Sports
My Predictions For The New York Knicks 2024-2025 NBA Season
Yusuf Hamid
Volume 5 Issue 2
November 25, 2024
Image Provided by Elaine Ching
Predictions for The New York Knicks 2024-2025 NBA Season
As the 2024-2025 NBA season starts, I wanted to share my prediction for the Knicks’ upcoming season. The Knicks made huge moves this current off-season by trading two superstars, Mikal Bridges and Karl Anthony Towns, and Jalen Brunson’s selfless move to take a $113 million pay cut (Brener, 2024). Their expectations, not just for Knicks fans, but for all NBA fans, are tremendous.
It is vital to talk about the Knicks’ last season. The Knicks finished their regular season with a record of 50-32 and the second-best team in the east. While this is upstanding news, there was a “bitter pill” the Knicks had to swallow along the way. The Knicks’ starting power forward, Julius Randle, injured his shoulder on January 27th against the Miami Heat (Sam, 2023). Randle was not able to play for the rest of both the regular season and post season. This was devastating news to hear as a Knicks fan because Randle plays a key role on the team. Randle averaged 24 points, 5 assists, and 9.2 rebounds per game. To lose such a player like Randle felt like blowing out a tire while racing the Daytona 500. Luckily, the Knicks had a spare, Josh Hart. When Josh Hart was pushed to the starting role for the Knicks, he averaged 11.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 10.3 rebounds (Stat Muse). This statistic clearly showed the proverb, when one door closes, another door opens. Some Knicks fans even talked about trading Randle overall because Josh Hart was doing a better job at power forward and the uncertainty of Randle’s shoulder injury and how it would affect his ability to play basketball.
When the Knicks entered the post season, they had to verse the 2023 MVP, Joel Embiid, and a menacing 76er team in the first round. It was a “dog fight” between these two teams, but overall, the Knicks beat the 76ers in 6 games. Beating the 76ers was a magnificent accomplishment for the Knicks, but they suffered injuries to Mitchell Robinson, Bojan Bogdanovic, and OG Anunoby. This hindered the possibility of the Knicks' chances of winning the NBA Finale. The Knicks then had to beat the Pacers in the second round. During this series, even more Knicks players got injured like Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. Even after facing these difficulties, the Knicks were able to take the Pacers to seven games, where they eventually lost and were eliminated from the playoffs. This was devastating news as a Knicks fan, knowing that the Knicks were expected to, at the bare minimum, make it to the Easter Conference Finals, but were affected immensely by how many key players were injured on their team. The Knicks were simply dealt a bad hand.
This current off-season, the Knicks made two huge trades for two huge superstars. The Knicks first traded away Bojan Bogdanovic, Mamadi Diakite, Shake Milton, and an astonishing five first round picks to the Nets for Mikal Bridges, Keita Bates-Diop, and a second-round pick (NBA News Service). Mikal Bridges is a 6’6 small forward who is averaging almost 20 points per game. The Knicks then traded away Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, other small role players and a second-round pick for Karl Anthony Towns. According to USA Today Sports basketball section, HOOPSHYPE, Karl Anthony Towns is the fifth best power forward this upcoming NBA season. And the “cherry on top” was Jalen Brunson’s selfless act of taking a $113 million pay cut so the Knicks could afford all their players. With their star-studded line up, the Knicks were one of the four teams that were predicted to win this season’s NBA championship (Cluff, 2024).
Overall, this could be the Knicks’ year as they went through immeasurable mishaps last season. The combination of Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony Towns will be one of the best all-star duos in the league. Plus, the chemistry of this team overall is significant. Nerveless, there is always the chance of the unpredictable, but as for right now…expect in June to see Jalen Brunson holding the NBA Finals championship.
Sources:
-New York Knicks Legend Carmelo Anthony Addresses Jalen Brunson Contract (si.com)
-2023-24 New York Knicks Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com
-Knicks acquire Mikal Bridges from Nets for haul of picks, Bojan Bogdanovic | NBA.com
-Knicks acquire Karl-Anthony Towns in 3-team trade | NBA.com
-NBA ranking: The Top 24 power forwards for the 2023-24 season (hoopshype.com)