Knicks Midseason Grade Heading in Wrong Direction

The 2025-26 NBA regular season has reached its midway point, and it has been a tale of two halves for the New York Knicks.

The roller coaster ride started when the team won the first two games of the Mike Brown era, defeating a pair of Eastern Conference contenders in the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. A three-game losing streak would ensue, though, which had some people on edge.

Alas, that would be the last time the Knicks lost consecutive games for two months. It didn’t happen in November and occurred right near the end of 2025, when a second-half collapse against the San Antonio Spurs started a four-game losing streak.

Now, all New York is doing is losing games. They have been incapable of stringing together victories, with Christmas Day through Dec. 29, a three-game stretch, being the last time they won consecutive games.

Knicks midseason grade worsening rapidly

New York Knicks Head Coach Mike Brown and guard Tyler Kolek — Dec 29, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New York Knicks Head Coach Mike Brown discusses a play with guard Tyler Kolek (13) against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

A team as talented as the Knicks being unable to string together victories is highly concerning. There is a lot wrong with the team currently, which is struggling in every facet on the court.

That is why their midseason grade of B-, which was handed out by Kevin Pelton of ESPN, is not only acceptable, but lucky not be worse. It has been more than a month since that dominant version of New York has shown up, a stretch long enough to warrant concern.

The Knicks weren’t a defensive juggernaut at any point this season, but overcame those shortcomings with a dynamic offense led by Jalen Brunson. Named an All-Star for the third consecutive year, his level of performance was so high that it overshadowed and compensated for a lot of the team’s flaws.

Alas, with the team’s overall offensive production heading in the wrong direction, their warts have started to show. They struggle to consistently get stops, hemorrhage points at the rim and fail to defend the 3-point line.

Knicks need to take long, hard look in the mirror

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown and team in huddle. — Jan 2, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown addresses the team prior to the start of the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

New York lacks a consistent point-of-attack defender and, outside of Mitchell Robinson, doesn’t have much of a paint presence defensively. OG Anunoby works hard on defense, but there is only so much a team can do to compensate for two underwhelming defenders in Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

It is safe to say that the honeymoon phase of Brown’s tenure is over. Owner James Dolan was not shy about sharing what his expectations for the team were, as he is expecting them to contend for a championship.

Alas, this doesn’t look like an Eastern Conference winner, let alone an NBA Finals contender, with their current form. With the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching, something has to change.

However, a blockbuster, roster-altering move does not look like it will be in the cards. It will be up to Brown to get his players to buy in and rediscover the level of performance they had heading into the NBA Cup, which can be pinpointed as the time that everything went awry for the franchise.

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