The Knicks enjoyed their summer of fun and now the NBA champions have to get back to work

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — The championship celebrations lasted all summer and spread throughout their city, with Knicks being treated to ovations when they were spotted at restaurants or sporting events in New York.

Or sometimes even on other continents.

“Me and my wife for our honeymoon went to East Africa, we went to Nairobi, we went to Kenya, we went to Tanzania, and it was crazy just to even be out in the Serengeti and the people on the cars, in the open cars, in the wild, go, ‘Knicks in 5!’,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “That was pretty crazy, actually.”

Now the party is over.

The Knicks got back to work Monday and it's clear that their title defense, much like the championship they won by repeatedly rallying to beat San Antonio in five games, won't be easy. Towns and Josh Hart are eligible for contract extensions and talks haven't gone far. Jalen Brunson is coming off left wrist surgery . Eastern Conference rivals in Philadelphia and Miami brought in superstars.

Ending a 53-year title drought was hard and trying to repeat might be even tougher, but the Knicks say they are up for the challenge.

“Definitely the first couple weeks or whatever of the season is going to show us who we are and where we are,” Brunson said. “No matter what we’re doing, whether we’re playing great, playing bad, how are we going to be able to learn? And so, I mean, we’ll find a way. We’ll hold each other accountable just like we did last year, and then we’ll be better.”

Brunson capped off the summer of fun by hosting NBC's “Saturday Night Live” two days earlier, with Towns, Hart and fellow starters OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges also appearing. He said as the episode was signing off that he would be getting back to his real job soon.

But even as they started to do that Monday, the Knicks couldn't help but look back at how much goodwill they earned by winning the team's first championship since 1973.

“I'll never forget, my wife and I walked into the Polo Bar and we got to the bottom of the stairs and everybody stood up and clapped, and I had nowhere to hide," coach Mike Brown said. "But just the energy is just amazing. A lot of fun.”

Before bringing up that memory, Brown began his lengthy opening remarks by stressing that the Knicks would hit adversity and face new challenges in 2026-27 so they couldn't afford any slippage from the focus they showed in their first season under him. That culminated with a 16-3 postseason run in which they set a record for largest victory margin.

The Knicks lost valuable backup center Mitchell Robinson to Boston and will try to replace him with Andre Drummond. The rest of the core is back, and eventually the Knicks must determine how far they will go to keep it together.

Towns and Hart both want to remain with the Knicks but gave no indication there was any progress on extensions. Asked how comfortable he was with letting negotiations continue into the season, Towns responded: “I think in this situation, there’s no comfortability to be had.”

Hart seemed a little more upbeat but acknowledged that the uncertainty could sometimes weigh on players.

“So obviously that’s something that you want to get done, so you don’t have to deal with that and focus on that. But we know at the end of the day it’s a business. You have situations like that and you never know what’s going to happen,” Hart said. “But for me, as long as I wear this jersey, I’m going to play as hard as I can for my guys and the city, so hopefully we can figure that out. But we know it’s a business, and we know if some of these things aren’t figured out by February, it might be a different conversation.”

The power dimmed at the Knicks’ training center as Hart finished his interview, which seemed fitting for the team's next chapter. There was so much energy around the Knicks this summer, but now they have to start a new journey without it.

“We just have to find a way to turn the page and move on,” Brunson said.

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