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In today’s NBA, the only thing tougher than winning a championship is defending one. The Knicks’ front office worked to nearly wholly return their winning roster from last season, but as age, injury and finances make their impact, they’ll need new blood to step up in the coming campaign.
Here are the three Knicks whose roles are likeliest to grow this season, as New York pursues the first repeat in recent NBA history.
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OG Anunoby
The only lynchpin on this list, Anunoby should still see a sizable change in responsibility from last season given how much his game blossomed during the championship run. He was the third leading scorer on the team at 16.7 points a night with modest efficiency during the regular season, but he rose to over 20 points per game, finishing second to only Jalen Brunson during the postseason.
Not only did he score more, but did so with ridiculous accuracy and major confidence in his isolation game. Head coach Mike Brown has suggested giving him more pick-and-rolls this season in response.
Not only that, but Brown noted he will play more small-ball center as well, a necessity given the Knicks’ newfound dearth at the position. With all this lined up, Anunoby should follow up a career-best playoffs with a career-best regular season.
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Mohamed Diawara
New York’s most intriguing prospect, the 6-foot-9 incoming sophomore was a pleasant surprise during his rookie campaign, but wasn’t a rotation option for the big playoff run. Things should change materially this season as the Knicks aren’t entering the season with a veteran at his position, and need more frontcourt contributions in a guard-heavy lineup.
The front office and coaching staff will also want to give Diawara real opportunities given how effective he was last year and New York’s lack of developmental projects. It took giving him spot minutes and seeing some results before he could break the rotation for a decent stretch — this time he’s at least starting on first base.
While it may be expected for Diawara to have serious regular season contributions, the big question for 2026-27 will be can he prove himself to be…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/3-knicks-due-bigger-roles-134500291.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-04 13:45:00
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