Top 10 New York sports stories of 2025

The metropolitan area’s drought without an NFL, NBA, NHL or NBA title is now at 14 years and counting — the longest such stretch since 1905-21. But it was not all bad in 2025. Here are our top 10 New York sports stories for the year:

10. Ryder Cup comes to Long Island

Bethpage Black hosted the Ryder Cup in late September, with Team Europe winning, 15-13, after Team USA mounted a furious rally on Sunday that fell just short. Some fans’ boorish behavior, aimed most notably at Rory McIlroy, both angered and inspired the Europeans.

9. Polar Bear moves south

Everyone expected a tumultuous Mets offseason after their dreadful season, and so it has been. Gone are Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz and Jeff McNeil. Alonso’s departure, to the Orioles, cut deepest for fans. He left town as the Mets’ all-time home runs leader with 264.

8. Liberty can't repeat, fire coach

The Liberty assembled a superteam in 2023, and it led to two consecutive 32-8 records, two consecutive WNBA Finals and a championship in ’24. But in ’25 they somehow went 27-17 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Coach Sandy Brondello’s contract was not renewed.

7. St. John’s is beast of East

In his second season at St. John’s, Rick Pitino led the Red Storm to a 31-5 record, their first Big East Tournament championship since 2000 and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. St. John’s lost in the second round, falling to 10th-seeded Arkansas.

6. Jets hire Glenn, still struggle

At least the Giants make the playoffs occasionally. The Jets never do. They extended their drought to 15 seasons under first-year coach Aaron Glenn. And unlike the Giants, the Jets do not have a potential franchise quarterback under contract. They need one. Immediately.

5. Dart on target for future

The Giants had another awful season, costing coach Brian Daboll his job after a 2-8 start. But there was a glimmer of hope for the near future in quarterback Jaxson Dart. The late first-round pick showed plenty of promise. Now he needs roster help.

4. Judge still presides

Even though the Yankees again disappointed in the postseason, losing the ALDS to Toronto, Aaron Judge won his third MVP award and continued to cement himself as an all-time great. He had 53 home runs, 114 RBIs, a .331 batting average and an OPS of 1.144.

3. Isles find an instant star

The Islanders sought a fresh start when they replaced Lou Lamoriello with Mathieu Darche as top hockey decisionmaker. But the real jump-start came when Darche took defenseman Matthew Schaefer No. 1 overall in the draft. He was an immediate star — on and off the ice.

2. The Mets' collapse

After a joyous 2024 season, the Mets added Juan Soto and had many believing this was their year, then flopped spectacularly. After a 45-24 start that seemed to confirm all the optimism, they somehow finished 83-79, out of the playoffs and in for major changes.

1. Knicks reach NBA final four

The Knicks made the conference finals for the first time since 2000, unleashing a party that shut down Seventh Avenue after a second-round series closeout over the Celtics. But a disastrous Game 1 loss to the Pacers in overtime eventually to a six-game series loss, and soon thereafter to the firing of coach Tom Thibodeau. The 2025-26 season began with a new coach in Mike Brown, a championship in the NBA Cup tournament and hopes for the biggest prize of all come June.