The New York Knicks completed their NBA Finals run in five games with a 94-90 come-from-behind win over the San Antonio Spurs, and Jalen Brunson delivered when it mattered most—45 points in Game 5. With New York’s first championship since 1973 now secured, the
The Knicks didn’t just win the title. They won it the hard way again.
In a Game 5 that demanded patience and nerve. New York finished its championship run with a come-from-behind victory over the San Antonio Spurs. The final score was 94-90, and it came in a Finals that stretched to five thrilling games. In the decisive moment. Jalen Brunson looked like he was carrying the entire franchise—scoring 45 points to lead the Knicks to the championship.
Brunson’s performance didn’t come in the abstract. It came after New York refused to fold. even with Victor Wembanyama on the Spurs’ side and even as San Antonio’s defense tried to grind the rhythm out of the game. When the Knicks needed a play, the ball found Brunson, and he delivered. His impact was especially loud in the fourth quarter. when New York overturned another San Antonio lead and clinched the win in the final seconds.
This is why the celebrations in New York City are likely to keep rolling through the summer. The Knicks’ third NBA title—and their first since 1973—doesn’t happen without star-level leadership. and Brunson has already turned himself into an all-time Knicks figure by doing exactly that. He helped deliver championship No. 3, and he did it by making deficits feel survivable.
To understand how massive this moment feels, it helps to look at how the Knicks have built their legends over time. After Brunson’s NBA Finals MVP performance, he moves into the kind of conversation that doesn’t happen often for one player.
Here’s a ranking of the 10 greatest Knicks of all time.
10. Allan Houston
Houston spent nine seasons with the Knicks and was a two-time All-Star for New York. His career was cut short by a knee injury. He began his time with the Pistons for his first three seasons before coming to the Knicks as a free agent.
His two best seasons were 1999-2000 and 2000-01. In 99-00, he averaged 19.7 points and shot 49.4 percent from the field, and he was a brilliant playoff performer. He averaged 21.1 points in the 1998 playoffs and 18.5 points during the Knicks’ long run to the NBA Finals in 1999.
Beyond the numbers, Houston was described as a smooth player who knew how to get open and take the key shots for some very strong Knicks teams.
9. Bill Bradley
Bradley arrived after being a legendary college player at Princeton and a Rhodes Scholar, joining the Knicks in the 1967-68 season. It took until the 1969-70 season for him to become a starter—and that became the Knicks’ first championship season.
Bradley played 10 seasons with the Knicks and was vital to the first two title teams. He was described as a brilliant passer with a terrific outside shot from the corner.
In 1972-73, he averaged a career-best 16.1 points and 4.5 assists—numbers that matched the Knicks’ second championship year.
8. John Starks
Starks was a firebrand guard for the Knicks who regularly engaged Michael Jordan and the Bulls. He played eight seasons with New York and wanted the ball in his hands. He wasn’t able to get the best of Jordan in their confrontations, but he never backed down.
Toughness and taking charges were part of his identity, and he set the tone for the Knicks. Starks was an All-Star in 1993-94, averaging 19.0 points and 5.9 assists per game.
He won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 1996-97 and excelled at making key plays for the Knicks in the biggest games.
7. Carmelo Anthony
Anthony is described as one of the greatest scorers of his era. When the Knicks acquired him in 2011, the team was struggling, and he injected major life into the offense. He set the team’s single-game scoring record with 62 points and helped lead New York to three consecutive playoff appearances.
In 2012-13, he averaged a league-leading 28.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and finished third in league MVP voting. The following year, he averaged 27.4 points per game in 2013-14.
6. Bernard King
This selection is described as somewhat controversial because King played just 4 of his 14 seasons with the Knicks, but he was a prolific scorer. He holds the team’s all-time record of averaging 32.9 points during the 1984-85 season.
King earned runner-up status in league MVP voting in 1983-84, and that was the first of his two seasons as an All-NBA performer. When King had the ball on the offensive side court, he was described as nearly unstoppable—an offensive machine at his best.
5. Earl Monroe
Earl “Pearl” Monroe played 13 seasons in the NBA, with nine of them coming with the Knicks after he was traded to New York from the archrival Baltimore Bullets.
He had been a thorn in the side of the Knicks when he played with Baltimore, but in New York he formed one of the best backcourts of any era alongside Walt Frazier.
Monroe was known as a brilliant one-on-one player and a top scorer because he handled the ball with expertise. He could take over games with his scoring, but he was also a brilliant passer.
Once he joined the Knicks, he mastered the concept of team basketball and became a key member of New York’s 1973 championship team.
4. Willis Reed
Reed is one of the Knicks’ all-time heroes, known for his gutsy effort in the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. He suffered a brutal knee injury in Game 5 of that series and could not play in Game 6 in Los Angeles.
The Lakers rolled in that game and squared the series. Reed was not expected to play in Game 7, but he thrilled the crowd when he limped out of the locker room for warmups.
He hit two jump shots on the Knicks’ first two possessions and that spurred New York to a victory in the seventh game.
Reed was a Hall of Famer and a 7-time All-Star. He won MVP during the 1969-70 regular season and that season’s All-Star Game, and he was voted MVP of the championship series in 1970 and 1973.
3. Walt Frazier
Frazier is described as possibly the best player on the Knicks’ first two championship teams, and his sense of style and cool demeanor on and off the court made him a New York City icon for decades.
He was a brilliant Hall of Fame player who made the All-Star team seven times and was also a seven-time All-Defensive Team player.
In the decisive 7th game of the 1970 championship against the Lakers, Frazier dominated with 36 points in the 113-99 triumph.
The combination of Frazier and Monroe allowed the Knicks to gain a second NBA title in 1973.
2. Jalen Brunson
Brunson is described as the great hero of the 2026 NBA championship team. He refused to let big deficits against the San Antonio Spurs distract him from the Knicks’ title aspirations.
At 6-2, Brunson is described as a brilliant ball handler who excels at drawing defenders and then beating them with drives to the basket, his jump shot, or crisp passes to teammates.
He has carried the Knicks since New York signed him as a free agent prior to the 2022-23 season. In his first season with the Knicks, he averaged 24.0 points and 6.2 assists. The following year, he scored 28.7 points per game.
He continued scoring at a game-changing level by averaging 26.0 points in each of the last two seasons. His playoff performance is what turned him into an all-time Knicks legend. highlighted by scoring 45 points in the decisive fifth game against San Antonio and averaging 28.4 points during the postseason run.
1. Patrick Ewing
Ewing played 15 of his 17 NBA seasons with the Knicks. He was a Hall of Famer, an 11-time All-Star, and a 7-time All-NBA player. He was the No. 1 pick in the 1985 NBA Draft, and he lived up to the hype throughout his career.
Ewing averaged 22.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game during his Knicks career, and he got New York to the NBA Finals in 1994 and again in 1999.
The Knicks made the playoffs 13 times in a 15-year span during his run. He was consistently brilliant across his long career with the Knicks, and the only thing that eluded him was a championship.
The theme of these Knicks greats—by different styles. different eras. and different pressures—is simple: when the moment arrived. someone refused to let the season slip away. On the night the Finals ended. Brunson was that someone again. scoring 45 points to help deliver a 94-90 win over San Antonio Spurs and complete a title run that now stands as the franchise’s first since 1973.
New York Knicks Jalen Brunson NBA Finals MVP San Antonio Spurs 94-90 Victor Wembanyama NBA playoffs Knicks legends