During this NBA Finals run that has put them one win away from a championship, the New York Knicks’ defining quality may be their stoicism.The Knicks’ two 20-point comeback wins this postseason would not be possible if not for this stoicism. Look, for example, how little OG Anunoby reacted after his game-winning tip-in in Game 4.It’s not as if the Knicks are emotionless — they celebrate big moments and react to what’s happening on the court. But whether they are up 10 or down 29, the Knicks generally stay even-keeled. After each of their three Finals wins, for example, players 1-15 on the roster have all insisted they have a 0-0 mindset and are not going to relax with a series lead.To Fred Katz of The Athletic, this is a genuine mindset in the locker room — not just a show — and it stems from Brunson.Speaking on his Knicks-focused “Katz and Shoot” podcast on Thursday, Katz said the Knicks’ locker room was not the party-like atmosphere that outsiders might expect following such a win.“I think the average person might think it was a party in there, and it wasn’t,” Katz said. “Like, they were happy, they were smiling, they were joking around, they were definitely a little in awe of themselves … I don’t think it’s just for show or just for optics when they say things like, ‘Oh still one more [win].’ I think they are especially good at not getting overly excited and not getting overly down.”He added: “They have this mentality where they’re just totally unaffected by their surroundings.”Katz’s guest on the podcast, former NBA guard and current New Orleans Pelicans analyst Antonio Daniels, said that that quiet confidence stems from Brunson. Daniels said that during his 13-year career in the NBA, he learned that teams’ best players aren’t always the leaders, but that the best players do set the emotional tone for teams.Daniels said Brunson possesses an “invisible leadership,” in which he sets the tone with his confidence and ability. The Knicks can repeatedly rally from such large deficits because Brunson believes they can, and his ability to make it happen brings everyone in line.Katz then relayed that after the Knicks came back from 14 down to win Game 1 of the Finals, a Knicks player said of their self-belief: “Jalen’s got us.”Brunson never believes the Knicks are out of itIn the Brunson era, the Knicks have shown a resiliency that is not common among NBA teams.Over the past two postseasons, the Knicks have had five 20-point comeback wins. According to Josh Dubow of The Associated Press, the Knicks are unique in their ability to come back from such wins.Teams down 20+ points in postseason last 2 years:Knicks 5-3Rest of NBA: 4-71— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) June 11, 2026After Game 4, Brunson told the ESPN “Inside the NBA” crew when he started to believe the Knicks would come back.“We kept chipping away. So when it got down to, like, 15 in the fourth, I remember looking at [Knicks assistant coach and Brunson’s father Rick] and him looking at me and he says, ‘We’re winning this game.’ And I was like, ‘Alright.’”Of course, it’s easy to say these things after the fact. It’s less easy to pull off the type of comebacks that the Knicks have routinely made.The Knicks are entering a pressure-packed Game 5 in San Antonio. They know that Game 5 could be a trap game — lose and all of the pressure will be on them to close out the Spurs in New York in Game 6, otherwise they’ll have to close it out in San Antonio in Game 7.The Knicks have had slip-ups before. They’ve played poorly when it matters most. They are not impossible to beat. But with Brunson in the locker room, the Knicks never believe that they aren’t going to win.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow