The New York Knicks' 2026 title run was unlike any we've seen in the NBA. So it stands to reason their 2027 title defense stands out as well.

Here are three things we've learned as New York dropped another game Friday to the 76ers.

1. The Knicks lost to the 76ers again, but may hold the winning hand down the road

By losing Friday in Philadelphia, New York put themselves behind the eight-ball as far as tiebreaker and seeding scenarios come playoff time. But should the Knicks and 76ers meet in the postseason for a third time in four years, the former still enjoy one advantage the latter have yet to show an answer for.

In last year's second-round series, Towns averaged 15.5 points and eight rebounds a game. Had you shown those numbers to the Sixers before the series started, they'd have figured they came out on top. Had you shown them KAT also put up seven assists a game on 62/55/82 shooting, they'd have known better.

We know Mike Brown keeps his cards close to his chest. He won't give away what he's thinking about April in October, least of all to the team in the East that's the Knicks' biggest threat. Neither Brown, Towns nor the Knicks need to prove anything in the regular-season. Nor do they need to prove themselves in the playoffs. The 76ers do.

That starts with slowing down the Knicks' top scorers, and that's where the Sixers still have some 'splaining to do. Though they've won both matchups so far, the Sixers are allowing 20.5 points a game to KAT on 59% shooting. He's been guarded by Embiid six times this season and scored five times. He made half his shots last night against Adem Bona. Whatever the answer is to slowing him down, it isn't on the Sixers roster.

Last year the Knicks gave the league one taste of Towns for games 1-82, then changed the recipe once the playoffs got real. The 76ers have won both battles this season, but until/unless they come up with a way to slow down Towns the war is already lost. Some Knicks played well and some didn't, yet Towns more than anyone is the bellweather when they square off with the 76ers.

2. The Knicks' fortunes might change thanks to their upcoming schedule

New York was always a candidate to struggle early this season. Not only were they dealing with the usual championship hangover, their first 15 games, if not a Murderer's Row, were at least a gauntlet of aggravated assaults.

There was a small eye built into the storm, a peaceful period the Knicks are heading into now. Three of their next four games are against Brooklyn, Chicago and Milwaukee, the only three teams below them in the East, with a combined record of 2-14 after Friday's games. So there's opportunity for the Knicks to get their wits and their wins back. Once that opportunity has passed, something bigger and badder comes knocking on the door.

Outside that terrible troika of teams, the Knicks' next six games come against a better class of club: two with Cleveland, two with Toronto, one against Indiana and another versus Minnesota. That's a conference finalist from last year, a dark horse to get there this year, the team that eliminated the Knicks in 2024 and 2025 and a Western power that's won more playoff series the past three years than everyone except the Thunder and the Knicks.

The Knicks are currently tied for 10th in the East. It's too early to think that means anything. But if nine games from now they're still slumming instead of rising up the East standings, it won't be too early to start wondering whether the ceiling on the season is lower than hoped.

3. Recent defending champs this haven't struggled this much out of the blocks

Last year's defending champions, Oklahoma City, got off to a 24-1 start. The year before that Boston were the title-holders; they won seven of their first eight games. In 2024 Denver began their repeat bid with an 8-1 start. This year's defending champs are 2-4.

Should the Knicks be worried? Maybe not.

None of those three teams repeated the title trick. Despite one molten month after another to start the year, the Thunder were without Jalen Williams when they needed him most, that being the Western conference finals. The Celtics were about to walk the plank in 2025 when they lost Jayson Tatum to an Achilles injury. The 2024 Nuggets tied the Thunder for the best record in the West despite losing Jamal Murray for 23 games. If he'd been healthy, maybe they're the top seed. Maybe the matchups break their way. Alas, they did not.

So if you're trying to figure out whether the omens are ominous or promising for the Knicks in 2026-27, the bad news is they've started less like the last few champions and more like the 2023 Warriors, who began their defense 3-7 and ultimately fell in the second round. The good news: getting off to a hot start wouldn't have guaranteed the Knicks anything. And their health come springtime is a better indicator of their title chances than anything they do in October.

Continuing to struggle early could guarantee they put themselves in too tough of a spot to fight out of come crunch time. The schedule does them a brief kindness next week, and there are 76 games remaining—all the time in the world, really. No better time than the present to lock in a brighter future.