The New York Knicks are less than a week away from kicking off their 2026-27 NBA season. The Knicks are looking to become the first team to repeat as NBA champs since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors did it nearly a decade ago, and they'll be bringing back most of the same core as last year.

Unfortunately, not many around the league feel strongly about the Knicks' chances of hoisting another Larry O'Brien Trophy, as 93 percent of the votes from NBA general managers in a recent survey conducted around the league went to either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs, although New York was in the “others receiving votes” column, alongside the new-look Philadelphia 76ers.

Of course, the Knicks are no strangers to being doubted. Although they were favored in each of their playoff series in the Eastern Conference last year, New York showed impressive resilience in routinely crawling out of big deficits in the NBA Finals en route to the championship, with Jalen Brunson proving that a small guard not named Stephen Curry can still be the first option on a championship team in 2026.

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Meanwhile, several of the teams around the Knicks in the Eastern Conference, including the 76ers, Toronto Raptors, and others, have drastically improved their rosters (seemingly) this offseason, so it will be interesting to see how much more competition New York has in its quest to make it back to the NBA Finals.

In any case, the Knicks are slated to kick off their new season on October 20 with a home game against LeBron James and the 76ers, prior to which New York will be raising a banner and receiving its championship rings.