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It took 53 long years, but the New York Knicks finally returned to their title-winning ways.
After defeating the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Cleveland Cavaliers in the first three rounds of the postseason, the Knicks matched up against the rising San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. While it was far from easy (they trailed for nearly 75% of their series), Mike Brown’s crew pulled off comeback after comeback on their way to a hard-fought title.
Of course, the Knicks’ core contributors (Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns) have received a bulk of the praise for helping New York go the distance this year. However, the organization’s 7-foot rebounding stud, Mitchell Robinson, played a vital role in its successful championship quest.
Mitchell, who averaged 17.9 rebounds per 40 minutes in the regular season, routinely kept offensive possessions alive this postseason and made life challenging for Victor Wembanyama when tasked with containing the once-in-a-lifetime center.
While the Western Kentucky product will have options as an unrestricted free agent, NBC Sports’ Kurt Helin believes the Knicks will ultimately outbid the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers for his services in 2026-27.
“After a championship run, New York has let it be known they want to re-sign Robinson and run it all back — and he earned his next check with some critical plays and minutes off the bench in the NBA Finals,”
“He’s (Robinson) a starting-level center who pretty much has to come off the bench and play limited minutes due to health issues — expect 15-20 minutes a night for 60 games, then hope he’s healthy for the playoffs,” Helin wrote Wednesday.
“Combine that with the Knicks being deep in the tax, and there start to be questions about the future, with teams like Boston, Los Angeles, and Atlanta lurking. Still, after that run, expect Robinson to re-sign in New York at a little below the mid-level exception (three years, $40 million?).”
The Knicks have every reason to be motivated to re-sign Robinson this summer. The most important reason of all is that the former second-round pick has finally proven he can be a high-level glue/energy guy on a championship-winning New York squad.
Allowing Robinson to walk in free agency and subsequently replacing him with a backup center lacking the familiarity element could spell doom for the franchise. In other words, New York has already identified the blueprint to success, and it undoubtedly involves Robinson and his must-have contributions.
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