Knicks’ Historic Playoff Run Forces Sixers to Confront Past Decisions

Eight years ago, the Sixers and New York Knicks were on different trajectories.

Philadelphia, led by the ascending Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, wrapped up a 52-win season in 2017-18, reaching the playoffs for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign. Meanwhile, New York mustered only 29 wins with Kristaps Porzingis as its only building block to hang a hat on.

So when the Sixers came away with Mikal Bridges and Landry Shamet in the 2018 draft, many believed they were inching closer toward running the Eastern Conference for quite some time. The Knicks, on the other hand, selected Kevin Knox in an attempt to escape their losing ways.

Fast forward to the present and you’ll see New York representing the East, holding a 2-0 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs, in the 2026 NBA Finals. What’s more, Bridges and Shamet have been essential to the Knicks’ unprecedented postseason run, while all the hope and youth Philadelphia once accumulated in 2018 are now relics of the past.

So how did they get here?

Mikal Bridges

The Sixers drafting Bridges almost made too much sense. They needed a wing to pair with Simmons and Embiid, which is exactly what Bridges is. In case you didn’t know, Bridges was also a Philadelphia guy who spent three years at Villanova, where he was a champion in 2016 and 2018. Bridges’ mother, Tyneeha Rivers, was even the Sixers’ vice president of human resources at the time.

So when Philadelphia selected him 10th overall, it was like something out of a movie. But before anyone could even celebrate, Brett Brown made a call. Brown, Philadelphia’s then head coach, assumed general manager duties after Bryan Colangelo’s resignation. As it turned out, Brown was more infatuated with the prospect of an unprotected 2021 first-round pick via the middling Miami Heat and Zhaire Smith, a Texas Tech guard the Phoenix Suns picked 16th overall.

The rest is history.

When New York needed buckets in the 3rd quarter, who did they turn to?

Mikal Bridges (9 PTS, 4-4 FGM) 😤

He finished the game with 20 PTS (8-13 FGM), 6 REB, and 6 AST in NYK’s W ‼️ pic.twitter.com/HZDSXKzy2Y
— NBA (@NBA) June 6, 2026

It all went downhill from there. Smith suffered a left foot fracture ahead of the 2018-19 season, but that was unfortunately the least of his injury concerns. Smith was allergic to peanut butter and sesame, which caused a severe reaction when he ate Thai chicken at the team’s training facility. He lost 60 pounds and needed a feeding tube to survive.

Sadly, Smith never quite recovered from those events, playing 13 games for Philadelphia through two years. The Sixers dealt him to the Detroit Pistons in November 2020 and he has yet to appear in an NBA game since.

Bridges, meanwhile, established himself as a premier three-and-D wing through four-and-a-half years with the Suns. He expanded his offensive skill set during his one-and-a-half-year stint with the Brooklyn Nets before the Knicks acquired him in July 2024. Bridges is now one of five Knicks averaging double figures in the postseason and was even crucial in slowing down Tyrese Maxey in the conference semifinals.

Landry Shamet

Shamet’s Sixers tenure was less dramatic.

Philadelphia took him 26th overall, and he instantly joined the rotation in 2018-19. Shamet was just one of the Sixers’ many proficient 3-point shooters, tallying 8.3 points per game on 40.4% shooting from beyond the arc in 54 games with Philadelphia. But then-GM Elton Brand stacked Philadelphia’s chips that season and used Shamet to pull off his second big move after acquiring Jimmy Butler in November 2018.

The Sixers packaged Shamet with Wilson Chandler and two first-rounders to snatch Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanović, Mike Scott and draft capital from the Los Angeles Clippers in February 2019. Was it wrong to include Shamet in this trade? While not ideal, the answer is 'no'.

Harris posted a career-best 20.9 points with the Clippers that season and was an OK fit alongside Embiid, Simmons and Butler. The issue was what came afterward—Philadelphia re-signed Harris to a five-year, $180 million contract in June 2019. As a result, most look at this move in hindsight and think the Sixers let go of another young asset in a move that wasn’t worthwhile.

Landry Shamet 13 PTS (5-12 FG, 3-7 3P), 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK, 0 TO, +9 (+/-) vs. Spurs

27/48 on threes in these playoffs (56.3%) https://t.co/Mgh9idOw2D pic.twitter.com/b2U2yo3icx
— Role Player Performances (@BenchHighlights) June 6, 2026

Shamet’s departure isn’t necessarily something fans are losing sleep over. But he has grown into a decent rotational guard. Shamet has been the hero of New York’s bench throughout the playoffs, shooting 56.3% from deep. Philadelphia, which had only one dynamic marksman not named Maxey this year, was reminded of how effective Shamet can be.

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