Outsider candidates. This is probably the unanimous answer from fans and analysts around the NBA when asked which league the New York Knicks currently belong to.

And if they are to do that – or put that title behind them and become a serious contender – both the individual players and the team as a whole will have to take another step forward together and improve on the 2023/24 season, which was “great but ultimately not good enough”.

With that in mind, here is a list of the areas each key player needs to improve before next season.

Jalen Brunson (PG)

If Brunson put up those exact stats and had another dominant playoff series, fans would be happy. At this point, it almost feels blasphemous to ask Brunson to be better or do more. Since joining over two years ago, he’s been nothing short of brilliant. The former backup point guard has blossomed before our eyes into an All-NBA player capable of taking over an entire playoff series. But Brunson himself will tell you that like every other player in the league, even the best, he can still improve.

It’s easy to point to defense as his biggest weakness, but that seems unlikely and difficult given his small stature and physical limitations. However, I think he can continue to improve as a playmaker. With Isaiah Hartenstein now in Oklahoma City, the Knicks will rely even more on Brunson as a playmaker. And with Mikal Bridges and a full season of OG Anunoby clearing the court for him, he should have plenty of opportunity to set a career high in assists again.

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Mikal Bridges (SG/SF)

Although Bridges saw a drop in his overall efficiency and shooting percentage last season, his three-point shooting was still very good, so if he can continue to be a consistent threat from deep, the Knicks shouldn’t need Bridges, who will be a third option most nights, to be incredibly lethal or efficient elsewhere on offense. What they do need from him, however, is for him to return to being one of the best wing defenders. Along with a drop in his shooting percentage last season, we saw Bridges take a step back defensively. New York has a chance to have the league’s best defensive wing duo with Anunoby and Bridges, but they’ll need the latter to return to being the relentless, screen-navigating, ball-handler-chasing, versatile defender he was in Phoenix.

OG Anunoby (SF/PF)

It feels odd to ask this of a player who reportedly wanted more offensive touches and responsibility, but Anunoby needs to find a way to be more aggressive on offense and do so more consistently. And that doesn’t mean Anunoby needs to become a great one-on-one player or a ball-dominant isolation player. But we’ve all seen how versatile and effective Anunoby can be when he pays more attention to his shot. Mid-range pull-ups, timely cuts, aggressive attacking on close outs and even the occasional post-up – Anunoby really can do a little bit of everything on offense when he gets his way. And while New York probably won’t need him all game given the balanced talent on that side of the court, Anunoby’s aggressiveness should help make Brunson’s life easier.

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Julius Randle (PF)

Randle now has more space and weapons than ever before, and while Randle should and probably still needs to score 20+ points per game, it will be more important than ever that he embraces the playmaking role. There will certainly be games and even periods where the Knicks need their All-NBA big man to impose his physicality and dominate the box. But if he can balance his points with timely kickouts and smart decisions, he, along with Brunson, could play a big role in catapulting this offense into an elite one. And with Hartenstein gone, Randle’s passing will likely become more important than ever.

Mitchell Robinson (C)

Health, given his injury history, and passing, given the center he’s replacing, seem to be the two main things fans want from Robinson. But those two things seem pretty unreasonable. The injuries are out of his control, and you almost never see centers develop a passing game this far into their careers. What’s not unreasonable to expect, though, is improvement in his blocking. He’s slowly gotten better at that over the last few seasons, but there have been large parts of his career where his blocking has left a lot to be desired. We’ve seen that the overwhelming majority of Hartenstein’s blocks have been really effective and really helped Brunson break away. If Robinson should realistically improve on anything, I think it’s that.

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Josh Hart (PG/SG/SF/PF/C)

Hart was never a great shooter and chances are he never will be. But the 29-year-old has 34% of three in four of his seven seasons and has averaged more than 4 three-point attempts per 36 minutes in five seasons. Unfortunately, Hart is coming off a season where he shot just 31% from the three-point line on 3.4 attempts per game. Given the space opponents are giving Hart, his return to 34-36% on four-point attempts would do wonders for him and the team.

However, I don’t think his shooting will be relied upon as much this season. While it would be nice to see Hart improve there, if the Knicks are healthy they should have enough space and shooting ability to do it. They were one game away from reaching the conference finals despite being a weak team, even though Hart had a terrible shooting season.

If I had to pick one thing he should take a leap forward in this season, it might actually be his passing. On the second unit, he’ll play with Deuce McBride, who is more of a combo guard who scores points, Donte DiVincenzo, who should look to throw first every time he touches the ball on the perimeter, and Precious Achiuwa, who isn’t the most polished passer either. If Hart can take a leap forward as a passer, having him as an offensive lynchpin on the second unit while McBride and DiVincenzo man the court could be even more valuable than his improvement as a shooter. All of that will become much less important, however, if Tom Thibodeau, contrary to expectations, starts rookie point guard Tyler Kolek. But if he doesn’t, Hart can be counted on to be the de facto playmaker off the bench.

Donte DiVincenzo (SG)

DiVincenzo was everything we could have asked for and more last season. He blossomed after being inserted into the starting lineup and many would argue he was the best long-range shooter in the league after Steph Curry. That led to a historic season where he easily broke the franchise’s single-season three-point record.

DiVincenzo’s role will be different this season as he’s back on the bench. But the Knicks will still need him to be as aggressive and effective as last season. He still has room to improve, though. Assuming he has another great season shooting threes, defenses will continue to try to stop his shots. And when that happens, he’ll have to be better at attacking closeouts.

DiVincenzo has struggled to finish at the basket at times, and he’s also had trouble reading passes properly when getting past the first defender. When opposing teams’ rotations came, he’s missed open teammates on the weak side from time to time. If he can improve there, guys like McBride, who he’ll likely play with often, Anunoby and Bridges should benefit greatly.

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Deuce McBride (PG/SG)

Playmaking. At this point in McBride’s young career, it’s fair to say he has a lot of room for improvement in pretty much every aspect of his game. His defense is great, but he can still improve there. He made big strides last season as a shooter from both three-point and mid-range, but he’s far from done. And his finishing is far from perfect. But if he and the team could only choose one thing, this should be it. As with Hart, this might not be as big a priority if Thibodeau decides to hand over the key second-unit positions to Kolek. But in the likely scenario that he doesn’t, McBride’s progression as a primary ball handler and point guard should make everyone on the second unit’s job a little easier.

Precious Achiuwa (PF/C)

There are a few different directions you can go with Achiuwa, as he’s a unique player who has both clear strengths and weaknesses. He’s an undersized big man who isn’t a great passer, can’t shoot, and can’t create his own shot. Yet he’s also a good rebounder for his size and plays with as much heart and drive as anyone on the court. But the clear and simple answer here is shooting. He doesn’t need to become a killer shooter, but he does need to develop enough long shots that his mere presence clogs up the zone for the rest of the lineup. Improvement in that area, along with his strong swing, should allow him to be effective enough to earn backup center minutes for now.