New York Knicks star Mitchell Robinson has suffered a broken finger just days out from Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
The center has helped the Knicks reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, with Mike Brown’s team eyeing a first championship in more than 50 years.
But their hopes were dealt a blow on Thursday when it was revealed that Mitchell had broken the pinky finger on his right hand.
According to ESPN, Mitchell’s return date is unknown. Game 1 of the NBA Finals is on June 3.
New York will face either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs, who collide in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night.
The Knicks returned to practice on Thursday for the first time since they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Mitchell Robinson has suffered a broken finger just days out from Game 1 of the NBA Finals
The center has helped the Knicks reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999
Brown’s players vowed to continue blocking out noise – whether it is how great they have been or that their opponents were not very good.
‘When there’s negative things being said about you, it’s important to ignore them,’ Jalen Brunson said.
‘When there’s positive things about you it’s easy to be able to read them to make you feel good, but you can’t do one and not the other… so just block out as best you can.’
The Knicks are 12-2 in the postseason, with a victory margin of 19.4 points per game, and have won 11 straight games. That’s tied for the third-longest winning streak within one postseason.
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has ruled out heading to watch the NBA Finals alongside President Trump, declaring: ‘If I go… I’ll be doing so separately.’
Earlier this week, Trump – a native New Yorker – said he was planning to attend one of the games at Madison Square Garden next month after receiving an invite from Knicks owner James Dolan.
‘I think I’ll be going to one of the games,’ the president said. ‘I was invited by numerous people, and [Dolan], and I think I’ll be going.’
Mamdani was among the crowd for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, sitting in the nosebleeds as the Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers en route to a series sweep.
Zohran Mamdani has ruled out heading to watch the NBA Finals alongside President Trump
The 34-year-old said on Thursday that he is still ‘figuring out’ whether he will go to the NBA Finals. In any case, though, Mamdani won’t be there with Trump.
‘If the president went to a game, that’s his decision to make. If I go to the game, I’ll be doing so separately,’ he told TMZ.
Mamdani later added in a press conference: ‘If the president comes to watch the Knicks, I’ll leave the president to watch the Knicks as he wants to watch the Knicks.’
The Democratic mayor would not be drawn on whether Trump would receive a good reaction from the crowd at MSG, telling TMZ: ‘New Yorkers, we are an unpredictable people. I think I’d make a fool of myself if I wanted to make a prediction.’
He also dodged the chance to question Trump’s credentials as a Knicks supporter. ‘I’m not going to do any analysis of the president’s fandom,’ he said, per ABC.
