What will future generations of NBA fans learn about the 2025-26 season?
Last year, I analyzed the moments from previous basketball seasons that are still remembered years -- if not decades -- after they occurred, from the invention of the shot clock in 1954-55 to the Dream Team revolutionizing international basketball in 1991-92 to the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic in 2024-25, and everything in between.
In the process, I identified five broad categories of events that linger in the collective memory. Let's fit the top moments from the 2025-26 season into those categories to answer that opening question.
1. Incredible achievement
I consulted with a handful of other basketball minds -- including media members and front office employees -- to generate a list of the most memorable moments from the 2025-26 season (which, for these purposes, spans from opening night last October through this summer). Every one of them listed the New York Knicks' title first.
More specifically, they listed a great number of memorable facets of the Knicks' title, including: OG Anunoby's tip-in to complete the greatest Finals comeback ever, the emphatic sating of the franchise's 53-year title drought, the team's sheer playoff dominance across multiple rounds, the spectacle of watch parties throughout New York City and the presence of President Donald Trump at the only Finals game the Knicks lost against the San Antonio Spurs.