Unfortunately, the Knicks consistently failed to establish one of their own this millennium. If it looked like it was coming together one year, a shakeup to the roster, coaching staff, or front office would reset progress back to zero.

Until now.

We’re only entering year two of the Leon Rose -Tom Thibodeau era, but it already appears as if the Knicks have the beginnings of a culture in place -- one they could build off for more continued success than they’ve seen in decades.

The process began with hiring Thibodeau and retaining Julius Randle. Thibs is the most accomplished and established coach to head the Knicks since Mike D’Antoni, leading the way with a high-effort, defensive-minded attitude.

Randle immediately matched that work ethic, coming into training camp last season in the best shape of his career, along with a vastly improved game. He brought his shootaround habits adopted from Kobe Bryant to the team, and the team followed. This mindset carried down to the rest of the roster, helped by personnel ready to assume the culture.

RJ Barrett shook off an early-season shooting disaster through added reps. Immanuel Quickley wasn’t projected to be in the rotation, but earned his way there during the preseason.

Despite having two starter-worthy centers battle it out for minutes, there was no friction when Mitchell Robinson earned the spot over Nerlens Noel. The team came first.

Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson joined up to provide added depth and bring their experience playing under Thibodeau in the past to the locker room. The younger players took it upon themselves to get shots up after games and on off-days, even those with little to no shot of consistent minutes like Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina.

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