The New York Knicks were NBA champions in 1970 and 1973 [Getty Images]
The New York Knicks ended a 53-year wait for their third NBA Championship with a 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Knicks clinched the best-of-seven series 4-1, recovering from a double-figure deficit in all four victories to lift the trophy for the first time since 1973.
The Knicks, who overturned a 29-point deficit in game four to record the biggest comeback win in Finals history, trailed by 16 points in the second quarter and 10 points early in the fourth at Frost Bank Center.
Jalen Brunson, who was unanimously named Most Valuable Player in the Finals, orchestrated their recovery with 45 points, including 15 in the final quarter.
"I have no words. It's everything I dreamed of," he told ESPN.
"I'm in awe. It's why I came to New York.
"Whenever someone counted us out, we found a way to come back and do something about it.
"Whatever you put in front of us, we're going to find a way... every time we step on this court. Every time."
Brunson's haul was a finals franchise record, beating Willis Read's 38 in 1970, and he is only the fourth player in history to score at least 45 points in the title-winning game.
Jalen Brunson joined the Knicks as a free agent in 2022 [Reuters]
The Knicks trailed by 10 points with less than eight minutes left before Brunson scored 10 unanswered points to tie the game at 83-83.
He scored with just over a minute remaining to put the Knicks 90-88 up, and Josh Hart and OG Anunoby free throws extended the lead to four points.
Although Victor Wembanyana missed a three-pointer for the Spurs, Stephon Castle's dunk brought them back to 92-90 with 16 seconds remaining.
A free throw from Mikal Bridges and Anunoby either side of Dylan Harper's two missed attempts for the Spurs sealed a memorable victory for the Knicks.
Bridges and Hart - Brunson's team-mates from Villanova University - scored a combined 27 points, with Bridges contributing 14 and Hart 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Harper finished with 25 points off the bench for the Spurs, while Wembanyama registered 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
The Spurs became the first team to lead five finals games by at least 10 points in the first quarter.
"We weren't ready. I wasn't ready to win a ring - that's clear," Wembanyana said.
"We're not lacking in talent or ability, but we make too many mistakes. I make too many mistakes."
Wembanyana, the NBA's defensive player of the year, conceded a turnover and a foul on Brunson in the final 10 seconds of game two as the Knicks snatched a 105-104 victory, although his 32 points helped the Spurs win game three 115-111.
"This is the biggest lesson of my life - the biggest learning moment," he said.
"It's painful but I'm not running away from that. I'm using it to fuel me. I'm not satisfied with not winning.
"As a team, there's no better experience than what we just lived."
Jalen Brunson lifts the NBA finals MVP trophy after the Knicks defeated the Spurs on Saturday to clinch their first title in 53 years.Photograph: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
The New York Knicks spent decades searching for the player who could carry them back to the top of the NBA. On Saturday night, Jalen Brunson removed any remaining doubt that they had found him.
With Karl-Anthony Towns limited to two points and New York struggling offensively for much of the evening, the Knicks’ 6ft 2in floor general erupted for 45 points in a 94-90 victory over the Spurs that delivered the team’s first championship in 53 years and earned him Most Valuable Player honors.
The performance lifted Brunson into rare company. He became only the third player 6ft 3in or shorter to lead a championship team in scoring and win NBA finals MVP, joining Isiah Thomas and Stephen Curry. For years, conventional wisdom held that smaller guards needed a larger superstar beside them for a team to win basketball’s biggest prize. Brunson spent this postseason dismantling that notion one game at a time, never more than in Saturday’s pièce de résistance.
“That was unreal, just literally unreal,” Knicks center Mitchell Robinson said afterward. “I’m speechless. I’ve seen it a couple times here and there, but to do it in a closeout game against a good team like that, it’s different.”
Brunson averaged 32.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists in five games against San Antonio, but his teammates seemed almost as impressed by the manner in which he delivered the championship as the numbers themselves.
“We owe him,” guard Landry Shamet said. “We weren’t great offensively tonight, but he is generationally great offensively.
“There’s really not a whole lot to say. We all saw it. He carried us in a lot of different ways. What he does, it’s not really a surprise to us anymore, being his teammate. But nights like tonight, you’ve got to look at it and really appreciate it.”
Knicks coach Mike Brown used the occasion to make a larger point about Brunson’s place among the league’s elite.
“I’ve said it, and I hope you guys will listen to me, but he’s a top-three MVP candidate,” Brown said. “Everybody kind of mentions his name in passing. They don’t do it seriously enough.
“People say he’s too small. People say he’s a 1B or a 2B or whatever. He is a freaking 1A. He is an MVP candidate.”
Brown then offered the simplest possible assessment.
Brunson has never seemed particularly interested in debates about where he ranks among the league’s stars. Asked after the game about the pressure that came with becoming the face of the Knicks franchise, he offered a different definition.
“No pressure whatsoever,” Brunson said. “My dad being on eight or nine unguaranteed contracts throughout his career and not knowing when you’re going to get cut, while your family is on the east coast and you are wherever you are in the country, that’s pressure.”
Brunson said watching his father fight for roster spots throughout his NBA career shaped his perspective.
“I’m just never afraid to fail,” he said.
For Brunson’s oldest brothers-in-arms, the performance felt like the culmination of years of work.
Mikal Bridges first met Brunson as a teenager at Villanova, the small Catholic school on Philadelphia’s Main Line that’s always punched above its weight. A decade after winning national titles together under Jay Wright in 2016 and 2018, the pair are champions again on an even bigger stage.
“I’ve known him for so long,” Bridges said. “I know how much he works, how good of a person he is, how good of a basketball player he is. I’m just grateful to be on his side again.”
Bridges said Brunson’s influence extends far beyond the box score.
“We follow him,” Bridges said. “It makes it easy for us. Very grateful to have Jalen be that guy, and we just follow his lead.”
For Josh Hart, one of Brunson’s closest friends and a member of the 2016 title team at Villanova before graduating to the NBA, none of it came as a surprise.
“Nah,” Hart said when asked if he was still shocked by Brunson’s brilliance. “We’ve been built for this moment. We’ve been forged in fire. We’ve had a lot of long moments and times and days at ‘Nova and we just continued to build and build and build. I feel like definitely Coach Wright helped us be cut from a different cloth. No matter what the moment is, it’s never too big for us.”
Hart described Brunson and Bridges as “brothers for life” and said winning an NBA title together surpassed even their college exploits. The achievement completed a journey that began at Villanova and made the trio the first teammates in basketball history to win both an NCAA title and an NBA championship together.
“This one takes the cake,” Hart said.
Robinson, the longest-tenured Knicks player, credited Brunson with changing the culture of the organization after arriving as a free agent in 2022.
“His mindset, his work ethic, his energy that he just brings,” Robinson said. “When stuff gets rough, we have a little sit-down talk and he gets us back on track, like a leader, like a captain.”
Brown argued that impact was visible long before Brunson ever stepped onto the court.
“I’ve got to give his mom credit, and I hate to say this but I’m going to give his dad credit, too. He understands what winning is about,” Brown said. “He set the bar before he even stepped on the floor.”
For Brunson, the emotions finally bubbled over after the final buzzer as he spent most of the post-game celebrations fighting back tears with occasional success.
“I walked right to half-court, shook [Spurs coach] Mitch Johnson’s hand, and then turned around and my dad was there,” Brunson said. “Then I just remember Josh talking into my ear and him just saying, ‘We did it. We did it.’”
Asked what it took to score 45 points and carry the Knicks to a long-sought championship, Brunson gave a one-word answer.
“Everything.”
On the biggest night in franchise history, that’s all it took.
SAN ANTONIO — The longest-tenured Knick made the most of his opportunity.
With Karl-Anthony Towns in foul trouble, Mitchell Robinson was called upon to play his most minutes of the playoffs.
He stood tall.
Mitchell Robinson puts up a shot during the third quarter of the Knicks’ 94-90 NBA title-clinching Game 5 win over the Spurs on June 13, 2026 in San Antonio. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
With the Knicks ahead by three, Robinson got to a Josh Hart missed free throw with 22 seconds to go. Robinson quickly got rid of the ball and into the hands of OG Anunoby, who hit one of two free throws.
A former second-round draft pick, Robinson has seen it all as a Knick. He experienced bad times, he experienced good times and now he has experienced the ultimate: A championship, helping to snap the franchise’s 53-year drought.
Robinson survived being part of teams that lost at least 45 games in three of his first four seasons in the NBA, and he was part of this renaissance under team president Leon Rose and superstar guard Jalen Brunson that has taken him all the way to the sport’s greatest stage.
Dylan Harper (2) and Mitchell Robinson battle for the ball during the third quarter of the Knicks’ NBA title-clinching win over the Spurs. Dustin Safranek-Imagn ImagesVictor Wembanyama puts up a shot between Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart during the second quarter of their NBA title-clinching win over the Spurs. Getty Images
Before the finals, Robinson suffered a fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his right hand during the Knicks’ break after sweeping the Cavaliers out of the Eastern Conference finals.
Surgery was required. But Robinson insisted he was never concerned, despite having to wear a black brace on his right hand.
After years of Knicks pain, Ben Stiller is now on top of the NBA mountain.
The longtime Knicks fan was elated after the team’s 94-90 Game 5 victory that won the franchise its first Finals since 1973.
Stiller, an active X user when it comes to the Knicks, didn’t post anything in the aftermath as of the early hours of Sunday morning.
He was, however, found in the depths of Frost Bank Center wearing an NBA Finals championship T-shirt and hat paired with goggles and Knicks coach Mike Brown’s whiteboard.
"As happy as I've ever felt. It's pretty amazing."
Ben Stiller is filled with joy after the Knicks become champs for the first time in 53 years pic.twitter.com/FKPZgJRCe7
“As happy as I’ve ever felt,” Stiller told ESPN with a huge smile when asked how he felt following the title win. “It’s pretty amazing. It’s pretty amazing.”
The “Severence” executive producer’s fandom started in the 1973-74 season when he was taken to a game by friends of his father, the late actor Jerry Stiller, and sat eight rows behind the Knicks bench.
It was the same year that started the 53-year championship drought. His fandom was later revived when he moved back to New York from Los Angeles in 2010.
In those years since, Stiller admitted to The Post during the Knicks Finals run that “there was a lot of pain.”
The feeling he had Saturday night was much different than what he’s been told the Knicks are his whole life.
Ben Stiller seen in the aftermath of the Knicks championship win in Game 5 over the Spurs on Saturday. Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
“My whole life I’ve lived with this idea that, ‘Oh, the Knicks aren’t going to make it, the Knicks have never been good, the Knicks have been a joke for a long time back in the day,” Stiller previously said. “It almost became something you accept.”
Several security members tried to keep him at bay, but Stiller seemed to push his way through to get the necessary footage for what has been rumored to be a Knicks playoff and championship project of sorts.
Ben Stiller celebrates during the game between the New York Knicks against the San Antonio Spurs during Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NBAE via Getty ImagesThe Post’s front page on June 14, 2026: “CHAMPS!”
Stiller has been filming often — and not only during the games throughout the playoffs.
He has also filmed while on his walkthrough and security checkpoints into the various arenas, and has been seen among the media at press conferences.
The celebration will only continue for Stiller and the Knicks, who are now flying back to New York and have a championship parade set for Thursday.
SAN ANTONIO — All these years later, Patrick Ewing was able to celebrate a Knicks championship.
A basketball ambassador for the franchise, Ewing was courtside as Jalen Brunson erupted for 45 points to lead the Knicks to their first title in 53 years with a 94-90 victory in Game 5 over the Spurs at Frost Bank Center on Saturday night.
“Fourth time is the charm,” a grinning Ewing said. “’99, I did the same thing I did tonight, just sit and watch and cheer. I take my hat (off) to the team, take my hat off to Jalen. He did an outstanding job with putting us on his back and being able to bring a championship back to New York.”
A smiling Patrick Ewing celebrates with Karl-Anthony Towns and a copy of the New York Post front page after the Knicks’ 94-90 NBA title-clinching Game 5 win over the Spurs on July 13, 2026 in San Antonio. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Twice, Ewing reached the finals with the Knicks, but both times he came up short, in 1994 against the Rockets and 1999 against the Spurs. Ewing was unable to play in the latter series due to injury. He also reached the finals with the Magic in 2009 as an assistant coach. They lost to the Lakers that season.
Saturday night, he saw his old team win it all after over five decades without a crown.
SAN ANTONIO — It wasn’t so long ago, Landry Shamet couldn’t miss a shot.
He became a key part of the Knicks’ explosive second unit. But Shamet has gone ice-cold, and the Knicks’ reserves are no longer making an impact.
It continued in Saturday night’s 94-90 Game 5, championship-clinching win. Shamet, hesitant and clearly lacking confidence, missed five of his seven field goal attempts.
The Knicks’ bench was scoreless until the final minute of the third quarter when Jordan Clarkson got a shot to fall. Before that, the backups missed their first 14 shots from the field.
Landry Shamet of the New York Knicks handles the ball during Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on June 13, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Spurs super-sub Dylan Harper more than doubled up the Knicks reserves with 25 points.
Shamet played his way into the playoff rotation, carving out a prominent role in the Eastern Conference semifinals when OG Anunoby suffered a mild hamstring strain. In the first two games of the finals, he scored 13 points apiece and was 6-of-13 from 3-point range. But his shot has gone awry since. He was a combined 1-of-11 from the field in the previous two contests, and it didn’t get any better in Game 5.
“Great process, got some great looks, had a few that were down and out,” Shamet said after Game 3. “Process over outcome. I’m more upset about some of the things defensively that I’ve been priding myself on. I had a few possessions where I didn’t do my job like I needed to. That’s fixable. Sometimes the gods give you in and outs and the ball doesn’t go in.”
Shamet wasn’t alone in his shooting woes. McBride went 4-of-20 in the first four games, and wasn’t close on either of his attempts on Saturday night. Clarkson has mostly been a non-factor, in and out of the rotation. After his Game 4 brilliance, Jose Alvarado took a step back, missing all five of his field goal attempts.
Jose Alvarado of the New York Knicks looks to pass the ball during the game against the San Antonio Spurs. NBAE via Getty Images
In the end, it didn’t matter. The Knicks ended their 53-year championship drought anyway.
“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life covering sports.”@stephenasmith reacts to the Knicks winning their first NBA Finals in 53 years pic.twitter.com/hNVkNiGIhB
“I don’t even know how to put it in words because I damn sure didn’t play,” Smith said after the Knicks’ 94-90 NBA Finals-clinching Game 5 win. “I didn’t practice like these guys did, they did it. But it’s been 53 long years, and there’s been so many moments of misery that we had to endure as New York Knick fans.
“And to be here tonight, I gotta confess until this series I never thought it’d happen.”
Smith has lived out the roller coaster of being a Knicks fan on ESPN through the years as he has become one of the biggest stars at the network.
Most of that has consisted of him slamming the franchise as they suffered through years of disappointments.
Karl-Anthony Towns celebrates with teammates and owner James Dolan after the Knicks’ 94-90 NBA title-clinching Game 5 win over the Spurs on June 13, 2026 in San Antonio. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostJalen Brunson celebrates with his dad Rick. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
“So many things have gone wrong: The layups that wasn’t with Charles Smith, the [Patrick] Ewings finger rolls, the Game 7s they didn’t come out on top,” Smith said. “Time after time after time… And to be in attendance witnessing the end of a 53-year drought as born in The Bronx, raised in Hollis, Queens, New York City. I’ve been a New York fan all my life, I never thought I’d see it.”
Now, Smith and millions of other New Yorkers have after the Knicks finished off the Spurs in five games on Saturday night with Jalen Brunson carrying them to a 94-90 victory thanks to a virtuoso fourth-quarter performance and 45 total points.
The Knicks ended up winning 15 of their final 16 playoff games after falling into a 2-1 series hole against the Hawks in the opening round.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Smith said. I can’t put into words how this feels. It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life covering sports. I’ve never had a feeling like this. It’s unbelievable.”
SAN ANTONIO — Karl-Anthony Towns immediately searched out his father.
He found him — after the Knicks’ 94-90 win over the Spurs on Saturday night at the Frost Bank Arena clinched the championship — and hugged the man who has attended as many Knicks games as he possibly could. The two have been through so much together.
Now, they were celebrating together.
A jubilant Karl-Anthony Towns celebrates with owner James Dolan and his Knicks teammates after their 94-90 Game 5 NBA title-clinching win over the Spurs on June 13, 2026 in San Antonio. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Moments later, Towns credited his late mother, who died from COVID in 2020.
“Y’all heard my story, y’all know my story,” Towns said. “I just want to say: Thank you Mama, I appreciate you getting me one.”
It didn’t matter that the final act wasn’t memorable, scoring just two points and struggling with foul trouble all night.
By the end of the night, Towns had the prize that had eluded him his entire 11-year career.
“You work your whole life for this moment,” Towns said. “As they always said with this team, it is written for New York.”
Back-to-back trips to the conference finals — with the Timberwolves two years ago and the Knicks last year — ended in heartbreak. Over the offseason, his name regularly circulated within the media in potential trade discussions with Giannis Antetokounmpo. There were constant comments throughout the regular season about his slow adjustment to coach Mike Brown’s system.
But the best version of Towns emerged in the playoffs. It took a while, but he and Jalen Brunson finally became the co-stars the Knicks badly needed them to be.
Walt Frazier and Willis Reed won two championships together. Now, Brunson and Towns have their first together.
And Towns has cemented his place in Knicks history.
SAN ANTONIO — Josh Hart missed the last celebration.
Jalen Brunson makes a point of needling his friend at every opportunity, reminding the world that Hart was no longer on Villanova when Brunson and Mikal Bridges left San Antonio with their second national championship in three years.
But eight years later, the college teammates became legends together again, leading the Knicks to their first championship in 53 years with a 94-90 win over the Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. They are the first trio of teammates to win an NCAA title (2016) and an NBA title together.
“Those are my brothers for life,” Hart said. “We have a bond that’ll never be broken. We won a championship together in college, but this one obviously takes the cake.
“We’ve been built for this moment. We’ve all been forged in the fire … Coach [Jay] Wright helped us be cut from a different cloth. No matter the moment, it’s never too big for us.”
While Jalen Brunson earned NBA Finals MVP with an iconic 45-point performance, Hart (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Bridges (14 points, four assists) supported the superstar as the second and third-leading scorers.
As recently as four years ago, these New York legends played elsewhere.
Knicks guard Josh Hart puts up a three-point shot in NBA Finals Game 5 on June 13, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Brunson arrived in the summer of 2022, an undersized and supposedly overpaid free agent signing. Hart was on his third team in six seasons, having never reached the postseason when he was traded to the Knicks on Feb. 8, 2023, leaving Brunson in disbelief, reacting like he won the lottery — “Oh s–t! Yes!” — raising his arms in triumph.
Brunson knew the Knicks — then without a playoff series win in a decade — were getting someone whose selflessness would’ve fit with the franchise in 1973, whose passion and toughness would’ve blended seamlessly in 1993.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson drives down court as San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle gives chase. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“I had so much instability, traded, different coaches, and I found a home in New York and they embraced me,” Hart said. “This city is built on toughness, grit, blue-collar people, and I feel like I’m the same person. They can look in the mirror and they can see [me].”
Bridges, who was part of a Phoenix team that blew a 2-0 NBA Finals lead in 2021, formed a new Villanova trio in New York in 2024, joining the Knicks, as Donte DiVincenzo was traded to Minnesota.
Knicks guard Mikal Bridges and Timothee Chalamet hold up The New York Post’s champs mockup. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
After being acquired from Brooklyn for five first-round picks, Bridges has often been maligned for the type of superstar the Knicks missed out on, instead receiving an inconsistent, soft-spoken wing who often disappeared on the court.
But after being benched in a scoreless effort in Game 3 of the first-round series, Bridges showcased a new level of aggressiveness and efficiency, becoming one of the team’s best two-players during their postseason run.
Worth every pick. Worth every penny.
“You talking about f–-k them picks?” Bridges said in between sips of champagne. “Very grateful. F–-k ’em. Through the times I’ve been struggling, fans said things about me, I want to always be better.
Chalamet is only 30 years old – he was just 4 years old the last time the Knicks even played in the Finals – but that didn’t take away his excitement as the long drought came to an end.
“Way rather this than the Oscars,” Chalamet said. “Knicks are champions, baby.”
Chalamet has been courtside, rooting on the Knicks throughout the Finals –both in San Antonio and at Madison Square Garden in New York. And just like the first four games of the series, he saw the Spurs shoot out to a double-digit lead, only to see the Knicks claw back in four of the five games in the Finals and pull out one comeback after another.
Game 5 was no different, as the Knicks faced another double-digit deficit after the first quarter, only to mount a late rally to cement themselves as comeback kings.
Knicks fans throughout the tri-state area — and beyond — are going wild.
But one curse word from a fan derailed a live report from CBS 2’s Knicks coverage on Saturday night.
Reporter Adi Guajardo was covering the watch party at Radio City in Midtown and was speaking to jubilant fans in the middle of the din inside the famed music hall after the Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years.
However, when one blue and orange diehard dropped an F-bomb, it derailed the live segment.
In the middle of Guajardo’s interview with a fan, a person off-camera could be heard loudly saying: “The Knicks did it! The Knicks f–king won,” before Guajardo cut things short.
Warning: Graphic language
An F-bomb derails a CBS News New York live report on Knicks fans celebrating the championship. pic.twitter.com/CANmwEmahX
“No, no, no, stop, sorry,” she said. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.”
Guajardo sent the feed back to the studio, which then cut to a different part of the celebration in a different part of New York
She took to Instagram during a taxi ride seemingly after the live hit and said that the feeling, overall, in Radio City was “absolutely ecstatic,” and people inside the building and outside the city were “alive.”
CNN reporter just trying to do his job getting SWARMED by Knicks fans on live on TV pic.twitter.com/pixxttF0Fa
Fans reacting after the New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs in game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals as seen in New York, NY on June 13, 2026. Christopher Sadowski for NY PostThe Post’s front page on June 14, 2026: “CHAMPS!”
The CBS 2 crew wasn’t the only TV station to get close to the wild scene in New York, as a CNN reporter got swarmed by multiple overexcited fans chanting “Knicks in five!”
One fan was even smoking right next to Morales and in front of the camera. One person told Morales he was, in fact, a “winner.” In Times Square, Morales even put on a Knicks jersey.
Knicks fans are riding high and are letting the world know it, whether FCC rules are cared for or not.
One of Leon Rose’s most riskiest decisions over the past few years was parting ways with head coach Tom Thibodeau following the 2025 postseason.
Thibodeau was coming off a Eastern Conference Finals appearance and led the Knicks to the playoffs in four of his five years at the helm, but the front office elected to make a change.
After a long search that saw the team conduct formal interviews with more than 10 candidates, Rose ultimately landed on Mike Brown as the new man for the job.
Brown was able to rally his team through up-and-down stretches throughout the course of the regular season to pull out a whopping 53 wins.
They then cruised their way through an incredible postseason run, before completing the goal with an NBA Finals clinching-victory on Saturday night.
It was Brown’s first title as a head coach in his 25-year coaching career.
“It’s just a heck of a win,” he said afterwards. “To have these fans that we have in New York City, and to bring home a championship to them after all of these years, it's just an absolutely amazing.
“It’s surreal -- I don’t know how long it’s been since that final buzzer, but I still don’t believe it. I’m pinching myself, I’m telling myself to try to be present, and all of the stuff I tell my guys every day because I still just can’t believe it.”
Brown went on to shoutout his staff by name, and gave credit to each of the players and the Knicks' front office for all coming together to achieve the ultimate goal.
“My staff, they carried me all year,” he said. “Our players are fantastic -- they’ve been ready from Day 1, and it's not just our top-five, but 1 through 18 they have been ready from Day 1 of the season.
“You saw it we called on different guys at different times and every time they stepped up -- I love my players, I love the organization, but most importantly Let’s Go New York, we can’t wait to get home and celebrate.”
OG Anunoby may be tip-in savvy, but he seemingly isn’t too tech savvy.
Following the Knicks’ 94-90 Game 5 victory that earned the franchise its first NBA championship in 53 years, the star forward brought fans a behind-the-scenes look into the locker room festivities through Instagram live — and it was completely accidental.
At the start of the video, champagne is being sprayed around the Larry O’Brien championship trophy as Karl-Anthony Towns comes into view to say “We live baby, we live,” while wearing goggles.
At that moment, Anunoby realized his error and went into a bit of a panic.
OG Anunoby accidentally goes live on Instagram in the Knicks locker room following their NBA Finals title win over the Spurs on Saturday night. X @ballwithze
“How do you end the live?” Anunoby repeatedly asked. “How do you end this?”
After 25 seconds, the show came to and end with Anunoby’s finger partially over his phone camera.
While it made for a funny postgame moment, but it won’t overshadow Anunoby’s efforts to get the Knicks to this point.
He finished Saturday’s game with 11 points and eight rebounds, including the final board of contest as he held the ball when the final buzzer sounded.
New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby #8 and Timothee Chalamet holds up The New York Post Champs front page after defeating the Spurs to win the 2026 NBA Championship. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostOG Anunoby goes live on Instagram by mistake after the Knicks championship win. X @ballwithzeThe New York Post front cover for June 14, 2026.
He had an NBA Finals and career-defining moment in Game 4 when he tipped in the game-winning shot that sent Madison Square Garden into hysterics and gave the Knicks a commanding 3-1 series lead.
There are plenty of knowledgeable people who believe they know what that means. Usually, it's a sizeable non-guard like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, or a hulking big man like Shaquille O'Neal or Tim Duncan. But Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson is changing the definition after his NBA Finals MVP performance, leading New York to its first championship in 53 years.
For years, pundits, players and coaches -- both current and former -- debated whether a team can win a championship without this "1A" player. That conversation shifted toward Brunson, especially after he signed with the Knicks in free agency. The most notorious response to Brunson's "1A" credentials came from Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon.
Hammon infamously said that the Knicks didn't have that "1A" player on their team back in 2023. Even when Brunson's name was brought up, she said he was too small and that Steph Curry was the only outlier to that rule.
Brunson, almost two hours after bringing New York a title, was asked to respond to those who criticized him for not being that type of player. Brunson po
"I didn’t respond to them then, I’m damn sure not going to respond to them now," Brunson said pointedly.
And why should he?
Brunson scored a franchise record 45 points, only the second player in NBA history to score at least 45 in a road clinching game (Jordan), in Game 5 and led the comeback while his teammates struggled to score.
That's why he was voted MVP of the finals by a unanimous vote after averaging 32.6 points, 4.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
“I hope you guys will listen to me, he is a top-three MVP candidate," Knicks head coach Mike Brown said after the game. "Everybody kind of mentions his name in passing, they don’t do it seriously enough — people say he’s too small, people say he’s a 1B or a 2B or whatever, he is a freaking 1A.
“I hope tonight you guys, and I’m talking to the media more than the fans, but I hope you guys recognize what this man is all about because he is A1 MVP — he is him.”
Jalen Brunson was asked how he would respond to critics who say he isn't a "1A" guy:
"I didn't respond to them then and I'm damn sure not going to respond to them now." pic.twitter.com/3stEa5S7bC
New Yorkers converted the stadium into Madison Square Garden south for Game 5, as they traveled to Central Texas to see the historic night, the first Knicks championship victory since 1973.
“I’m very emotional. We finally did it. I never had one in my lifetime. I’m still in shock,” said James Gabriel, 50.
A Knicks fan holds up a towel during Game 5 of the NBA Finals game. AP Photo/Darren Abate
Joseph Gentile and his wife Carol Gentile 50, shared in the triumph after making a last-minute decision to travel from Manhattan to witness the historic moment.
Knicks fans celebrate in San Antonio during Game 5 of the NBA Finals. AP Photo/Darren Abate
“We couldn’t miss it,” Joseph said. “We knew, we had a feeling this was gonna be it. We decided Thursday morning, we said, eff it. Let’s do it. We got on a plane.”
Jared Whitmore, 43, from Queens said that he “waited for this moment my whole life, I feel like I can die a happy man right now. I knew it.”
“Knicks in 5. We are a team of destiny,” he continued.
Knicks fans arrive in San Antonio to watch Game 5 of the NBA Finals. AP Photo/Ross D. FranklinKnicks fans leave San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center after winning the NBA Finals. Lone Pine Press for NY Post
“This is for my grandmother, who died a Knicks fan, who bled orange and blue.”
“Y’all don’t know our struggling. We deserve this.”
As the energy continued to grow, officers on horseback wearing protective gear moved into the crowd outside Frost Bank Center to manage the mass gathering, causing the crowd to disperse.
Knicks fans celebrate after the team won its first championship in 53 years against the San Antonio Spurs. AP Photo/Darren Abate
Spike Lee made an appearance and addressed Knicks fans. He spoke to one fan privately and then waved to the rest of the group.
Knicks fans were calling “speech, speech,” pleading him to make a larger announcement. However, he didn’t.
A Spurs fan takes a photo of Knicks fans in San Antonio during Game 5 of the NBA Finals. AP Photo/Darren Abate
Fans chanted “We did it! We did it!”
Spurs fans, on the other hand, began to leave early before the ending ceremony.
Some were mourning the loss but looking to the future with optimism, yelling, “Next year. Next year.”
