Longest NBA playoff win streaks: How Knicks’ 13-game unbeaten run compares to 2017 Warriors and more originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Winning 10 consecutive games in the regular season is hard enough. The New York Knicks haven't done it since 2013, and they have only put together six regular-season win streaks of at least 10 games in their history.
A double-digit win streak in the playoffs seems downright impossible, particularly in this new era of NBA parity. The Knicks have done it anyway, winning comfortably more often than not along the way.
While what the Knicks have done isn't unprecedented, the streak puts them in rare territory in NBA history — and they extended their run by stealing both Games 1 and 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals vs. the Spurs on the road.
Here's a look at the longest win streaks in NBA playoff history and where the Knicks now rank all-time.
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Longest NBA playoff win streaks
The Knicks have now come closer than any other team to tying the Warriors' record of 15 consecutive wins in one playoffs. Golden State, in 2017, came one win away from perfection before taking its first and only loss of the playoffs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Now, after stunning San Antonio in consecutive games to open the 2026 NBA Finals, the Knicks are on a 13-game playoff win streak — meaning that if they wind up sweeping the Spurs, they can tie the 2017 Warriors' record.
Here's a look at every double-digit streak:
TeamYearWinning streakResultGolden State Warriors201715Won FinalsNew York Knicks202613TBDSan Antonio Spurs199912Won FinalsLos Angeles Lakers200111Won FinalsLos Angeles Lakers198911Lost FinalsBoston Celtics202410Won FinalsCleveland Cavaliers201710Lost FinalsCleveland Cavaliers201610Won FinalsSan Antonio Spurs201210Lost conference finalsNew Jersey Nets200310Lost FinalsThe Knicks' streak is surpassed by only the 2017 Warriors after moving past the 1999 Spurs, the 2001 Lakers and the 1989 Lakers.
Of that group, only the 1989 Lakers fell short of a championship, suffering a sweep at the hands of the Pistons while Magic Johnson was hampered by injury.
The 2012 Spurs are the only team with a double-digit playoff win streak to fall short of the NBA Finals, as they lost four straight to the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals after winning their first 10 playoff games.
MORE:Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns echo James Dolan's NBA Finals mandate
Last Knicks loss
The Knicks haven't lost since April 23, when they lost their second consecutive game against the Hawks and fell behind 2-1 in the first-round series. The series deficit invited questions about the future of first-year coach Mike Brown and the rest of the team's core.
Since then, the Knicks have quite literally been unstoppable. New York has won 11 of 13 games by double-digits, with the caveat that one of those wins came in overtime. Four of those wins came by at least 25 points.
Last time Knicks made NBA Finals
New York is returning to the Finals in 2026 for the first time since 1999, when the team lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. The Knicks were a No. 8 seed in the shortened NBA season but made a Cinderella run to the NBA Finals by defeating the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers.
It was a 27-year drought in between NBA Finals appearances in 1999 and 2026, as the team finally ended one of the longest absences.