It only took the Knicks one title to start influencing top NBA draft picks

Daily Knicks · Jul 21, 2026 23:57 · 3 min read

It only took the Knicks one title to start influencing top NBA Draft picks — Adam Silver, Cameron Boozer | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Knicks needed just one championship win to start influencing the next generation of top picks in the NBA Draft. Cameron Boozer's glad to be up first.

The New York Knicks ended a 53-year title drought with their 2026 NBA Championship victory over the San Antonio Spurs. And they're already sending ripple effects of influence throughout the basketball world.

Cameron Boozer, the third overall pick in the draft, told The Athletic's Tony Jones at Summer League about the extents to which he had studied the Knicks' title run. He feels that their solve-any-problem style of play, and versatility on both ends of the court, can serve as a blueprint for how he'd impact the game at the most successful points in his career.

Boozer says Knicks' playstyle was a sustainable championship blueprint

The #3 overall pick told Jones that he views the Knicks as the way forward for positionless basketball, consistently playing like five connected organisms in one body as opposed to individuals with different motivations.

The team's willingness to share the ball is in large part what helped them overcome the defensive challenges Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs' guards posed in the NBA Finals. Boozer's studies of their historic postseason run clearly left him with the same impression, telling The Athletic that “versatility is the name of the game" in the modern NBA.

Boozer himself projects as somewhat of a forward variant of Karl-Anthony Towns. His skill level stands out in relation to his notable strength, size, and athleticism. While his 3-point shooting isn't up to the levels that Towns has reached in the NBA, he shot 39% on low-to-moderate volume in his lone season at Duke and 40% in Las Vegas — a very small sample size.

The true similarity between the two, though, is their ability to leverage their blend of skill and athleticism into good shots for their team. If Boozer or Towns has the ball at some point during an offensive possession, the chance that they — or one of their four teammates — wind up taking a good shot essentially automatically increase.

In an ever-evolving NBA with more data to offer players and coaching staffs than ever, guys that actually make good decisions on a consistent basis are becoming even more valuable. Towns, Jalen Brunson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and other stars have spent the past two postseasons proving it on the biggest stages.

While AJ Dybantsa's dynamic shot-making and Darryn Peterson's tantalizing athleticism stand out as the superpowers of the draft's first two selections, Boozer's may very well lie between his ears.

The idea that a coaching staff can instill that kind of feel for the game into players with other unteachable traits has both rewarded and burned myriad front offices. But the Grizzlies' top pick seems to have his sights set on the right kinds of goals.