LeBron James Speaks on Knicks’ Chances to Become Repeat Champions

The New York Knicks are about to find out what it is like to wear a target as champions, since this is the first title they have had to defend since 1973.

Philadelphia 76ers forward LeBron James, who will see them on opening night, used part of the newest Mind the Game episode to praise how they got there.

James and co-host Steve Nash previewed the season on the show, and the podcast's account posted a clip on Tuesday asking whether the defending champs could bring another trophy to the city.

According to ClutchPoints, Nash brought up how many people felt the San Antonio Spurs had the more talented roster, though the Knicks still beat them in five games in the Finals.

James kept coming back to how hard New York played during that run.

"They played the game the right way, defended at an extremely high level," James said in the clip from the new episode.

He also brought up playing for head coach Mike Brown in his early days in Cleveland, when Brown would always talk to his teams about competing.

From there he praised guard Josh Hart, who is in the news after the Knicks tabled contract extension talks with him, and he said he thought forward OG Anunoby was the team's MVP in the Finals even though guard Jalen Brunson won Finals MVP.

No team has won back-to-back titles since the Golden State Warriors did it in 2017 and 2018, and the league has had a different champion every year since.

That tells me how hard it is to keep the same edge after a title, so I liked that James talked about effort and defense instead of talent.

Brown sounds like he is thinking the same way, because he has said he wants to see how his group handles adversity this season.

New York does have most of the title roster back, with center Mitchell Robinson leaving for the Boston Celtics and center Andre Drummond now on hand to fill that spot.

Even Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton showed the Knicks some love after the Finals.

The preseason has been a lot less fun, as the Knicks are still looking for their first win after a 148-98 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, but Brunson, Anunoby, Hart and center Karl-Anthony Towns were among eight players listed as inactive for that game.

New York hosts Toronto again on Thursday at Madison Square Garden to close the preseason, and then the regular season opens at home on Tuesday, Oct. 20, against James and the 76ers.

The two teams meet four times this season, so James will see plenty of the group he praised.

I think the Knicks can repeat if their top guys stay healthy, because most of that roster is back and Brown still has them focused on effort.

I am less sure about the bench after what happened in Toronto, and I would like to see Brown settle on a couple of backups he trusts well before the playoffs, since a long season always ends up testing more than the starters.