Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns echo Knicks owner James Dolan's NBA Finals edict: 'We've raised the expectations'

The New York Knicks are just one win away from making their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999, but despite the long drought, winning the East would simply be fulfilling expectations.

New York entered the season with a a perceived NBA Finals-or-bust approach to the season, as the only real change the team made in the offseason was hiring a new head coach. While the Knicks finished third in the Eastern Conference this year, their outstanding playoff performance has allowed the team to perform up to the standard.

Those expectations were placed on the team by the most important member of the organization: owner James Dolan. In January, Dolan publicly explained that he expected the team to make this deep of a playoff run based on the talent on the roster and the playoff experience of previous years.

Ahead of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns both addressed how Dolan's expectations matched their own.

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What did James Dolan say?

Knicks owner James Dolan appeared on WFAN's "The Craig Carton Show" in January to discuss a variety of topics, including the Knicks chances this year. The owner, though, bluntly stated what he expected out of the team this year.

"We want to get to the Finals and we should win the Finals," Dolan said. "Anything can happen in sports. Getting to the Finals, we've absolutely got to do. Winning the Finals, we should win."

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) January 5, 2026

While Dolan acknowledged the unpredictable nature of sports, the owner put his expectations on the table when he chose to fire Tom Thibodeau last year despite making the Eastern Conference Finals. Therefore, new head coach Mike Brown was hired to take the team farther than his predecessor.

Brown appears on his way to doing exactly that, making his owner look good in the process.

MORE: Knicks playoff winning streak reaches 10 with Game 3 win

Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns respond to James Dolan

For the most part, Knicks players were not asked about Dolan's comments, but that changed as New York is now just a game away from reaching the NBA Finals. Forward Josh Hart was the first to comment, and he gave a blunt answer himself.

"Better get to the Finals or we're going to get traded," Hart said, humorously.

Hart then gave a more nuanced response by saying that each player's goal is to make win the NBA Finals, so it just enhances that idea.

"That's the goal that each and every one of us have," he added. "It adds fuel to the internal fire."

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) May 25, 2026

Karl-Anthony Towns also responded to Dolan's comments and, like Hart, downplayed any idea that it changed the team's expectations.

"What he's talking about is something we all felt. We want to go out there and we want to take that next step," Towns said. "There's new standards now, there's new expectations. We've raised the expectations - we knew what we came into this season to do and what we wanted to accomplish."

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) May 25, 2026

The Knicks had perhaps the highest expectations of any team in the Eastern Conference this year, and no matter what Dolan said, the players knew what was at stake.