Mitchell Robinson's Strong Impact Impossible to Ignore for Knicks

For years, the rap with Mitchell Robinson was that as talented as he is on defense and on the boards, he has to be treated with the utmost caution during the regular season. The size with which he blocks shots and nabs rebounds frequently comes at a cost, with his brittle body frequently holding him back from appearing in as many games as most of his teammates on the New York Knicks.

The messaging heading into 2025 wasn't any different; he spent the most recent playoffs proving how valuable he is in big-game settings, and the coaching staff shouldn't be afraid to put him on ice should they start worrying about his durability all over again.

He's responded to that bubble wrap label with arguably the most impactful season of his career, having checked into a majority of New York's games over halfway through the 2025-26 campaign. Robinson's seeing nearly 20 minutes per game across 33 outings, the highest total he's seen in three years, and reinforcing his irreplaceable value to the team every chance he gets.

The Knicks are back on track from an ugly spell of losing to open 2026, and Robinson's been at the heart of the return to form, taking home three-straight Defensive Player of the Game wins handed out to one of the Knicks following every win before sitting out the second leg of a back-to-back against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 28.

Making Room for Robinson

Mike Brown entered his debut as the Knicks' head coach preparing to lean more on Robinson than coaches past, clearly sensing the one-of-one mark he makes in taking care of New York's dirty work. No one else on the roster defends with as much versatility as the seven-footer, and few league-wide peers can contend with Robinson's offensive rebounding.

Q “What teammate doesn’t get enough love?”

Tyler Kolek “Mitch Robinson…people should show more love. I know everybody goes ‘Hack-a-Mitch’ whatever but his offensive rebound % unbelievable. 2nd chance points. Anchors D…Best teams have those guys who do the dirty work, he’s one” pic.twitter.com/yTvFkQkqk8
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) December 16, 2025

It's no coincidence, then, that Robinson finds himself at the core of one of New York's most productive five-man units. Franchise scorer Jalen Brunson is at his best when he's surrounded by defenders, and Brown's decision to surround he and the shot-blocker with Miles McBride, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges to crowd the wings proved the difference in the Knicks' recent 103-87 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Robinson's resurgence into a regular helping hand has placed newfound pressure on the coaching staff to balance the pair of bigs in New York's rotation. Karl-Anthony Towns took his late-game benching in stride following the win over Sacramento, claiming that he's all for winning game by whatever means necessary, but Brown will have to find a way to make room for the All-Star in profitable crunch-time scenarios if the franchise is serious about keeping him through the trade deadline.

New York Knicks centers Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson — Mar 26, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) is restrained by center Mitchell Robinson (23) in the fourth quarter against the LA Clippers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Robinson's already done enough hustling to verify that he'll be on the team as long as they need him, which they sill very much do in just recently staking their return to the win column. But now that he's backing up his words in proving himself as an every-night player, he's going to start making teammates uncomfortable in stealing their minutes with the Knicks performing better on both ends of the court during his appearances.

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