As we enter 2021, here are how all nine New York Sports teams rank as one looks to bring a championship back to the Big Apple.
The year 2020 is one of many hope to forget, including New York Sports fans.
It was a rough year for nearly every tri-state area team as just three of the nine New York teams reached their respective postseason and only one (New York Islanders) won a playoff series or advanced to a second round.
With that, New York City’s title drought extended another year as no New York team has claimed a title since the Giants won Super Bowl 46 in February of 2012. In fact, since 2000, New York has seen just six total championships, with the Giants winning two Super Bowl’s, New York Yankees winning two World Series’ and the New Jersey Devils winning two Stanley Cups.
Which team has the best chance of breaking the city/tri-state area’s title drought in 2021? Here’s how they rank entering the New Year.
9. New York Jets
The New York Jets enter 2021 a mess. With just one game remaining in the 2020 season, New York is 2-13 but won’t be rewarded for their awful play as the Jacksonville Jaguars have secured in the first pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, meaning they’ll likely end up with Clemson star Trevor Lawrence.
With that, the Jets have an offseason full of question marks, a likely coaching change with Adam Gase expected to be fired and an unproven general manager in Joe Douglas calling the shots.
The Jets rebuilding process starts this offseason, meaning it’ll likely be a while until they’re ready to compete for a Super Bowl.
8. New York Knicks
Despite a promising start to the 2020-21 season, the New York Knicks remain a long way away from serious threats in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
New York currently has one of basketball’s youngest rosters, doesn’t have any superstar talent and watched several future potential targets such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert sign long-term deals with their respective teams.
The Knicks, unlike the Jets, seem to have a plan and hope for success in the future but are nowhere near where they need to be in order to compete for their first NBA Championships since 1973,
7. New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils were one of just six teams not invited to the NHL bubble last summer after a disappointing 2019-20 season.
Since appearing in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals where they lost to the Los Angels Kings, the Devils have reached the playoffs just once (2018) and have seen stars such as Taylor Hall and Zach Parise leave town.
Heading into the 2020-21 season, however, there’s some reason for optimism with new head coach Lindy Ruff at the helm, three-time Stanley Cup Champion goalie Corey Crawford on board to help mentor and take the pressure off MacKenzie Blackwood and a young core of Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes to build around. Still, they’re unlikely ready to be serious Stanley Cup contenders.
6. New York Giants
For the first time since 2016, the New York Giants generated some excitement in 2020. They defeated a playoff-bound Seahawks team in Seattle, ended an eight-game losing streak to the rival Eagles and swept Washington for the second straight season to provide fans with some exciting moments.
The reality, however, is still the Giants are very much a work in progress as at 5-10, they have assured themselves a third-straight 10+ loss season. Despite this, they enter Week 17 with a chance to win a weak NFC East division with a win over the Dallas Cowboys and a Washington loss to the Eagles.
With head coach Joe Judge clearly taking the Giants in the right direction and money to spend, Big Blue seems on their way out of their current rebuild but still are not yet ready to seriously challenge the NFL’s elite.
5. New York Rangers
The future is bright for the New York Rangers who qualified for the NHL’s bubble qualifying round where they were defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes but ended up landing a huge consolation prize.
New York won the 2020 NHL Draft lottery and took the highly regarded Alexis Lafreniere with the first overall pick.
Lafreniere will join an exciting young Rangers team that continues to show promise of future greatness despite it not paying off in postseason success yet. The 2021 season, however, figures to be one that sees the Blueshirts back in the playoffs.
4. New York Mets
With new owner, Steve Cohen, in-place and ready to spend, the New York Mets are finally going to start looking like a big market team in the near future.
While the Mets aren’t quite built as legitimate World Series contenders yet, they do have baseball’s best starting pitcher in Jacob DeGrom, an exciting young lineup led by Pete Alonso and a new front office ready to shake things up.
The Mets are on the rise and should join the top three of this list by the start of 2022.
3. New York Islanders
The New York Islanders were just two wins away from defeating the ultimate Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lighting and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals last Summer.
Now, with one of hockey’s deepest rosters, best head coaches and general managers, the Islanders are ready to fight for a championship.
The Islanders enter the 2021 season among the favorites to win it all and thus are near the top of the New York food chain.
2. New York Yankees
Despite yet another season ending in postseason disappointment, the New York Yankees figure again to be among the favorites to win it all in 2021.
When healthy, the Yankees arguably have baseball’s best lineup, a true ace in Gerrit Cole and a deep bullpen that should allow them to at least reach the postseason for the fifth straight season.
The Yankees still have holes to fill in order to win it all, but there’s no question they enter 2021 with as good a shot as anyone in the tri-state area to bring a title back to the Big Apple.
1. Brooklyn Nets
Did you really ever think the Brooklyn Nets would be the king of New York sports? Probably not, but here they are.
Led by superstars Kevin Durrant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets are favorites to win the Eastern Conference and play in the NBA Finals come summer time.
Their roster has the best chance of any New York sports team to be a champion in 2021, earning them the top spot in these rankings.