Knicks Have Built Magnificent Locker Room Culture

One of the keys to finding sustained success during the marathon NBA regular season is having a culture and game plan to fall back on. Since Tom Thibodeau took over as head coach of the New York Knicks, they have had that.

You know what you are going to get from Thibodeau-led teams. They are going to be hard-nosed, physical teams that rely on their defense. Hitting the offensive glass is a principle of their success on that end of the court, and you are going to get 100 percent effort and hustle from everyone on the court or they won’t play.

Sticking to those core values has enabled the Knicks to find success despite some major obstacles during the 2023-24 campaign. New York has had to deal with as many injuries as any team in the NBA.

Julius Randle has been sidelined since January 27th because of a separated shoulder and underwent surgery, ending his season. OG Anunoby has missed 26 out of 49 games since being acquired from the Toronto Raptors. Mitchell Robinson played in only 31 games after undergoing ankle surgery.

That has led to role players having to step up and throughout the season, they responded. Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, Miles McBride and Precious Achiuwa are a few of the players whose numbers were called when the team was short-handed and responded with big performances.

After the team’s victory over the Chicago Bulls in the season finale, star point guard Jalen Brunson gave some insight into what makes things click for the team. They have avoided drama all season, as they are just focused on the task at hand.