The Last 7 NBA Champions Failed to Repeat — Here's Why the Knicks Will Succeed

Last June the New York Knicks became the eighth different NBA champion in eight years, a run of parity unprecedented in league history. This year, despite bringing back every main character besides Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks are not the title favorites, with odds lower than Oklahoma City’s and San Antonio’s, and on par with Philadelphia’s.

If champions are by definition remarkable, a number of remarkable teams have all come up short looking to go back to back. The Knicks have a few things going for them those others didn’t, and that’s why they may be the best bet to repeat since Golden State in 2018.

If the previous seven titleists are anything to go by, you can pencil in two absolutes for this year’s Knicks: they will make the playoffs, probably winning at least a round, and they’ll mostly run it back with the same cast. Six of the prior seven champs advanced in the playoffs; the lone exception was the 2021 Lakers, who followed up their Bubble ‘chip with a first-round loss to Phoenix. This past season the Thunder reached the Western finals; the other five prior champions all lost in the second round. The Knicks have won at least one series the last four playoffs; they seem a fair bet to extend that to five.

While only the 2025 Celtics had the same five players lead them in minutes during their title run and title defense, stability is the winner’s watchword, with five of the prior champions making two changes to their minutes leaders after winning the title, and none more than two. The lone exception: from 2023 to 2024, the only change in Denver’s minutemen was Michael Porter Jr. replacing Bruce Brown. Unless New York suffers one or more major injuries, you can pretty much pencil in the starting five to lead the team in minutes.

One of the intangible qualities of the 2026 Knicks could have a tangible impact later in the 2027 season. Thanks to Mike Brown’s deeper bench, even though New York played one more playoff game last year than they did two years ago, their main men’s minutes mostly dropped across the board. Brunson’s combined regular-season and postseason minutes rose 10% from 2025 to 2026, but the other starters all saw drops: Bridges by 12%, Towns 8%, OG 18% and Hart a whopping 26%. So while the champs have had the league’s shortest offseason, they’re actually coming off a less physically taxing campaign than 12 months ago.

That lighter workload was aided by a quirk in the schedule late last season and into the playoffs. After winning in Memphis on April 1, the Knicks flew back to New York. Seven weeks later, up 2-0 in the conference finals, they'd only flown three times – total – in seven weeks, all to Atlanta. The last two rounds they flew once to Cleveland and twice to San Antonio. Might there be a hidden health benefit this year thanks to all the frequent flyer miles the Knicks didn’t earn?

In a sense, comparing the Knicks to any of the prior champs is an apples-to-oranges exercise, given one detail that separates New York from their predecessors – the extent of their postseason dominance. The prior seven champions weren’t anywhere near as good against their opponents as the Knicks were against theirs. The level they reached last spring is still fresh in their minds, and probably in the minds of more than one opposing coaching staff. When game after game you keep setting new records for greatest point differential over X numbers of games, Y number, Z number, it’s fair to wonder if anyone can reach you.

The prior seven champions all fell to conference rivals that were title contenders. The Raptors and Bucks were both dethroned by a Celtic team that was a heavyweight for nearly a decade; the Lakers were knocked out by a Suns side that reached the Finals and went up 2-0 there; the Warriors lost the Senior Bowl to an equally past-its-prime Laker squad; the Nuggets couldn’t withstand the rising Timberwolves, especially once their ownership stopped spending money; the Celtics fell to the Knicks, and have since stopped spending money; and last year the Thunder got their first taste of a Spurs side that isn’t going anywhere.

Who is that team today? Who’s been knocking on the door for years and looks ready to bust it down in 2027? The Cavaliers feel like they should be, but last year was their best without LeBron since 1993 and they still fell eight wins short of the title. Peyton Watson is an intriguing young player, though not eight playoff wins worth of intriguing.

The 76ers won the offseason; who was the last team to win the title after winning the summer? Joel Embiid couldn’t defend anyone on the Knicks last spring – not KAT, not Brunson, not OG, nobody. No matter how good LeBron James and Jaylen Brown are, neither one plays center.

The Pistons didn’t add anyone of consequence and Jalen Duren remains unsigned. The Pacers will probably be the scariest, having eliminated the Knicks in 2024 and 2025 and with Tyrese Haliburton back from his Achilles tear. But while Ivica Zubac is a quality center, is he a ceiling raiser?

For now, for the first time in living memory, the Knicks have the most difficult player in the league to handle in late-and-close situations. Brunson’s game is like water, taking whatever form the defense creates for him and flowing; press him and he’s by the defender, but give him space and it’s a pull-up 3 right in your eye.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could learn from the Finals MVP when it comes to dealing with San Antonio; if SGA used his slithery skills to hunt for baskets instead of fouls, he’d be a greater threat. Jayson Tatum, despite standing 6'8", took 200 more 3s than Brunson in 2025, his last full season, a trend he’ll either have to radically reverse given the Brown trade or commit to even more. Most great players have some kind of tell, a spot on the floor or a certain shot they go to in go-to moments. Brunson doesn’t, and that’s one of his gifts. If he hasn’t planned what he’s doing, the defense has no chance.

The Knicks are built for a title defense. They’re seasoned, but not old; they’re conditioned to make deep playoff runs, having done so for years, but when they finally did break through, most of their most important players were actually better rested than before. Madison Square Garden nearly erupted when they won it all last year. If they repeat, the famed pinwheel ceiling will blow its top.

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