The New York Knicks saw their 2025 NBA Finals dreams crushed after falling 4-2 to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. While their impressive run had sparked hope in the hearts of fans, the Knicks inadvertently became the latest victim of a mysterious trend — one that has haunted the NBA for six straight seasons.
Since 2020, every team that eliminated the defending NBA champion during the playoffs has failed to go on and win the title themselves. The Knicks, after stunning the reigning champions Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, were poised to break that so-called “curse.” But history repeated itself, as they fell just one step short of the grand stage.
Another Chapter in a Mysterious Pattern
In their playoff journey, the Knicks made headlines by defeating the Boston Celtics — the 2024 NBA champions — in six games. That victory guaranteed a new champion would be crowned in 2025. But that champion wouldn’t be the Knicks. Their 4-2 series loss to the Pacers echoed a painful memory from the year 2000, when the Knicks also lost to Indiana by the same margin in the Eastern Conference Finals.
This recurring playoff jinx — sometimes referred to as “the curse of the champion slayer” — seems to strike teams that knock out the reigning champions. Despite their strong performances, none have managed to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the same postseason.
Tracing the Curse: From Celtics to Knicks
The origins of this curse trace back to the 2020 playoffs. That year, the Boston Celtics halted the Toronto Raptors’ bid for back-to-back titles, defeating them in a dramatic seven-game series. However, the Celtics were then ousted by the Miami Heat 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Ultimately, the Los Angeles Lakers secured the championship inside the pandemic-induced bubble, defeating the Heat in six games.
The following year, the Lakers returned to defend their title but were stopped in the first round by the Phoenix Suns, 4-2. The Suns then went on a deep playoff run, only to fall heartbreakingly short in the NBA Finals, losing 4-2 to the Milwaukee Bucks. That victory marked Milwaukee’s first championship in 50 years, while the Suns endured their third NBA Finals loss in franchise history — and still remain without a title.
No Exceptions, Not Even for Celtics or Lakers
In 2022, the Celtics found themselves both the eliminators and the victims once more. After knocking out the defending champion Bucks in a grueling seven-game series, they advanced to the NBA Finals — only to lose to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
The curse struck again in 2023. The Lakers took down the reigning champs — the Warriors — in the Western Conference Semifinals. But the purple and gold were then swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Conference Finals. Denver went on to win their first-ever NBA title, continuing the streak of new champions and crushed dreams for those who eliminate them.
Timberwolves & Knicks Join the Victim List
In 2024, the Minnesota Timberwolves, led by the electrifying Anthony Edwards, edged out the Nuggets — the 2023 champions — in a dramatic seven-game series. Just when fans thought the Wolves might break the jinx, they fell to Luka Dončić’s Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals, falling short of their first Finals appearance.
Now in 2025, the New York Knicks have joined this long list of cursed contenders. Their victory over the Celtics seemed to set the stage for a fairytale run, but their journey was halted by a resurgent Indiana Pacers squad.
A Championship Drought and a Mysterious Pattern
This strange streak has now stretched across six seasons. Not a single team has won the NBA title after eliminating the reigning champions since the Warriors defended their title successfully in 2018. It’s a bizarre pattern that, while probably coincidental, has left a trail of broken playoff dreams.
As the 2025 NBA Finals feature the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder — two franchises hungry for championship glory — the question remains: who will rise, and will the curse continue into future seasons?
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