Knicks' Most Likely NBA Finals MVPs Ranked (Brunson, KAT Not the Only Ones in the Running)

The Knicks wouldn't be up 2-0 in the NBA Finals without strong efforts from multiple players.

Taking a look at the Knicks' candidates who are most likely to be named the 2025-26 NBA Finals MVP. | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

The Knicks’ 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals has come thanks to a complete team effort. Look up and down the roster, and it can be argued that the Knicks would not be in this position without the contributions of each of the rotation members.

Alas, the awarding of NBA Finals MVP does not take this into consideration—one player is going to earn the honors, thanks to what the voting media members dub the greatest contributions to the series.

So while plenty of series still remain as the series shifts to Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4, we’re taking a look at the players most likely to take home NBA Finals MVPs through two games. Think of this as an exercise in who has been the best Knicks so far.

5. Landry Shamet

Stats: 13.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 47.6 FG%, 46.2 3P%

It feels as if Landry Shamet hardly ever misses anymore. The veteran guard has turned into the Knicks’ Sixth Man of the Year thanks to his red-hot shooting and strong point-of-attack defense. Shamet has hit some timely threes in these Finals, and he helps unlock arguably the Knicks’ most dangerous lineup—a true five-out lineup with strong wing defense in Shamet, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby.

Landry Shamet is in the NBA Finals MVP mix, even if he's a long shot. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Does a Sixth Man really have a shot at winning Finals MVP? Probably not. But Shamet’s play has made him a loud contributor to this Finals run.

4. Mikal Bridges

Stats: 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 57.9FG%, 66.7 3P%

Mikal Bridges’s plan of never missing shots is going swimmingly. Remove Bridges’s 4-of-16 shooting performance in the Knicks’ Game 4 romp over the Cavaliers, and Bridges has made 68 of his last 104 shots (65.4%) since Game 1 against the 76ers.

Bridges’s massive 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting in Game 2—another performance that could earn the “Knicks don’t win without him” classification—included a variety of timely buckets that helped the Knicks either stay close or keep their lead. Combine his strong defense, secondary playmaking, and strong effort on the boards, and Bridges at least deserves some recognition after two games.

3. OG Anunoby

Stats: 17.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.5 blocks, 45.5 FG%, 45.5 3P%

OG Anunoby has arguably been the third-best player in the series. Anunoby’s penchant for stepping up in big spots is a bit underrated; he constantly rises to the occasion.

Consider Anunoby’s huge eight points to start the fourth quarter of Game 1, or his Game 2 dunk on Wembanyama in the fourth quarter to put the Knicks up 14, or his three clutch free throws in Game 2 to give the Knicks a three-point lead with 2:37 remaining.

OG Anunoby has not shied away from attacking Victor Wembanyama during the Finals when given the opportunity. pic.twitter.com/GXSm0u0ZqF

— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) June 6, 2026

Anunoby does all this while playing stellar defense. The Spurs don’t have a top perimeter option that has required all of Anunoby’s attention, but that has allowed Anunoby to be an off-ball pest, getting into passing lanes, getting deflections, and otherwise deterring drives. If Anunoby keeps up his offensive output and gets more time on Wembanyama, he could rise in these rankings.

2. Jalen Brunson

Stats: 25.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.5 steals, 33.9 FG%, 23.5 3P%

Jalen Brunson’s incredibly inefficient shooting stats in these Finals can be looked at two ways: either as a blight on his performance or as an example of how impactful he still has been for the Knicks.

Efficiency be damned, Brunson is still the engine of the Knicks’ offense, and they cannot function without the huge burden he carries. Brunson has (rightfully) not been shy about shooting in this series, and his baskets have often come in spurts, with lots of misses in between. That sort of streakiness has actually somewhat dimmed the effect of how poorly he’s shooting overall. He’s doing it against outrageous defense from the Spurs’ guards, and it’s to Brunson’s credit that he can handle that pressure with minimal turnovers and still help the Knicks get into their offense.

Brunson can’t be discussed without mentioning his clutch baskets. He came alive in the fourth quarter to help win Game 1 with 13 of his 30 points in the final frame, including two massive baskets in the final two minutes. He hit another incredible, game-tying, one-legged stepback in the final minute of Game 2 and hit the go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds to play (even if he missed the second).

Brunson’s shooting will seemingly improve at home (he typically gets better as the series goes on), so by Game 4, he may well be the favorite to win Finals MVP.

1. Karl-Anthony Towns

Stats: 19.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.0 blocks, 55.6 FG%, 42.9 3P%

Brunson may have helped ice games for the Knicks with huge, clutch baskets, but it’s been Karl-Anthony Towns who has carried the Knicks through these games to get to the fourth quarter. Any observer could reasonably argue that the Knicks would have been out of the first two games by the fourth quarter if not for Towns’s contributions.

Simply put, Towns has been a revelation. He has played calm, smart, controlled basketball on both ends of the court. On offense, Towns has not forced the issue—he’s used the threat of his three-pointer to blow by Victor Wembanyama on the perimeter, punished mismatches, and continued his expanded passing role as the hub of the offense. He has provided timely baskets throughout both games. 

Towns has been just as impressive on defense. He has smothered Wembanyama, largely avoided needless fouls, and cleaned up on the boards.

The Knicks have outscored the Spurs by 25 in Towns’s minutes in this series.