Mitchell Robinson Breaks Right Pinky Finger Before Espn Nba Finals
Mitchell Robinson broke his right pinky finger earlier this week, and nba enters the Finals with his return unresolved. The Knicks center has no timetable for a comeback, a problem for New York after it reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Robinson’s Knicks Role
Robinson was one of New York’s best rebounders during the regular season. He ranked fourth in the NBA with 4.2 offensive rebounds per game and posted a league-best 20.1 offensive rebounding percentage. Those numbers helped anchor a front line that the Knicks leaned on all year.
He also played 60 games this season for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign. That was a sharp step up from 31 games in 2023-24 and 17 games in 2024-25, both seasons cut short by ankle trouble. The Knicks had managed his workload with a plan that kept him out of back-to-backs.
Knicks Frontcourt Options
The injury lands while New York is already short on center depth. Robinson has missed one game this postseason, and second-year big man Ariel Hukporti is listed as the Knicks’ third-string center. If Robinson cannot play, the Knicks would have to lean harder on a thinner front line than the one that carried them through the East.
His free-throw shooting has also shaped how opponents defend him, since he is making 30.2 percent of his shots from the line. The thumb-and-finger issue adds another layer to a player who has often been in and out of the lineup and now sits on an unclear path into the series. For New York, the frontcourt picture is already narrow, and Robinson’s hand injury makes it narrower still.
New York’s Finals Path
The Knicks are coming off a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. That run sent them to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, with the next series set to test a roster that depended heavily on Robinson’s rebounding and interior play all season. If he cannot get back, the Knicks will have to replace a center who produced 4.2 offensive boards per game and a 20.1 offensive rebounding rate.
