When the New York Knicks convened for media day ahead of the start of this season, one of the big questions surrounded Mitchell Robinson, the gritty big man who had been with the Knicks going back to 2018, when he was a second-round pick. He was the longest tenured of the Knicks and he and Miles McBride were only rotation members on the 2026 champs who were drafted and developed in New York. So when he left the team for the Celtics this summer in a roster crunch set in motion by James Dolan’s determination to not go into the second apron, it hit his teammates hard.
“I was heartbroken with that one. That’s one of my guys. I love him. Obviously, he was drafted here, gave his heart to the city,” Josh Hart said.
“That’s why people haven’t repeated [as champions] for the last eight years because of that second apron and that CBA. Obviously, extremely gutted when he left, but I wish him well all but the four times that we play them. But I got love for him. He helped us win a championship, and he should always be loved and shown love in the city and in the arena.”
Mitchell Robinson, Celtics Won’t Travel to Knicks Until March
In a schedule quirk, the Celtics won’t actually travel to New York until March, and he won’t get his Knicks championship ring until then. But his teammates will get the first look at him in green in a regular season game on Friday night. As Hart’s comment indicates, it will be an emotional reunion, if not as emotional as it would be at Madison Square Garden.
For the Knicks, Friday’s game will not just be matter of playing well against an old teammate, it will be a matter of erasing the bitter taste of what happened on Tuesday for opening night, when New York was dropped at home by the Sixers, 106-100.
Coach Mike Brown was not happy about the outcome after the game. He said: “Our transition defense was not good with our starting group in the third quarter. All throughout the game we looked like we were running in mud. Whether it was in the front court or it was in transition, we were not good getting to our spots and putting pressure on Philadelphia the right way.”
And so the Knicks will need a bounce-back on Friday to avoid an 0-2 hole to start the year. Robinson will be on hand to see it.
Knicks Bracing for Mitchell Robinson Reunion