Knicks 2025-26 Season Report Card: Grading the players and Mike Brown after championship run

This 2025-26 Knicks season finally concluded last weekend, surprisingly and euphorically, in the middle of a month that fans have long awaited watching their team compete in. It was a dramatic, grueling road to the NBA Finals that climaxed in a 4-1 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, and the franchise’s first NBA championship in 53 years.

Looking back and trying to grade each individual player on their season will be impossible without a curve, as they accomplished what they and 29 other teams set out to at the start of the year. Here are the final end-of-season grades for the Knicks…

Jalen Brunson: A++

Captain. NBA Champion.

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And now, Finals MVP.

What more can you say about Brunson? The savior fans craved and sought out in the likes of LeBron James in 2010,Kevin Durant in 2016 and Kawhi Leonard in 2019, actualized in this 6-foot-2 second-round pick. Brunson averaged 26 points and seven assists a game during the regular season, leading the team to 53 wins through an evolving offensive system and a catastrophic 2-9 stretch.

In the playoffs, he had a historic performance, encapsulated by a dominant 32 points, 36 points, and then 45 points to close out the NBA Finals.

Karl-Anthony Towns: A+

For someone who couldn’t seem to find his role throughout the season, Towns shook that off along with any noise surrounding his game and put together the best 100-game defensive campaign of his life. He turned around the 2-1 hole to the Hawks in the first round, outperformed Joel Embiid, and helped his team take control of the Finals from the outset.

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If he didn’t dominate Victor Wembanyama in New York’s back-to-back road wins to kick off the championship round, it’s possible that the Knicks aren’t holding the trophy right now.

Jun 13, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) are seen prior to game five of the 2026 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

OG Anunoby: A+

Knicks fans can take their pick as to why Anunoby deserves this grade. His full season of elite two-way play, his 49…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-2025-26-season-report-134502515.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-19 13:45:00

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