The New York Knicks are just four wins away from an NBA championship. Their journey to get to this moment was not as simple as one timely playoff run. It was all about years of patience. That is something the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans may need to ready themselves for this summer.
Los Angeles already has the most important part of equation down. They have a superstar, one of the best in the world, at the forefront of their franchise. The Knicks were in a similar boat when Jalen Brunson arrived for the 2022-23 season, even if the NBA world was not quite ready back then for the arrival of the small guard to stardom.
New York built a championship-level team for Brunson brick by brick. It involved calculated risks, big-time commitments, and opportunistic acquisitions. What has brought them to the 2026 NBA Finals could not have been done in one quick swoop.
For Lakers fans, that is not what they want to hear. They want to see Luka Doncic and the team back in the championship mix as soon as next season. Ideally, Los Angeles will be on the short list for a title in 2026-27. However, the breakthrough may not truly materialize immediately, and that will be the tough part for some to accept.
Fine-tuning a real contender may take time for the Lakers like it did for the Knicks
When Brunson broke out in the 2022-23 season, he did so for a Knicks team that would end up looking considerably different from the one we all see today. There are only three members, apart from JB, who are still around on the 2026 version of New York's squad: Josh Hart, Miles McBride, and Mitchell Robinson.
Key members of the Knicks' star-studded cast arrived one after another from there. OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mikal Bridges would join the team bit by bit thanks to Leon Rose's work in the front office.
New York even gambled on firing long-time head coach Tom Thibodeau in favor of Mike Brown. That decision was controversial to some, given Thibodeau's strong track record with the Knicks. However, the results in Brown's first season speak for themselves.
The Lakers already have some foundational pieces for the Doncic retool in place. JJ Redick has quickly proven himself as the bench boss who should be capable of maximizing Los Angeles' contention window. The franchise also clearly believes Austin Reaves is their co-star for Luka.
However, the lack of commitment to the overall supporting cast is indicative of just how much they have yet to solve on the whole. The major roster overhaul expected this summer speaks to that.
In a perfect world, the Lakers would love for this to be an overnight thing that is solved in one offseason. In practice, this summer can get them closer to their overall goal, but much like the Knicks, patience may be necessary to truly get that real contender they are looking for.
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