As the Eastern Conference playoff bracket has become a mess of unpredictability and disappointment, the New York Knicks have emerged as the closest thing to a potential juggernaut and clear favorite to make the NBA Finals. Jalen Brunson claims that he doesn’t care, and that he’s not even aware of such talk.
We know better than to take him at his word.
Jalen Brunson is asked about the narrative that the Knicks should be the favorites to come out of the East:
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 2, 2026
"I haven't heard it and I don't care." pic.twitter.com/FxcUZIAT6J
“I haven’t heard it, and I don’t care,” Brunson said when asked about the narrative that New York is now the Eastern Conference favorite.
Smell that? It’s the chemical-y scent of burning pants.
Jalen Brunson and the Knicks should absolutely care about the shifting narrative
Brunson’s response to this topic is typical athlete-speak. They are above consuming #content. They live in the moment, take it game to game, are impenetrable to outside noise, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
This is fine to say. Enviable, even. Brunson wouldn’t come off in the best light if he came out, and shouted, “You’re got damn right, we’re Eastern Conference favorites, baby!”
For starters, he would sound incredibly un-Brunson-like. Beyond that, while certain fans and pundits would appreciate the aplomb, others would glom onto the Knicks not having won anything yet, their loss in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, and the idea that buying into yourself as favorites after winning one round of playoff basketball is akin to getting ahead of your skis in the most karmically insufferable way possible.
Still, come on. Brunson darn well knows what’s being said about these Knicks, both the good and the bad. Terminal online-ness is ingrained into pretty much everyone under the age of 40. Brunson also hosts a podcast. He knows what’s being said.
He and the Knicks should definitely care about it, too. It echoes what owner James Dolan doesn’t just think, but has essentially demanded. The Knicks-are-favorites stance also comes on the heels of a tumultuous midseason slump that invited the possibility of an impromptu roster overhaul.
If nothing else, just like Karl-Anthony Towns’ suddenly, if improbably, rising stock, the shifting narratives are both loud, and more importantly, a harbinger of how far this team has come.
Oh, by the way, the Knicks narratives are 100 percent correct
This is perhaps the biggest reason Brunson should care: The so-called narrative with which he’s so unfamiliar is spot-on.
Anyone who still trusts the Cleveland Cavaliers is being treated to the granddaddy of all reality checks. All four of their stars have underachieved against a supposedly inferior Toronto Raptors squad. The Sixers are plucky, and more dangerous with Joel Embiid in the fold. No one’s picking them to win the East over the Knicks.
Welcome to the new state of play. Right now, reality and perception align: There is the Knicks, a pretty sizable gap, and then everyone else. Call me crazy, but that’s worth Brunson and the rest of the team acknowledging—not because it renders the Knicks inevitable, but because, NBA Finals-bound or not, Eastern Conference favorites is the bar to which they will be held.