The Knicks' Medical Staff Led by Casey Smith Has Quietly Been Their Ace in the Hole

Much of the talk in recent days surrounding the Knicks is centering on the injured pinky of Mitchell Robinson. Head coach Mike Brown was adamant that the big man didn’t suffer the injury during a game or practice (h/t @KnicksBeast).

Mike Brown looks low key furious about Mitchell Robinson breaking his finger, what happened? pic.twitter.com/HZ6nc2cCXR
— KNICKS BEAST (@KnicksBeast) May 30, 2026

We can speculate all we want about how Robinson sustained the injury. But what’s not up for debate is the masterful work done by the Knicks medical staff, led by Casey Smith, who is highly regarded in the NBA training community and arguably the MVP behind the scenes.

Smith, the longtime director of player health and performance for both the Mavericks and USA Basketball, was hired by the Knicks in 2024 as their new vice president of sports medicine. President Leon Rose needed to make a move to improve injury management without firing ex-head coach Tom Thibodeau, and the Knicks have enjoyed two consecutive seasons of good injury luck.

There's a popular phrase saying that you create your own luck, and Smith deserves plenty of praise for his role. The 2023-2024 Knicks under Thibodeau were a nightmare with injuries, and his team was long known to be running on fumes come spring. Amazingly, New York was one of the healthiest teams in the NBA last season with Thibs still at the helm and the starters leading the league in minutes.

Last season, Dallas ironically led the league in "Wins Missed" due to injury. Meanwhile, the Knicks ranked 30th with just 3.82 wins missed due to injury. This season, the Knicks were 22nd while the Mavericks led the league again, per BBall Index.

Last season, OG Anunoby played 74 games, his most since his rookie season. Josh Hart played 77 games and led the league in minutes per game with 37.6. Mikal Bridges played his typical 82-games and led the league with 3,036 minutes. Karl-Anthony Towns played 72 games after averaging 50 games over his previous five seasons. He followed that up with 75 games, his most since 2018-19, this season.

New York’s medical staff was named the 2024-25 NBATA Athletic Training Staff of the Year. Besides Smith, the group includes senior athletic trainer Heather Mau, a former member of the Mavs' training staff. The staff is rounded out by Anthony Goenaga, Noaya Fujii, Ty Yeaton and Quentin Dolan, who is the son of owner James Dolan.

The outstanding work of the Knicks' medical staff has been noticed

A lot of credit is due to the Mavericks for not only gifting the Knicks Jalen Brunson, but also Smith. Brunson’s time with Dallas overlapped with that of the highly sought-after medical expert, and he pushed for the hiring. His addition turned out to be one of the best moves Dolan has made during his 20-plus years, and most fans don’t even know who he is.

During the 2023-24 season, Smith was given a lesser role in the final year of his contract as former general manager Nico Harrison asserted further control of the organization. Smith was then informed that his services in Dallas were no longer needed, ending a nearly two-decade tenure with the franchise. The reason for the dismissal centered on Smith not being enough of a yes-man, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.

Over the course of his tenure with Dallas, Smith was an influential figure and close confidant of Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Luka Dončić. Ironically, the Mavericks' medical team has been in flux since Smith’s ouster. In April, they fired their director of player health, performance and innovation, Johann Bilsborough, after two seasons with the team.

The 56-year-old Smith was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame back in September as a member of the 2008 Olympic team. He was Team USA's trainer for both the 2008 and 2012 teams that won gold. He’s the best in the business, and it's shown.

The 2008 USA Basketball Men's National Team officially enters the Hall of Fame 👏 pic.twitter.com/wObkLBPUea
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 7, 2025

Throughout these playoffs, the Knicks have not only been dominant but also one of the healthiest teams in the league. Aside from Anunoby tweaking his hamstring, which caused him to miss Games 3 and 4 against Philadelphia, the team has been at full force.

The Knicks have made plenty of brilliant moves to get to this point of making the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. Hiring Smith away from Dallas is certainly one of them.

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