How the Dolphins Could Follow the New York Knicks' Path

The New York Knicks ended a long NBA championship drought Saturday night, winning their first title since 1973 — and we don't have to tell older, long-suffering Miami Dolphins fans that's exactly the last time their favorite team won the Super Bowl.

It's only natural then to look at the Knicks and then the Dolphins and ask, if they can do it, why can't we?

We could get technical here and point out the Dolphins actually won Super Bowl VIII against the Minnesota Vikings in 1974 because the game was played in January, but it was the 1973 season and the drought still is 50-years plus.

The relevant point remains the same, and basically it's that if the Knicks can do it, the Dolphins should be able to do it as well.

Yes, it's a different sport, but the dynamics are similar.

WHEN COULD THE DOLPHINS REALISTICALLY THINK SUPER BOWL?

From the start, the idea that the Dolphins would be able to duplicate what the Knicks achieve this very next season seems pretty farfetched given they're at the start of a rebuilding project and more likely to finish with the No. 1 overall pick than the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs — or make the playoffs at all.

And the Knicks didn't just appear out of nowhere to win the NBA Finals, it was a slow build-up that began by winning a playoff series in both 2023 and 2024 before they reached the Eastern Conference final against the Indiana Pacers and went down in six games.

Maybe it won't require that kind of lead-up for the Dolphins, but if it does, this is where we point out they haven't been the AFC Championship Game since the 1992 season — more than 30 years ago.

That's another long, painful drought.

On the flip side, though, the Seattle Seahawks won the last Super Bowl and did so after missing the playoffs the previous season, as did the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles, so it's clearly not a prerequisite to knock on the door before breaking it down — to borrom an old saying from long-ago Houston Oilers head coach Bum Phillips.

The Dolphins haven't made the playoffs since the 2023 season and, of course, have the longest drought involving a playoff victory, having not won a postseason game since December 30, 2000.

That painful streak again isn't likely to end next season because it's just very difficult to win with as many newcomers and young players as the Dolphins will have in so many key roles in 2026.

BUILDING UP TO SOMETHING

But the Dolphins tore it down and started over with new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan, new head coach Jeff Hafley and new quarterback Malik Willis with the idea and the hope they can build a championship contender.

While the Seahawks showed a playoff berth isn't necessary to set the stage for a Super Bowl run, the Dolphins absolutely will want to see signs that they're headed somewhere during what could be a tough 2026 season in the won-loss column.

It's why we've suggested before, and will do it again here, that the number of wins for Miami next season won't be as important as the number of key players who now are mostly about big potential showing they indeed will be impact players.

And that list starts obviously with Willis, and then we can add a handful of the 2026 draft picks — Kadyn Proctor, Chris Johnson, Jacob Rodriguez, any of the three wide receivers — along with other recent draft selections like Chop Robinson, Kenneth Grant and Jonah Savaiinaea.

If the Dolphins can develop a strong young nucleus in 2026, then the possibilities begin to open up for 2027 and beyond.

Miami fans figure to be skeptical every step of the way, having been let down so often over the past decades, but remember that the Knicks missed the NBA playoffs eight out of nine years and were one-and-done the other time before Jalen Brunson arrived in the 2022-23 season.

So, again, if the Knicks can do it, why can't the Dolphins? Even if it takes a little bit longer.

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