Title: $740 Million Statement: The Knicks Go All-In With a Starting Five Built to Win Now 🗽💰
NEW YORK CITY — August 1, 2025.
Once ridiculed as the sleeping giants of the NBA, the New York Knicks have officially awakened—and with a vengeance. Their message to the league is loud, clear, and cost a jaw-dropping $740 million: “We’re not here to rebuild. We’re here to rule.”
That eye-popping figure? It’s the total contract value committed to the Knicks’ projected 2025–26 starting lineup:
Jalen Brunson
Mikal Bridges
Josh Hart
OG Anunoby
Karl-Anthony Towns
Together, they form the most expensive starting five in franchise history—and arguably one of the most balanced and dangerous units in the league today.
THE CORE OF GRIT AND GOLD
It all started with Jalen Brunson, who signed in 2022 and quickly became the heart of the Knicks’ offense—and the locker room. His playmaking, fearless scoring, and elite leadership turned the franchise from punchline to postseason staple. By 2025, he’s already logged back-to-back All-Star appearances and has become the most beloved Knicks point guard since Clyde Frazier.
Then came the trade that shook the East: Mikal Bridges to the Knicks. Acquired in a blockbuster summer deal with Brooklyn, Bridges was the final piece of a perimeter defense puzzle that had already included Josh Hart—Brunson’s college running mate and the Knicks’ hustle engine—and OG Anunoby, the midseason steal from Toronto that brought elite two-way consistency to MSG.
But the crown jewel of their off-season came when New York made a bold move for Karl-Anthony Towns. The deal sent shockwaves across the league. Finally, the Knicks had a stretch-five All-Star, a proven 20-and-10 big man, to anchor the paint and space the floor. Towns’ arrival also reunited him with former college teammate Anunoby and added offensive versatility to a team that previously leaned heavily on Brunson’s shot creation.
A PRICE TAG THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES
In an age of supermax contracts and luxury tax gambles, the Knicks have taken the plunge:
Brunson’s extension: $156 million
Bridges: on a $179 million deal
Anunoby’s re-signing: 5 years, $180 million
Towns: carrying a contract worth $224 million
Hart: on a team-friendly but sizable $60 million deal
Altogether, that’s $740 million in long-term investment for five players—and that’s not even counting the supporting cast, which includes playoff-tested names like Donte DiVincenzo and Mitchell Robinson.
For some, it’s financial madness. For others, it’s the cost of competing in the NBA’s modern arms race. But for Knicks fans? It’s a dream decades in the making.
READY FOR PRIME TIME
This isn’t a fantasy lineup—it’s the result of smart front office management, locker room chemistry, and a front office finally aligned with a clear, aggressive vision. With head coach Tom Thibodeau still at the helm, the Knicks boast one of the league’s top defensive units, and now with Towns and Bridges, they have the offensive weapons to match.
Critics will say it’s a risk. But after decades of mediocrity and mismanagement, the Knicks aren’t afraid of stakes anymore.
This is a $740 million bet on winning now—on defending The Garden, on chasing banners, and on making New York basketball matter again.
And for the first time in a long time, it finally does.
