Knicks First Round Playoff Opponent Set

The first landmark on the New York Knicks' 2025 postseason journey has been revealed.

Following Friday's events on the NBA scoreboard, the Knicks and Detroit Pistons will officially meet in the opening round of the 2025 Eastern Conference playoffs.

New York and Detroit respectively settled into the East's third and sixth seeds: the Knicks, currently facing the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden, landed in third when the Indiana Pacers fell to the Orlando Magic while the Pistons dropped a 125-119 decision to the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee, in turn, secured the fifth seed on the bracket and will face fourth-ranked Indiana (which rested its starters against Orlando).

The Knicks will thus be the intentional antagonists in one of the most inspiring stories of the NBA season: Detroit is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 (ending what was tied for the second-longest active playoff drought in the NBA) and more than tripled its 14-win total from last year.

Detroit won the four-game regular season series 3-1, which ended a 16-game losing streak against the Knicks. New York won the first meeting by 30 at Little Caesars Arena on Nov. 1 but the Pistons took each of the final three, including a two-game sweep of Madison Square Garden. The Pistons secured the win with a 115-106 home win on Thursday night though the Knicks were resting regular men OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Mitchell Robinson.

This will be the fourth playoff meeting between the Knicks and Pistons and the first since 1992's opening round. New York has prevailed in two of the first three, both of which came in best-of-five first-round sets.

The Knicks won the first meeting in 1984 behind a 44-point, 12-rebound double-double for Bernard King in the winner-take-all finale. Eight years later, another double-double, this one from Patrick Ewing, guided New York to a second 3-2 series victory. In between those get-togethers, Detroit took a best-of-seven, second-round set by a 4-1 final in 1990 en route to a Larry O'Brien Trophy hoist.