Rich Castellano Sees New York Basketball Teams Echo 1973 Knicks
Rich Castellano saw new york basketball teams through a 1973 lens, and the Northport High School girls basketball coach said the current Knicks fit it. The comparison came after a 13-game winning streak built on ball movement, depth and shared responsibility.
Rich Castellano and the 1973 Knicks
Castellano watched the Knicks beat the Lakers in the 1973 NBA Finals when he was 22 years old, and he still remembered the way that group moved the ball from Willis Reed to Walt Frazier to Bill Bradley to Dave DeBusschere. He said, “I see a lot of that in this 2026 team.”
He pointed to Josh Hart, Deuce McBride, Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns as part of that same pattern, saying, “Whether it be [Josh] Hart or [Deuce] McBride or Mitchell Robinson or [Karl-Anthony] Towns, all the guys share the ball. They look out for one another.”
Castellano also put the argument in blunt terms: “You have to have a team. I’ll take five great team players instead of three players with two superstars.” That was the same logic behind his other line about the Knicks’ balance: “I’d rather people try to stop five than stop one, and I think that’s what happens to the Knicks.”
Bill Mitaritonna’s Bench Lesson
Half Hollow Hills West High School boys basketball coach Bill Mitaritonna tied the Knicks’ playoff run to a memory from Dec. 23, 1987, when he watched the Bulls at Madison Square Garden and saw Gerald Wilkins hold Michael Jordan to 16 points over 39 minutes. He said Mitchell Robinson, Jose Alvarado and Landry Shamet have become critical playoff contributors off the bench.
That is the part high school coaches can use. Mitaritonna said, “It’s a great way for us as high school coaches to tell them that everybody’s important on a team, no matter when your number is called.”
Sarah Tansey’s Catalyst
Plainedge High School girls basketball coach Sarah Tansey said the Knicks’ recent run did not start with this spring. She pointed to Eastern Conference semifinal appearances in 2023 and 2024, along with a conference finals series in 2025, as the steps that led to this point.
The current stretch still carries a jolt of urgency. The Knicks had only three playoff losses while posting an NBA-record 273-point differential during the 13-game winning streak, but that streak ended Monday night in a 115-111 loss at Madison Square Garden. The run may have stopped, yet the coaches’ comparison has already landed: the 2026 Knicks are being judged less like a one-man team and more like a group built the way the 1973 title team was built.
