The New York Knicks starting lineup has been shockingly good this season. Even though they had to go through a learning curve in terms of continuity, the first five New Yorkers are getting big hits.

All-Stars Karl-Anthony-Anthony Towns (25.2 points per game) and Jalen Brunson (25.1 PPG) lead their attack as one of the strongest duos in the NBA. Right behind him, OG Anunoby (17.7 PPG) has emerged as one of the best third-down options in the league, with Mikal Bridges (16.5 PPG) and Josh Hart (13.9 PPG) rounding out their scoring attack.

The Knicks’ starters are achieving a historically high hit rate

According to NBA reporter Tommy Beer, the Knicks’ 97.5 PPG in the 2024-25 season is the highest scoring average by a starting five in league history. Beer contextualized the feat in a post published on X Friday morning:

“No starting unit has ever averaged more than 92 points per game. In fact, only two teams have ever finished a season averaging more than 91 PPG:
The world champion Boston Celtics started last season with 5 (at 91.3) and the legendary “Seven Seconds or Less” Suns team of 2004-05 (at 91.8), which under Mike D’Antoni and MVP Steve Nash, started 62 won games,” Beer remarked.

“The Knicks’ five-man starting unit is currently averaging…wait for it…97.5 points per game.”

The Knicks have the edge against the greatest offenses of all time

This is special in many ways. Last season, not only were the Celtics elite, led by scorers Jayson Tatum, reigning NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, but the Suns brought back a fast-paced offense during one of the slowest times ever into the league.

In addition, from 2016-17 to 2018-19, the Golden State Warriors had starting lineups that featured two 25+ PPG scorers in Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant and a 20+ PPG scorer in Klay Thompson and Draymond Green Score well for often double-digit numbers. A short list of other super teams and well-oiled machines took the NBA by storm with their high-octane offense, and yet these Knicks far surpass them all.

It will be up to them to continue collecting points at this pace. If the Knicks’ defense keeps their offense up to par as the season progresses, New York could be hoping for the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June with a historic offense that can build on that hopeful success.