Mitchell Robinson Explains Knicks Exit to Celtics as a 'Fresh Start'

Mitchell Robinson, the center who spent eight seasons with the New York Knicks, said he left the team for the Boston Celtics because New York did not make him an offer to return, not because of any conflict with the organization.

"There wasn't bad blood behind it. Fresh start," Robinson said when asked about the move, according to Yahoo Sports. Asked directly whether the Knicks had failed to offer him a new deal, he replied: "Yeah. I was like, cool. There wasn't bad blood behind it."

From a title in New York to a new deal in Boston

Robinson helped the Knicks win the franchise's first NBA championship in 53 years before hitting free agency in the summer of 2026. He signed with the Celtics in July on a three-year contract worth $47.4 million, per Yahoo Sports and the Boston Globe.

The move reunited Robinson with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who, according to Yahoo Sports, wanted to expand the center's offensive role beyond the primarily defensive and rebounding duties he carried out in New York.

Missing the Knicks' ring ceremony

The Knicks held their championship ring and banner ceremony at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 — opening night — the same evening the Celtics played the Detroit Pistons. Robinson said he chose not to watch a broadcast of the New York celebration.

Robinson said the decision was tied to his focus on Boston's season-opening loss to Detroit rather than any resentment toward his former team, and added that he remained proud of his former teammates. Because the Celtics and Knicks do not meet again until March 2027 in New York, that is when Robinson is expected to receive his own championship ring, per Yahoo Sports.

A rough Celtics debut, then a return to Madison Square Garden

Boston opened its season with a 121-113 loss to the Pistons on October 20, in which Robinson scored 4 points and had 3 rebounds in 18 minutes. He was critical of his own performance afterward, saying, "I got my ass kicked on the glass."

Robinson and the Celtics were set to face his former Knicks teammates on Friday, October 23, the first time Robinson played against his former team since his departure. He downplayed the emotional weight of the matchup, telling reporters, per the Boston Globe: "It don't really matter that I'm playing my former team...It's more so just trying to bounce back from what happened two nights ago. At the end of the day, basketball is a business and we've just got to play the team, just how you play the other teams."

Background

Robinson was drafted by the Knicks and spent his entire career in New York before the title-winning 2025-26 season. His departure as an unrestricted free agent, rather than through a trade, means the Knicks received no assets in return for his exit.