Under the Bright Lights

The definitive book about how the New York Knicks returned to championship glory after 53 years of waiting, full of exclusive stories shared by players, coaches, and executives. From 1988 to 2001, the Knicks made the playoffs every single year and reached the finals twice. Madison Square Garden was rocking, from the celebrities in floor seats to the city workers in the nosebleeds. Then, just like that, it was over. The air went out of the building. The Knicks were a joke. Until now. Under the Bright Lights is acclaimed NBA journalist Fred Katz's authoritative and exclusive account of how the Knicks became champions again. Through interviews with players and staff, and a deep understanding of the team, he tells the story of the explosive transformation that began in 2020, when former sports agent Leon Rose took over as general manager. Rose immediately hired coach Tom Thibodeau, who helped the team find its identity. The acquisitions of Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges were key. But it was the signing of Jalen Brunson—much criticized at the time—that glued everything together. The son of a former Knicks player, Brunson emerged as both a breakout star and a selfless leader, lifting the spirits and performance of his teammates. In the 21 seasons before Brunson came to New York, the Knicks had 8 total postseason victories. In 2026, they won 15 of their last 16 playoff games to put together one of the greatest title runs in NBA history. Like Moneyball, Under the Bright Lights delivers a highly entertaining and deeply reported story of a sports organization's turnaround. Katz goes under the hood to find out how not just any NBA team reinvented itself, but the most heavily scrutinized team in America. They won playoff games in every possible way, from wire-to-wire blowouts, to the greatest comeback in history. In the process, something bigger is captured: The emotional revival of basketball in New York. The sleeping giant of Knicks fandom reawakened, and with it, the pride and community that only sports obsessives can experience came back to the Mecca of Basketball.

Fred Katz is a senior writer for The Athletic, a subsidiary of The New York Times, where he covers the NBA at large. He earned his first job as a beat writer in 2016, covering the Thunder for The Norman Transcript, a local paper just outside of Oklahoma City. In 2018, he joined The Athletic as its Wizards beat writer. He then covered the Knicks exclusively for the outlet from 2021 to 2024 before becoming a national reporter.