If the Knicks Close the Deal, Some Greatest-Ever Conversations Need to Be Had

The Knicks are two wins away from unassailable immortality.

The Knicks are closing in on joining the history books and cementing themselves as one of the best teams to do it. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Despite just having swept two road NBA Finals games and ripping off 13 straight playoff wins by never-before-seen margins, many in the media and online are still holding out on buying into these Knicks. You can bet that the tune would be much different if this were the Lakers or Celtics.

At some point, possibly early this week, everyone will have to admit this Knicks team is historically dominant. They still have work to do, but if they do finish the job, this team should be talked about with some all-time teams.

The Knicks have won 13 straight, 11 by double digits. It’s the second-longest postseason winning streak, following the 15-straight the 2017 Warriors ran out. This marks the second-longest winning streak of any kind in franchise history—the record is 18 in a row by the 1970 Knicks—and it's happening when the games all matter.

Knicks fans are experiencing, watching NBA History

In the process, the Knicks have won eight straight road postseason games, tying the NBA record for a single postseason with the 2001 Lakers. Their point differential of plus-282 through the first 16 games of the postseason is by far the largest ever. Next up is the 2017 Warriors at plus-221. They also own the best third all the way through 15-game playoff stretches, too.

Head coach Mike Brown's group leads every team with an offensive rating of 121.2 and defensive rating of 103.1, good for an 18.1 net rating, per NBA.com. Only the 2001 Lakers and 2018 Warriors have led the playoffs in both offensive and defensive rating since at least 1997.

Monday marks 45 days since the Knicks last lost a basketball game. It’s been 56 days since they last lost by more than a single point, or CJ McCollum shot. That came during the regular-season finale, where the starters sat, against Charlotte. To put things in perspective, the Celtics have lost three times since New York’s last loss. The Knicks have forgotten how to lose.

The Knicks aren't showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The easy-path narrative is foolish because even if three 45-50 win teams are considered "easy," there's a difference between winning and obliterating the competition. The Knicks didn’t beat the living crap out of the Eastern Conference because the East represented the Junior Varsity bracket, but rather because they are the best team in the world.

This Knicks team is not among the greatest in the history of basketball. Their defining trait is being greater than the sum of their parts. This is one of the hottest postseason runs in any modern-era sport, but this isn’t the Magic and Kareem Lakers, the great Celtics teams of Russell or Bird, Jordan's Bulls or the Curry and Durant Warriors. We can celebrate them and keep perspective.

The Knicks went from being a very good team to looking and acting like the best team in NBA history seemingly overnight, and it is startling to witness. The talent has always been there, though. This team is better than the Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy squads of the 90's. Heck, you can argue this is the best Knicks team since 1973.

This is the best Knicks team in more than a half of a century

This current iteration of the Knicks shares similarities with those Red Holzman’s forever-beloved cast of characters. They are a great ensemble team. This team is like those teams that defined team basketball in that you didn't know where your poison was coming from. A collection of very good and proven players. But no all-time superstar of two on the team.

Even those teams never held a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals. They also won their titles in a 14- and then 17-team NBA. This current team is vying to win under the weight of a 53-year drought, in the modern-day salary cap era and amid the era of social media. A parade down the Canyon of Heroes would put this group in rarefied air.

The Knicks have a chance to accomplish something special in the coming days. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The banner will hang forever. These guys will be regulars at Madison Square Garden long after their playing days, sitting in the courtside seats held by Clyde, Bill Bradley, Patrick Ewing, Bernard King, Larry Johnson, Allan Houston and countless others.

These Knicks would be one of the more improbable champions of all-time

The Knicks have brought this city life in ways it hasn’t seen since pre-COVID. There are generations of fans who have never seen a championship. There have been moments, years, decades, where many were convinced that the Knicks would never again even sniff the conversation. From league laughingstock to on the doorstep of immortality.

If the Knicks take care of business, they will do so with the best playoff point differential ever. They would be the first to pull off the NBA championship and NBA Cup double. In the meantime, people can downplay the historic run, but soon the record books will tell the story.