The New York Knicks became just the third reigning NBA champion to start a season 0-3 when they fell to the Orlando Magic on Sunday
While a losing start isn’t an immediate cause for panic — given the team’s experience and last season’s 2–3 opening stretch — a deeper look at historical precedent offers a genuine reason for concern.
The only previous defending champions to open 0–3 offer a cautionary tale: the 2011–12 Dallas Mavericks were swept in the opening round, while the 1969–70 Boston Celtics missed the playoffs altogether, snapping a postseason streak dating back to 1949–50.
New York Knicks in Trouble?
While nobody expects the Knicks to miss the playoffs, their chances of repeating look shaky after the first week of their title defense. Oddsmakers now consider the Philadelphia 76ers the clear favorite to win the East, with the Celtics right on the Knicks’ heels holding the second-shortest odds.
As The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov highlighted on X, there is historical precedent for a team to start 0-3 and win the title (albeit not a defending champion).
“Just because the Knicks are 0-3 doesn’t mean they can’t repeat,” wrote Vorkunov.
“There is actually precedent for a team starting 0-3 and then winning the NBA title. The 1990-91 Bulls lost their first 3 games of the season, still won 61 games and beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals. So it can be done, and they are literally the only ones to do that.”
Knicks Not Panicking
Turnovers and poor transition defense have plagued the Knicks thus far. Mike Brown’s squad has coughed up the ball 49 times over three games, including 16 turnovers during Sunday’s 111-102 loss to the Magic.
Brown remains confident that both issues are fixable, despite the blunt message he delivered to his team following their 0–3 start.
“Games like this will tell us, our crap stinks. It does,” Brown said, via ESPN.
“And we’re the only ones who can do anything about it. There’s no light switch we can just turn on and go and win the ballgame. Nobody’s giving us anything, so we have to be better with the little things until we start shooting the ball.”
Knicks captain Jalen Brunson has been highly self-critical amid the 0-3 start.
“Everything falls on my shoulders,” Brunson said of the Knicks’ floundering offense.
“I just got to be a better leader when it comes to that, when it comes to our guys are ready to go in the right spots. There’s a lot of other little things, but it’s organization on my part.”
“Everyone can say it’s early in the season; we can use that as an excuse,” the 2026 NBA Finals MVP continued. “When we get those runs, we start to look like the team that we’ve been in the past. We get a little comfortable, so we got to continue to put our foot on the gas.”
The Knicks (0-3) will next host the red-hot Detroit Pistons (3-0) on Tuesday.
New York Knicks Hit With More Bad News Amid 0-3 Start