After another frustrating loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night, one New York Knicks star could not help but admit that the hangover from the team’s legendary title run has played a major part in their slow start to the 2026-27 season.

There has never been a higher level of excitement for Knicks basketball than there is right now. After a good season in 2025-26, New York took a magical journey few will soon forget en route to the franchise’s first championship in over five decades. Their playoff run captured the hearts and minds of their massive fan base and had them thrilled for the start of their title defense.

However, over the first two weeks of the new season, things have not gone as planned for the champions. They lost their first three games, including an opening night defeat to the Sixers. While they won a pair of matchups this week, they fell again to Philadelphia on Friday in their first game in this year’s NBA Cup.

They head into a Monday night game against the Brooklyn Nets with a surprising 2-4 record and near the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings. There has been a lot of talk about the Knicks’ issues over the first six games, with sloppy play being the most mentioned problem. Well, after their loss last night, Josh Hart owned up to the source of the sloppy play and underwhelming record.

Josh Hart admits New York Knicks still getting over title run and summer celebrating

“We all feel the fatigue,” Josh Hart told the media after Friday’s game [h/t New York Post]. “So we’ve got to fight through it. Six games in, we have to find a way to make sure we get our bodies ready to play every day. I think mentally we’re there. We just gotta find it physically.”

“It’s a new year. I think we’re trying to work our way into the season. But I think the flow’s tougher. Sometimes the ball is stagnant. I think that’s a little bit from fatigue and not a mental thing. You know what the other team is doing, and physically you’re trying to get your body to get to that point.

Championship hangovers are not uncommon. Players have deep playoff runs, then spend the offseason celebrating the fruits of their labor instead of preparing for the new campaign. After this Knicks team ended a 53-year title drought, they and their fan base have been savoring the win for months. It is very easy to fall into that trap, and it looks like it ensnared New York this summer.

It also must be noted that this Knicks team went to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2025 as well.

How long do you think it will take them to get over the fatigue and get back to being the team that rampaged through the 2026 playoffs?