The New York Knicks just won something, and that might be the biggest news of all.
Okay, that sounds a little funny, but here’s the thing: the Knicks hadn’t won any kind of trophy since 1973. That’s 52 years of nothing. Imagine being a Knicks fan your entire life and never seeing your team hold up a trophy. Now imagine being a kid whose parents were Knicks fans, and their parents were Knicks fans, and nobody in your whole family ever got to celebrate a championship. That all changed on Tuesday night when New York beat the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 to win the 2025 NBA Cup.
But wait, isn’t the NBA Cup just an “in-season tournament” and not the real NBA Championship? Yes, that’s true. The NBA Cup isn’t the same as winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June. However, what this victory means for the Knicks goes way beyond just a shiny piece of hardware. This win could change everything for this team, both right now and in the future.
The Immediate Rewards
Let’s start with the stuff that happened right away. First, every single player on the Knicks roster just got a whole lot richer. Each player earned $530,933 for winning the NBA Cup. That’s over half a million dollars! For superstars like Jalen Brunson who makes $34 million a year, that’s nice bonus money. But for younger players like Ariel Hukporti, a second-round draft pick making less than $2 million per year, that prize money is almost a third of his entire salary. That’s life-changing money.
Second, there’s going to be a banner hanging in Madison Square Garden. When the Knicks play at home, everyone who looks up at the rafters will see “2025 NBA Cup Champions.” Is it the same as an NBA Championship banner? Not exactly. But for a franchise that has been starving for success, seeing any kind of championship banner is special. The Garden is called “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” and now it has some fresh hardware to show off.
Building Confidence and Chemistry
Here’s where things get really interesting for the Knicks’ future. Basketball isn’t just about talent. It’s about believing in yourself and trusting your teammates. The Knicks just proved they can win when everything goes wrong. In the championship game, Jalen Brunson had an off night, making only 11 of 27 shots. Karl-Anthony Towns got hurt and had to leave the game. The Spurs built an 11-point lead. Most teams would have crumbled.
Instead, the Knicks fought back with a 43-21 run to close the game. Bench players like Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek stepped up huge. OG Anunoby played like a superstar with 28 points. The team discovered something about themselves that night. As Brunson said after the game, “That’s going to be our motto going forward: We’re going to find a way.”
That kind of confidence is priceless. You can’t buy it, and you can’t fake it. You have to earn it by winning tough games when the pressure is real. Now the Knicks know, deep in their hearts, that they can handle adversity and come out on top.
The Depth Question Gets Answered
For years, the Knicks have been criticized for relying too heavily on their star players. In past playoffs, when Brunson or Towns had bad games, the team often lost because nobody else could pick up the slack. This NBA Cup run showed that the problem might be solved.
Brunson himself pointed this out after the championship game when he said, “Without Tyler Kolek, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Jordan Clarkson, we don’t win this game.” Mitchell Robinson grabbed 10 offensive rebounds, giving the Knicks extra chances to score. Clarkson hit clutch three-pointers. Kolek ran the offense smoothly when he was on the court. These contributions from role players and bench guys are exactly what championship teams need.
What History Tells Us
Now here’s the tricky part. Looking at what happened to previous NBA Cup winners isn’t exactly encouraging. The Lakers won the first NBA Cup in 2023 but didn’t win the actual NBA Championship that year. The Milwaukee Bucks won it last year and then got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. That’s not a great track record.
But there’s another way to look at the history:
- The Indiana Pacers lost the 2023 NBA Cup Final but used that experience to reach the Eastern Conference Finals the following year and eventually the NBA Finals in 2025
- Oklahoma City lost the 2024 NBA Cup Championship game but won the actual NBA title in June 2025
- Teams that go deep in the Cup gain valuable experience playing high-pressure games
What this tells us is that the NBA Cup experience matters, even if you don’t win it all. The games feel like playoff games. The pressure is real. Young players learn what it takes to compete when everything is on the line. For the Knicks, who already made the Eastern Conference Finals last season, this extra experience could be the final ingredient they need.
The Current State of the Knicks
Let’s look at where the Knicks stand right now. They have an 18-7 record and sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, just 2.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons. Even more impressive, they’ve won nine of their last ten games. This team is absolutely rolling.
Under new head coach Mike Brown, who replaced Tom Thibodeau in the offseason, the Knicks are learning to play together better than ever. Brown has brought a fresh approach, using his bench players more and running a more creative offense. The whole roster is contributing, not just the stars. And here’s the really exciting part: the trade deadline is coming up in February. If the Knicks decide to add another piece to their roster, maybe some more size or shooting, they could become even more dangerous.
Why This Matters for New York Fans
Being a Knicks fan has been hard for a very long time. Since winning NBA Championships in 1970 and 1973, the franchise has mostly brought disappointment. They made the Finals in 1994 and 1999 but lost both times. They had a few good playoff runs here and there, but nothing to really celebrate.
This NBA Cup might not be the ultimate prize, but it represents something important: progress. The Knicks are no longer a team that just hopes to make the playoffs. They’re a team that wins things. They’re a team that fights back from double-digit deficits in championship games. They’re a team with an MVP-caliber player in Jalen Brunson, who averaged over 33 points per game during the Cup tournament.
Karl-Anthony Towns explained it perfectly when he talked about what winning does for a team. He said that winning becomes addictive and creates great energy and belief. When you know how to win, you want to keep winning. The Knicks just got a taste of that feeling, and they’re hungry for more.
Looking Ahead to June
The real question every Knicks fan is asking is simple: can this team win the actual NBA Championship? Nobody knows for sure, but all the signs point in a positive direction. The Knicks have star power with Brunson and Towns. They have depth with their bench players. They have defense with guys like Anunoby and Robinson. They have experience from last year’s Conference Finals run. And now they have the confidence that comes from winning a trophy.
The Eastern Conference path also looks clearer than it has in years. The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, two teams that stood in the Knicks’ way last season, are dealing with major injuries to their star players. This could be New York’s best chance in decades.
The NBA Cup might be just an appetizer, but it was a delicious one. It reminded everyone in New York why they fell in love with basketball in the first place. It gave a franchise that was starving some food to eat. And most importantly, it showed the rest of the league that the Knicks are for real.
The chase for the real championship begins now. And for the first time in a very long time, Knicks fans have genuine reasons to believe.
