Former New York Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni believes the defending NBA champions have the pieces to remain among the league's best teams, but he acknowledged the difficulty of winning back-to-back titles.
With the Knicks in training camp preparing for their title defense ahead of the 2026-27 season, D’Antoni discussed New York's chances of repeating during an interview with Kyle Odegard of Action Network. The veteran coach pointed to the challenge of defending a championship while acknowledging that keeping the team's core together provides reason for optimism.
“It’s definitely a good sign. It's hard to repeat. There's no guarantee of anything. You need some luck along the way,” D’Antoni said. “They are going to be good, and it would make the NBA interesting, because they haven't had a repeat champion for 10 years or so. We'll see. It's a nice goal for them to try to reach.”
New York enters the season with its championship nucleus largely intact, led by reigning NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart.
Mike D’Antoni believes Knicks can handle pressure of defending NBA title
The Knicks captured their first NBA championship since 1973 last season, completing a run that ended with a five-game NBA Finals victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Brunson emerged as the centerpiece of the run, while Towns, Bridges, Anunoby and Hart each played significant roles throughout the postseason.
Winning the championship has also brought additional attention and opportunities for New York's players. D’Antoni does not expect those responsibilities to become a significant obstacle as the Knicks attempt to remain focused on basketball.
“They're pros,” D’Antoni said. “You've just got to get used to the attention and the pressure that comes with it, and you have to perform. But most players adapt to that.”
The attention surrounding New York will only increase as the franchise attempts to become the NBA's first repeat champion in a decade. The Knicks will enter every matchup as the defending champions while carrying expectations that differ significantly from those they faced at the beginning of last season.
Article Continues BelowMike D’Antoni believes New York's championship was ‘good for the NBA'
D’Antoni also praised the Knicks for how they represented the league during their championship run. The 75-year-old coached New York from 2008 until his resignation during the 2011-12 season and remains familiar with the attention that accompanies basketball in one of the league's largest markets.
“It's good for the NBA,” D’Antoni said. “They play the right way. Their guys are really classy, intelligent. They did a great service to the NBA, and that benefits us all. I was really happy for them.”
New York now turns its attention toward becoming the first team since the Golden State Warriors to successfully defend an NBA championship.
The challenge begins with maintaining the chemistry that carried the Knicks through last season while managing the expectations that come with defending a title. Brunson, Towns, Bridges, Anunoby and Hart give New York continuity around its championship core, but D’Antoni emphasized that even a talented roster needs circumstances to break its way during a lengthy postseason.
For D’Antoni, the New York Knicks remain positioned to contend again. Whether they can complete another championship run will depend on how they handle the pressure, attention and unpredictability that come with attempting to repeat.