The 2026 NBA Finals are here. Tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET, the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs tip off in Game 1. The Knicks come into this series on an 11-game winning streak. They have swept through Cleveland in the Conference Finals without breaking a sweat.
Now, with a chance to win their first championship in decades, one 4-time champion has broken down exactly why this Knicks team looks nothing like the one we saw back in December.
Draymond Green’s Latest Comment Regarding the Knicks
On the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” Draymond Green pointed out that the Knicks are playing a completely different brand of basketball right now compared to what they were doing earlier in the season.
He said that back in December, the offense was being run through Jalen Brunson. But from the start of the playoffs, that changed. The offense started running through Karl-Anthony Towns, and Green believes that shift is the main reason the Knicks are now in the NBA Finals.
“The New York Knicks are not the same team they were in December. The New York Knicks back in December played a very ball-dominant Jalen Brunson style of basketball. That’s not the type of basketball they’re playing today.”
“They’re playing through Karl Anthony Towns out of the high post. KAT’s making a ton of decisions. When Jalen gets the ball, he’s in a position to make a play, not just score, because Jalen can pass the ball, you know, and he’ll get you seven assists, eight assists.”
“He’ll get you 10 assists in the game. He can, and when he gets the ball now, he’s just in a position to get it and make a scoring move or make a move, penetrate the defense, and kick it out to a shooter. That’s the offense that they’re running today, which, in large part, is the reason that they’re still here today is because they changed the offense,” Green said in the podcast.
When you look at the numbers, it’s hard to argue with that. Towns has averaged 16.9 points and 10.6 rebounds across 14 playoff games. Brunson, meanwhile, has put up 26.9 points, 6.6 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in the same 14 games.
On paper, Brunson still looks like the star. But the way the offense is being constructed around Towns is what’s making everything click.
Towns has essentially become the hub of the Knicks’ offense from the high post. He is acting more as a facilitator than a scorer. He is averaging 5.9 assists per game in the playoffs, and his shot attempts have dropped from 13.8 per game during the regular season to just 9.9 in the postseason.
Now because Towns is drawing attention and finding teammates out of the high post, Brunson has been able to operate as more of an off-ball threat. As a result, he has been shooting 48.6% from the field.
However, despite praising the Knicks’ evolution, Green is not fully convinced that they will the championship.
“Just like Becky Hammon said, prove me wrong. Absolutely double down. Getting out of the East has never been a sure-fire thing to winning a championship. What y’all talking about? You’re supposed to get out of the East. It’s the f*****g East!” Green added on his podcast.
Whether or not Green is right, we’re about to find out. The Spurs are no easy opponent, and with home court advantage on their side, they’ll be coming out with something to prove tonight.
