Knicks Clinch Eastern Conference Playoff Spot

The Knicks became the third Eastern Conference team to secure a playoff spot when Philadelphia lost at Miami on Monday, per the NBA (Twitter link).

Detroit, the No. 1 seed, was the first Eastern team to clinch a playoff spot following a March 20 win over Golden State. The Celtics, the No. 2 seed, clinched their own playoff berth with Sunday’s victory at Charlotte.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the regular season, New York can finish no worse than sixth in the conference. The team is currently 48-27, the third seed in the East.

Boston lost to Atlanta on Monday, so the Knicks are now two games back of the Celtics. New York is 1.5 games ahead of No. 4 Cleveland and will almost certainly finish as a top-four seed.

The Knicks largely ran back the same roster that made the Eastern Conference finals in 2025 for the first time in 25 years. They did fire their head coach though, replacing Tom Thibodeau with Mike Brown.

Owner James Dolan said in early January that the team’s goal for this season was to, at minimum, make the NBA Finals. We’ll see how the Knicks perform the rest of 2025/26, but they’ve secured the first step toward that goal.