NEW YORK — Before the 2026 NBA champion New York Knicks received their championship rings, and before Madison Square Garden raised its first championship banner since 1973 into the rafters, coach Mike Brown erred on the side of caution.
This night, he knew, was undoubtedly going to be one for the ages, and instead of forcing his team into the emotionless state of treating Tuesday night like any other night, Brown told his players to lean into the experience. To embrace the fruits of their accomplishments. To bask in the glory of restoring the Mecca of basketball to the top of the mountain.
Even if it came at the expense of their performance against the very team seeking to unseat them as reigning champs.
“It’s tough because — knock on wood — this could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You never know. It’s hard to accomplish something like this. … And so you don’t want to take this moment away from them,” the coach said ahead of tipoff against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. “It’s hard to accomplish something like this. And so you definitely want guys to embrace it and celebrate it with each other because they went through a lot with the fans, with the rest of the organization, and just with their families. And so you don’t want to take that moment away from them.
“But in the same breath, we obviously have a job to do tonight.”
The Knicks did have a job, a tall order at that: The eight reigning champs preceding them boasted a 7-1 record on ring night entering Tuesday. The Knicks joined the losing column in the season opener, falling 106-100 to the Philadelphia 76ers in a never-too-early playoff preview at the Garden.
Brown got out ahead of a potential loss before tipoff when he softened the blow in advance.
“I keep telling myself that no matter what happens tonight, if we win or lose, there’s 81 more [games]. There’s a lot of basketball left, and, just because of whatever happens tonight, it’s not going to define us,” the coach said. “And so I would rather them enjoy the moment [ring night/banner celebration] than me cutting it short or carving into their emotions based on their family and all that stuff being here.”
The pregame decree couldn’t have been more appropriate.
Karl-Anthony Towns picked up two fouls in less than three minutes and his third foul in the second, leaving New York’s offense handicapped in all-too familiar ways. Andre Drummond picked up the slack with a double-double in the first half alone, but New York’s offense struggled to generate consistent offense against the Sixers, who had six players score in double figures, including 28 points from Tyrese Maxey, 13 points off the bench from new addition Anfernee Simons, and 19 points from Jaylen Brown, while LeBron James recorded 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in quarterbacking his new team.
Jalen Brunson scored 21 points but missed 13 of his 19 shot attempts, including a heavily contested, fading 3 that would have made it a one-possession game with under 10 seconds to go in regulation. Towns added 19 points and 12 rebounds but logged four costly turnovers, which inexplicably compounded his early foul troubles. OG Anunoby needed 12 shots to get to 10 points, and Mikal Bridges shot 2 of 8 from the field for four points.
The Knicks walked onto the MSG floors with their heads held high and left with their shoulders sulked low.
The fun part? It doesn’t get any easier any time soon.
This is life as the hunted — and not the hunters. Next up, it’s Boston in Boston. Then Orlando and Detroit at home. And the Knicks better be ready, more ready than they were to receive their championship rings or pose in front of the banner before it elevated in front of the Jumbotron.