Yabusele proceeded to grab the jersey and the marker that was handed to him by the fan. He looked over the jersey in his hand and saw the number, which was 16. He remembers thinking, “That’s my number.” He turned it over and saw his last name, in Chinese lettering.

One prominent doubter has emerged in the Western Conference, as four-time NBA Champion and Golden State Warriors icon Draymond Green has cast serious doubts over the Knicks’ ability to be credible title challengers this season after how opening week has gone for them.

The Knicks coach said Yabusele faces one of the steepest learning curves in New York’s new system. Brown’s offense requires the four to function interchangeably with the one through three, while also toggling between frontcourt spots depending on lineup construction.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson look to lead the New York Knicks to the championship round after falling short in the Eastern Conference Finals. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

The New York Knicks enter the 2025-26 NBA season with the fourth best odds to win the championship, which would be the franchise's first title since 1973

The Knicks have the same number of wins since May 31 as the Jets. And while the Knicks suffered a loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to the Pacers that strafed the souls of the most fervent and truest believers every bit as much as that Denver debacle did for Giants fans, enough time has passed to soften those wounds.

The New York Knicks do appear to be a different team under new head coach Mike Brown. Can his approach end their championship drought?

The New York Knicks are back in the win column after beating the Chicago Bulls, snapping a three-game losing streak in the process. The losses the Knicks took f