On the eve of the 2026-27 NBA season, the New York Knicks prepare to enter a new basketball season as the defending champions for the first time since 1973-74.
And they’re in a prime position to actually defend that title.
Over the offseason, President of Basketball Operations Leon Rose was able to keep his championship core intact. The entire starting five is back, as if there was any doubt about that, and the bench remains almost the exact same.
Rose found ways to retain their veteran depth in Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson, two players who were expected to get major paydays after being key contributors on an NBA championship-caliber team.
The only major loss? Long-time center Mitchell Robinson, whom the Knicks were unable to keep, citing second apron restrictions.
New York will have to get creative this season in replacing Robinson’s ever-productive minutes, and head coach Mike Brown teased one of their many options for the upcoming season.
OG Anunoby May Get Minutes at Center
At New York Knicks media day, SNY’s Ian Begley asked Brown about the offense this upcoming season and how it may look different as compared to last year.
Brown said the Knicks will continue to use Karl-Anthony Towns as an offensive hub, similar to how they did in the postseason, and even teased that OG Anunoby could see some time at the five.
“Obviously playing with KAT at the elbow a little bit more than what we did (in the regular season last year). Being with this group for a year now, you get a better feel of what players can do what. Like I didn’t know if OG could be as effective as he was in the pick-and-roll game. Same with Mikal. So to try to continue to find ways to get those guys involved at the top of the floor is something that we’ll take a look at,” Brown told reporters.
“We have great cutters that have tremendous size. We’ll continue to mix that in, and we all know that KAT is a really good facilitator at the elbow. Maybe Andre (Drummond) is too? I don’t know. Maybe we move OG to the five a little bit more than what we did last year. So there are a lot of different ways we can go with the team on both ends of the floor. The biggest thing is knowing that nothing’s set in stone.”
We’ll see if Brown ends up living up to his word there, considering the Knicks are a bit thinner at center this season than they were last year.
Knicks May End Up Missing Mitchell Robinson
Heading into camp, the New York Knicks are only carrying two centers on their roster: Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond.
Last year, they had Towns, Robinson, Ariel Hukporti, and Trey Jemison III, a stark contrast to their roster construction ahead of their championship-winning season.
If the plan is to play Anunoby some more at center, that may work in spurts, but it’s not a sustainable plan of attack.
The Knicks may need to try to find a third center at some point to have an insurance policy behind Drummond.
After all, their depth at the five was one of the keys to their victory over the San Antonio Spurs in June.
Mike Brown Teases New Role For Knicks Star OG Anunoby