Locked On Knicks - Daily Podcast On The New York Knicks
Locked On Knicks - Daily Podcast On The New York Knicks

How The New York Knicks Can Break The NBA's Repeat Curse

August 19, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The New York Knicks just won the NBA championship, but no team has repeated as champion in seven seasons. The last team to do it was the 2017 and 2018 Golden State Warriors, and that required a freakish combination of circumstances: Stephen Curry’s ankle injuries depressed his contract value to four years and $44 million, and Kevin Durant chose to join a 73-win team because he loved the city and the style of play. Even then, the Warriors only repeated once before injuries derailed their three-peat attempt.

Why Repeating Has Become Nearly Impossible

The host identifies two structural forces working against repeat champions. First, the NBA redesigned the Collective Bargaining Agreement after the Durant-to-Warriors move. The league wanted parity and did not want another superteam. The new CBA makes it extraordinarily difficult to accumulate overwhelming talent in the first place, and even harder to keep that talent intact year over year. Second, the modern game is physically more demanding than any previous era. The pace of play is high, but the real difference is ground coverage: defenders now have to race out to shooters thirty feet from the basket, thirty-five times a game, then scramble to the opposite corner. The explosive movements generate immense force and lead to the kinds of injuries — Achilles tears, hamstring strains — that have become epidemic. Repeating now req

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:19) **The Repeat Curse: Why No Champion Has Repeated Since 2018** - Host Gavin Schoen introduces the central thesis: the NBA has not seen a repeat champion in seven seasons, and he will explain why the Knicks are uniquely positioned to break that trend.
  • 2 (07:50) **Lesson 1: The 2020 Raptors – Losing a Superstar** - A case study of the first non-Warriors champion who failed to repeat, losing Kawhi Leonard in the offseason.
  • 3 (09:32) **Lesson 2: The 2021 Lakers – Roster Collapse & Injuries** - A look at the bubble champions who saw their veteran-laden roster dismantled and were decimated by injuries the following season.
  • 4 (14:14) **Lesson 3: The 2022 Bucks – The Devastating Injury to the Fourth Man** - An analysis of a Bucks team that kept its core but lost a key role player to a season-ending injury.
  • 5 (16:56) **Lesson 4: The 2023 Warriors – A Lightning in a Bottle Repeat** - How the 2022 Warriors' title was a perfect storm that could not be replicated the next year.
  • 6 (19:27) **Lesson 5: The 2024 Nuggets – Depth Drained by the Apron** - The Nuggets lost a key Swiss Army knife in Bruce Brown and had zero bench scoring, a structural weakness the Knicks must avoid.
  • 7 (23:53) **Lesson 6 & 7: The 2025 Celtics & 2026 Thunder – The Best Chances That Failed** - The two most recent repeat failures, both of whom brought back their entire rosters but still fell short.

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Show Notes

The New York Knicks eye historic NBA repeat—can Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns break the league’s “champion’s curse” eight years running? 

Gavin Schall unravels why repeating as NBA champions is so elusive, dissecting obstacles like roster depth, the CBA's parity-focused restrictions, injuries, and the relentless grind of modern basketball. He spotlights the downfall of recent title winners—Raptors, Lakers, Bucks, Warriors, Nuggets, Celtics, and Thunder—highlighting how stars like Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and LeBron James struggled to defend their crowns.

Key takeaways center on the Knicks’ unique strengths and vulnerabilities, including Mitchell Robinson’s departure, the health of OG Anunoby and Towns, and whether depth pieces like Josh Hart and Landry Shamet can step up. Schall evaluates how Tom Thibodeau’s coaching, the Knicks’ hard-nosed identity, and looming threats from powerhouses like the Celtics and Spurs shape New York’s chance at a dynasty. Can the Knicks defy NBA history and rise again?

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Locked On Knicks - Daily Podcast On The New York Knicks

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