No NBA team has won back-to-back championships since 2017 and 2018 when the Golden State Warriors, led by Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, captured two straight.

Since 2019, eight different teams have won the title in eight seasons.

The New York Knicks are hoping to change that trend this season when they seek to become the first team since the Warriors to go back-to-back.

The Knicks are coming off an improbable playoff run where they went 16-3 en route to their first championship since 1973, and 15-1 after starting the playoffs down 2-1 to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.

They swept the second round against the Philadelphia 76ers, swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and knocked off the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the Finals.

In 2026-27, the Knicks are looking for more.

Speaking at the US Open, Knicks forward Josh Hart was asked about the target on the Knicks’ backs as the defending champions.

“I don’t think we have a big target because I don't think anyone is picking us to win again. We're using it as fuel. We’re still the hunters. We’re not satisfied with one,” he said.

Though the Knicks are the champions, they are viewed as being behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, and relatively even with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Thunder and Spurs were the top two teams in the Western Conference with little separation in the regular season and a seven-game series in the Western Conference Finals. Both teams are returning their core players and banking on internal development for teams that are still young.

The 76ers added Jaylen Brown and LeBron James and have become favorites in the East as a result.

It’s easy to see why the Thunder or Spurs might have more fanfare as championship picks, but the Knicks are the class of the East at the very least. The 76ers added big names, but they have yet to play a game together, and it’s unclear how it will all work out.

Meanwhile, the Knicks are returning their same starting five and nearly the same bench, the exception being Andre Drummond serving as the backup center instead of Mitchell Robinson, who signed with the Celtics.

They might not be the betting favorites or the consensus pick, but they are the defending champions, and other teams around the league will give them that respect.