Who are the biggest threats to the Knicks’ title defense?

We are hours away from the New York Knicks’ title defense, and the team’s first season entering as champions in 53 years.

Things looked a lot different the last time the orange and blue were the cream of the NBA crop: the World Trade Center wasn’t even a year old, the Watergate scandal was an ongoing controversy, and LeBron James hadn’t been born yet.

Red Holzman coached the Knicks to a 49-33 season that ended in a gentleman’s sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

It wasn’t viewed as a disappointment, given injuries to two of the team’s best–Earl Monroe and Willis Reed–but the repeat campaign came up short nonetheless.

Fast forward to 2026 and the goal remains the same for New York: defend the title. Who stands in their way? Are the team’s biggest threats external or internal?

Let’s dive in.

The Western Conference field

We’ll start from the outside in; any title run ends with a win over the West.

As of October 20, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs are the sports book favorites to win it all.

I’d add teams like the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves to the generic Western Conference field here.

LaMelo Ball should add a level of potency to next to Anthony Edwards, and Nikola Jokic is still Nikola Jokic.

Last season, New York went 18-12 against the West, and 4-4 against that foursome in the regular season before knocking off the Spurs in the championship round.

Oklahoma City specifically has had the Knicks number in recent years, having won six of the team’s last seven matchups dating back to the 2022-2023 season.

San Antonio only poses a threat in an almost strictly superstitious kind of way; will they right the wrongs of last summer, now armed with more data and another year of maturity? The same could be argued for the Knicks mental advantage over the Spurs.

In OKC, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poses his own MVP caliber issues for any team, but Jalen Brunson hasn’t played up to his own MVP standards in those matchups.

Since arriving on the Knicks, he’s shooting 45% and averaging 3.1 turnovers against the Thunder. Head coach Mark Daigneault has consistently found ways to blitz Brunson, and stall New York’s offense.

A matchup with the Spurs or the Thunder seems the likeliest. One poses problems physically, whereas the other could become more of a mental challenge. Either way, to win it all, you’ve got to be the best of both conferences. Or just beat the other conference’s best. I digress.

The Eastern Conference field

Moving in conference, you want to start by looking at teams that got better this summer: the Philadephia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors, namely.

Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James will join the Eastern Conference fray, and Jaylen Brown is teamed up with the former in the city of brotherly love.

But outside of those two teams, not many can say they got inherently better over the summer, after New York transcended them all en route to a title.

Could the Washington Wizards make some noise? Sure. Trae Young and Anthony Davis are talent enough to establish a floor for the play-in tournament. But they’ll need to stay healthy, and that’s not something the two stars are known for.

There’s also the Miami Heat, who put it all on black this summer in their blockbuster for Giannis Antetokounmpo, pairing him with Bam Adebayo. They could present issues in a playoff series, certainly.

But the likelihood of the Knicks and Heat meeting in the playoffs are in the “pigs flying” tier of probability. Miami just doesn’t have enough guys behind their two stars.

Who am I forgetting…?

Indiana Pacers

Perhaps giving the Indiana Pacers their own section is my own superstition manifesting. But the return of Tyrese Haliburton is upon us, and before his injury, he eliminated New York two postseasons in a row.

Similar to the Thunder, head coach Rick Carlisle has done a good job instilling a late “prevent defense” on Brunson; trapping him at the corner of the halfcourt with two defenders, cutting off passing lanes, etc.

In the 2024 playoff meeting between the Pacers and the Knicks, Brunson had 18 turnovers in seven games. He had 24 in six games during the next meet in 2025.

Related: Brunson had just 51 turnovers over the entirety of New York’s title run, spanning 18 games for a nightly average of 2.8.

And then there’s the Ivica Zubac of it all, who arrived in Indiana last season amidst the tank, but undoubtedly presents an upgrade over Myles Turner, the team’s center the last time the Knicks faced them. He’s a far more capable passer–albeit non-existent three-point threat–and a different tier of defender.

Indiana looks like Indiana, preseason sample size be damned. And given the history between these two teams, you can never rule them out.

Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks snapped a 53-year title drought last season.

Next up on the docket? Becoming the NBA’s first repeat champions since 2018.

LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers will come to town for the first game of the season on October 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm EST.