NEW YORK — Mitchell Robinson broke his right pinkie finger during Game 4 of the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals and has undergone surgery, with no timetable established for his return ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 3, 2026. Video evidence shows Robinson grabbing and shaking his right hand after coming down from a rebound attempt with 5:35 left in the third quarter of that game against Cleveland.

Robinson played intermittently after the injury until being removed for good with 7:47 remaining in the fourth quarter. He appeared in more than 17 minutes off the bench during the Knicks’ series-clinching victory. A member of the Knicks’ media relations staff confirmed the team would not disclose specifics about how the injury occurred.

Robinson, the longest-tenured player on the New York Knicks roster, is an unrestricted free agent following the 2025–26 season. He appeared in 60 regular-season games in 2025–26—the most since 2021–22—and averaged 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks on 72.3% shooting in 19.6 minutes per game. During the 2026 playoffs, he played in 13 of the Knicks’ first 16 postseason games, averaging 5.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per contest while grabbing 2.5 offensive rebounds per game. He shot 13 of 43 (30.2%) from the free throw line in the 2026 playoffs.

Knicks coach Mike Brown said, “Mitch can start for any team in the league — any team. And if he started, he might be first team all-defense and some other things, who knows? But this does not work if Mitch does not allow us to do that. If he doesn’t sacrifice himself and allows us to do that, because you’re talking about a starting center that you throw in the game maybe for 30 seconds sometimes, or two minutes, whatever it is, you pull them right back out. So it starts and ends with him, and him sacrificing himself for the team.”

Brown added, “I don't know much about the details, obviously I know that he had surgery and all that. For me it's the same thing, I don't want to know. Just let me know if he can play and when he can play.”

If Robinson is unable to play in the Finals, the Knicks would likely turn to second-year center Ariel Hukporti. Hukporti appeared in 54 regular-season games in 2025–26, averaging 9.2 minutes per game, mostly in blowout situations. Robinson has previously undergone surgeries for a broken right hand, a broken right foot, a broken right thumb, and multiple procedures for a stress fracture in his left ankle.