tournament, with their showcase victory combined with the Thunder’s loss to the Spurs in the semifinals giving a bit of hope to teams that might have viewed defending champion Oklahoma City as unbeatable.
But Brown also noted that the decision to sit some of his banged-up players in a game that does count in the standings — unlike the Cup Final — is a reality that the Knicks have to deal with. They had flown to Toronto, then briefly back to New York before heading to Las Vegas for a week and directly to Indiana, while some teams that missed out on the Cup’s final rounds have been resting and healing.
“I’ve been praising the NBA’s song this whole time and the Cup run was fun and first-class and all that stuff,” Brown said. “But somehow, someway, they have to look at the back end of the schedule for anybody who is in the final game. Because it’s almost like you get penalized for winning it, schedule-wise.
“We’ve talked about it all year how the games are so close now. But you get penalized for winning the Cup. For us, flying straight to Indiana, playing the next day at home, Sunday playing a home game, then jumping on a plane for a one-off game in Minnesota. And then coming back from Minnesota for a 12 p.m. game on Christmas Day. Everybody goes through it, but you hope you get a little bit of a break during that. But we’ll figure it out.”
If they can figure it all out, maybe they eventually will get a banner that the organization can’t resist. But for now, it was just a stop on the schedule, and the Knicks were back to reality.
Notes & quotes: Deuce McBride, who has been with the Knicks for the entire road trip despite the ankle sprain that has sidelined him, has been doing on-court work but has yet to do any full-contact scrimmaging.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
