On Saturday, the Indiana Pacers wrapped up the Eastern Conference finals, finishing off the New York Knicks’ season and dashing any hopes New York had of winning its first championship in 50 years. Despite the loss, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson feels strongly his team can win it all next season.
Brunson was asked after the game if he believed this Knicks team could make a championship run next season. In his response, the guard was incredibly clear about his faith in the team.
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“The most confidence. Overconfident. Seriously,” Brunson said. “There’s not an ounce of any type of doubt that I’m not confident with this group.”
Brunson gave it everything he had, averaging 30.6 points in the six games series against the Pacers. Still, the East finals loss was, on the whole, a disappointing ending for a Knicks team that had so much potential.
New York made multiple key offseason moves to build a strong contending roster heading into the 2024-25 season. The team re-signed starting forward OG Anunoby, the second most expensive player on the roster, to a new five-year, $212.5 million extension in July. In September, the Knicks sent Julius Randle, a three-time All-Star, to the Minnesota Timberwolves, receiving veteran center Karl-Anthony Towns in return as part of a three-team trade.
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While neither the Pacers or the Thunder had to pay the luxury tax this season, the Knicks did put a lot of money on the line. New York had the fourth-highest payroll in the league with $188,877,651, going more than $18 million over the tax threshold. Towns was the most expensive player on the team, earning $49.2 million this season; Anunoby was the second most expensive, earning $36.6 million this year.
Along with Mikal Bridges, the team’s four star starters all had good seasons. Brunson led the team, averaging 26 points per game, while Towns averaged a double-double. Anunoby and Bridges both averaged double-digit points, while logging more than 36 minutes per game.
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Josh Hart, who moved to the bench midway through the East finals, finished the season with 13.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, nearly averaging a double-double of his own. The Knicks finished third in the East with a 51-31 record.
Those numbers held relatively strong throughout the postseason, too, as New York earned well-fought series wins over the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics in the postseason before falling to the Pacers.
In the end, it wasn’t enough. New York will once again be watching the NBA Finals from home. If you take Brunson’s word for it: There’s always next year.
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