2025 Knicks vs 2026 Knicks
I was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic. I moved to New York City with my mom before I turned 2 years old, and was raised with DEEP Dominican traditions in the Bronx.
I consider myself a New Yorker, through and through. That doesn't mean I have been a life long Knicks fan though. The main sport I grew up around was baseball and boxing. The Yankees were the team I had some familiarity with (Go Jeter!). One because baseball is the number one sport in DR, and two because of my proximity to Yankee Stadium. I would pass by the stadium every day on my way to high school while I rode the 4 train. I even saw the new stadium get built and the old one destroyed in the four years I was riding the train back and forth.
All this to say, I am a newbie basketball fan. My son is obsessed with the sport and watches basketball content for hours. It was annoying at first, but after a while I started to appreciate the game, the players, and the energy. In my true fashion, when I become excited about something, it's impossible for me to remain surface level about it. I always want to dig deeper and get a more holistic view of what makes up whatever I am excited about.
Enter the NY Knicks.
We are so excited they won the 2026 NBA Finals. As the games went by, I noticed key differences of how they were playing in 2025 versus this year. I want to share them with you, because I think most of the time we focus on the game and the WIN, but rarely go deeper to see what had to happen behind the scenes that lead to these moments. It’s the same thing with wellness. We see someone has lost a lot of weight, turned their health around, cleared up their skin, looks so good in their clothes…and we rarely stop to think what process led them to achieve these goals.
If we think about it, the players in 2025 were just about the same as the 2026 team. There was one MAIN difference though…the Coach!
In 2025 I noticed their coach at the time, Tom Thibodeau was always screaming. His energy always came off as mean to me. It was exhausting to watch him in the games, and the players, to me, looked defeated and exhausted by him. It seems like the team was not unified and a lot of the pressure was put on Jalen Brunson to carry the team through. It was not a surprise to me that the team fired him as soon as they were eliminated.
Now let’s take a look at 2026, with Mike Brown as the coach. What I noticed from his leadership was that he:
Was encouraging to his team
Had a calm demeanor and stern when needed
Knew the strengths of all his players and he used them accordingly - Jalen was not a one man show
Allowed space for others to lead - I saw KAT time and time again step up to coach and encourage the teammates
Created a sense of community among the players, they worked as a unit
Understood that the long term game is what matters - the endurance that the Knicks had compared to the rest of the teams was incredible. Always following through until the last second…LITERALLY!
Lastly, being aware of his surroundings, and the tools that were at his disposal. By this I mean, getting to know the other teams, plus understanding the rules of the game and how to use them to their advantage.
I really do give a lot of credit to Coach Mike Brown for the Knicks winning the Finals. It is imperative to have someone who believes in each individual and bring them together as a cohesive and respectful group who is after one goal.
Not to mention the dedication, sacrifice, and HOURS upon HOURS of training that the players have to commit to. Plus the recovery!!! Sleep, massages, nutrition, physical therapy, and so on.
Why in the world does all this matter to me, and YOU?
Because this is exactly how a wellness journey works. Maybe not to this level, but the overarching themes still apply.
Deciding you are going to put in the work. Learn and practice disciplined.
Understanding that it is a holistic experience - it’s not JUST food, or JUST exercise, JUST Monday - Thursday, or when it's convenient to you. This is why finding a way to make your wellness journey sustainable is key.
Building up the capacity to trust yourself to keep going when it gets hard. Sticking with the journey long enough to build evidence that you can overcome obstacles, and muscle memory that you know what you are doing.
Having a team who can see your strengths and challenges. A coach who understands the game, the environment, who has your best interest in mind, and believes in you before you believe in yourself. A close circle of family and friends who support your journey.
I will repeat again, I am a newbie basketball enthusiast and still have a lot to learn about the sport. Maybe my observations hit the mark, or maybe I am totally delusional. What do you think? What are your thoughts about basketball, the Knicks, 2025 vs 2026? I am excited to keep learning and exploring different perspectives, so please message me back
I encourage you to be curious of what is behind the highlight reel. Behind the win. A lot of times we dream to look like or become resentful of other people. “I can't look like this”, or “My body doesn't do that”. But we rarely see how we are falling short of what it takes to achieve our wellness goals. Weight loss, especially maintaining weight loss, gaining muscle, getting healthy, rarely starts with going to the gym or eating differently. It starts with deciding how dedicated you are going to be to the process, and how you will treat yourself along the way.
“You’ll be surprised what happens when you put all your energy into little details that actually matter.” - Jalen Brunson
Xo, Naihomy
