Unorthodox Knicks Lineup Makes History

He, much like all of his star-studded teammates manning the Knicks' starting lineup, arrived to New York after previous stops with other NBA teams. This is common enough path for some players to take, but these Knicks are the first team in over four decades to reach the Eastern Conference Finals without a single home-grown player in the main five-man unit.

Brunson is a particular rarity, with each of the last four Finals MVPs having never worn another team's threads. But that's just the nature of the modern NBA, with only Minnesota's Anthony Edwards remaining as the sole home-drafted centerpiece.

Brunson's former teammate, Julius Randle, arrived to the Knicks in a similar situation as an undervalued scorer. He was swapped to Edwards' Timberwolves in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns, Brunson's top running mate.

3&D wing combination Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby were similarly recent additions, with Bridges requiring half of New York's asset trove in a trade to Brooklyn while Toronto got several former New York draftees in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley back for Anunoby. They've both played pivotal roles in consolidating the Knicks' rejuvenated defense, as has another former trade piece in Josh Hart.

Other teams lined with hired guns have advanced to the conference finals before, with the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2021 Los Angeles Clippers making it this far in their own conference. But Brunson and friends get to make history in the own conference, an impressive achievement in an era in which big markets are allowed to spend just as much and assess their roster just as often as New York has without their results.