This year's Knicks embody what the NBA is supposed to be about

This year's New York Knicks have already accomplished the impossible.

No, we aren't referring to them making the NBA Finals for the first time since 1998-99 or potentially winning their first championship since 1972-73. After all, the Knicks entered this season with the fourth-best title odds of any team. They always had the talent in place to make this type of a run.

Either way, we're talking about something far more unlikely: This year's Knicks team is likable.

As CBS Sports' John Gonzalez captured, the Knicks' off-court chemistry has been on full display throughout the playoffs. Being built around the late-2010s Villanova Knicks gave them a great starting point, but Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby appear to have found clear niches as well.

Unsurprisingly, the greater New York area has rallied around the Knicks heading into the 2026 Finals. No matter what happens from here, these Knicks are the perfect embodiment of what the NBA should mean to its communities and vice versa.

Sacrifice for the greater good

Sacrifice is an oft-discussed notion in the NBA, but it doesn't always play out as planned.

This year's Knicks appear to be true believers in it.

"This is a very selfless group, and we were willing to sacrifice our own individual performances or stats or accolades for the betterment of the team," Josh Hart told reporters after the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. "When you have not just one or two or three, but a whole team of those kind of guys and that kind of character, it puts you in position to be successful."

Those aren't just empty words from Hart. He went from starting all 77 games in which he appeared last season while playing a league-high 37.6 minutes per game to starting only 52 of his 66 games this year and playing only 30.2 minutes per game.

Hart admitted the transition wasn't easy for him.

"No, I definitely didn’t see the bigger picture in those moments," Hart told reporters at Finals media day in reference to being pulled in crunch time. "There was moments I went home and I’m like, damn, am I ass? Do I suck as a basketball player? There was a lot of those moments. Whenever your minutes go down or you get benched, you have that thought process. But for me, it was, okay, how can I build off of it?

“Now I’m cool with it, sometimes. Game 1 [of the Eastern Conference Finals], I got benched because Landry [Shamet] was out there hooping, and I was happy about it. But that took a little bit of time and self-reflection to get to that point."

Shamet, who wasn't even guaranteed a roster spot this season until Malcolm Brogdon abruptly retired, averaged only 9.3 points in 23.0 minutes per game off the bench this season for the Knicks. But he's come through with a couple of monster performances, none more key than his being on the floor for most of their massive 22-point comeback against the Cavs in Game 1 of the conference finals.

"Truthfully, with this team — I've said it a number of times — we've got a group that truly roots for each other, wants each other to succeed," Shamet said at Finals media day. "Look at our bench, different guys throughout the playoffs that have been inserted, have had to step up, play bigger roles in certain situations. There's a lot of reasons on paper where it would look like you could get a little bitter about so-and-so is taking so-and-so's minutes, whatever the case may be.

"Truthfully, this team, we have a special group where we all root for each other, know that job and role could look different for anybody any night... That's really cool and really unique to be a part of with this team."

Scared money don't make money

Unlike the Spurs, who rode back-to-back-to-back top-five picks right back to the NBA Finals, the Knicks built their roster almost entirely via trades and free agency.

In July 2022, they signed Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $104 million deal that wasn't universally loved at the time. From there, they traded for Hart, Anunoby, Towns and Mikal Bridges over the next two-and-a-half years.

They might grow to regret some of those moves. Bridges has been phenomenal in these playoffs, but trading five first-round picks for him could come back to bite them if Giannis Antetokounmpo gets moved for less. The recent draft-lottery reform reportedly increased the trade value of first-round picks, which makes this a bad time to have already traded most of yours away.

Then again, the Knicks are four wins away from having no regrets whatsoever about any of these moves.

Some fans might argue the Bridges trade was worth it—even if it costs the Knicks a shot at the Greek Freak—regardless of whether they win the Finals. Others might say only a title will permanently justify its cost.

Either way, that deal was emblematic of a front office that isn't afraid to take risks. They've made a bunch of smart gambles in recent years, and they've been rewarded with a Finals run.

The town rejoices

To be clear, the Knicks' likability ends at the roster.

Team governor James Dolan is still a creep. Most Knicks fans you know are the worst people on the planet right now. (And that is a high bar to clear at the moment.)

With that said, it has been cool to see New York this fired up about the Knicks right now.

When teams snap long droughts, it's hard not to pull for them to some extent. The Light the Beam Sacramento Kings were one of the NBA's most fun teams in recent years (which the Kings immediately proceeded to ruin, because Kangz).

The Knicks didn't quite reach Kangz-level dysfunction, but they weren't far off at their nadir. They went from 17-65 in 2018-19 to this, and unlike the Spurs, they did so without a massively lucky run in the draft lottery.

That's given fans time to grow attached to the players. Seeing this run pay off in a Finals trip after their Eastern Conference Finals appearance last year ended in heartbreak must be an immense relief.

It's also a communal bonding experience.

It's bringing former Knicks bloggers back out of retirement. It's getting bedtimes temporarily repealed across New York City so kids can watch the Knicks in the Finals, too.

Somehow, this year's Knicks have even made their celebrity fans more enjoyable and/or less annoying.

Mariska Hargitay's buddy-cop relationship with Jalen Brunson (pun very much intended) is already the stuff of legend. True sickos like Ben Stiller, Timothee Chalamet and Spike Lee must have been wandering in a state of disbelief for a month straight.

A team taking big swings, making the necessary sacrifices, getting rewarded with a deep playoff run and bringing joy to an entire community is what the NBA is supposed to be about. Both the Knicks and the Spurs fit that mold to some extent, although Knicks fans have been waiting for far longer than Spurs fans for this moment.

If the Knicks finish off this storybook ending, fans across the New York area will be talking about this team for the rest of their lives. God help us all.

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