Category: Basketball

We’ve tried to write this in our head more than a few times after last night, but each time we failed. Some times our thoughts were too negative. Other times too positive. So we took a different tack.

In the end, it is what it is and overall, there was an indisputable wonder to it all. New York erupted last night in ways we can’t ever remember. This city, so often under siege in the last quarter century, felt a collective relief. not a sigh but rather an extended, sustained joy. Much of it was the joy of youth, but it was more than that. The community pride that pulls New Yorkers of all ages, genders, races, ethnicity, origin through the tough days and nights was palpable. The civic religion of basketball, so deliriously described in The City Game about a past Knicks title, once again showed itself. It was grand.

Critics can and will say the fans of the Brooklyn Nets are left in the inevitably irrelevant lurch because this day is solely the property of the long-suffering New York Knicks fans. There is indeed a strong case for that. The Nets are at the NBA’s opposite pole from their neighbors. But at least in our mind, that’s secondary. Individual team and player fortunes rise and fall, sometimes inexplicably and at a moment’s notice. We know this. So do the more honest of the Knick fans. But the city goes on forever. We love New York and we love hoops so we’re happy for it and congratulate the Knicks and their fans.

And hope our time will come soon, just as it came for them, just as it came for the Liberty last year after 28 years of futility. Will the city react the same as it did last night should the Nets win? Almost certainly not. The Knicks have been part of the city for 80 years, the Nets 15. The Knicks play in midtown Manhattan, the center of the known universe, the Nets in Brooklyn, hip and hot but … It is what it is. Like we said.

Bottom line for the Brooklyn Nets in all of this is that they decided in June 2024 to go deep into a rebuild, hoping that by exchanging picks with the Rockets and adding picks from the Knicks, they’d be able to come away with top picks in two deep and potentially generational drafts in 2025 and 2026 and hedge their bets by acquiring other picks in the Mikal Bridges deal. They wound up with the eighth and sixth picks and some Knicks picks that aren’t looking so good in the short term. A lot of that was simply bad luck and we will soon see just how bad or good starting June 23.

If you’re wondering if there could be changes coming in the front office, we see no indications of that. Indeed, the recent decisions by ownership to extend and give raises to Jordi Fernandez and all nine assistants then promote capologist Makar Gevorkian to assistant GM are indications of confidence in decision-making. Could that change if the plan doesn’t work out? Of course. The rebuild can’t go on forever. But the watch words now are patience and the plan.

Now back to the weeds!

Will Mikel Brown be out of Nets range?

Increasingly, it looks like the top five picks of the NBA Draft are set even if the order isn’t. For weeks, maybe months, A.J. Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer and Caleb Wilson were seen as the leading men of this play. The storyline may be up for debate, but not the cast of characters. Now, Mikel Brown Jr. once seen as part of a group of four or five minor characters, seems to be joining the top picks at No. 5. As Sean Farnham of ESPN said three days ago to M.J. Acosta…

That of course is not good for the Nets who, the Lottery be damned, finished No. 6. The Nets seem quite enamored of Brown who they’ve reportedly seen twice already, once at home in Orlando, then again this week in Brooklyn. The 6’5” Louisville lead guard checks every Nets box from skills to character. Here’s what Rafael Barlowe told our Connor Long a couple of days ago when asked about the in-home visit.

“It’s a good sign of the interest level that the Nets have,” Barlowe said. “From what I understand, it was Jordi, it was Sean Marks, it was the assistant general manager, just trying to get a feel for the kid and the situation. From what I hear or what I heard, not only did he kill that interview, he’s killed every interview…”

Brown has something else as well: star quality. IF the Nets are going to catch the Knicks, they’ll need a lot of that.

Can the Nets jump to No. 5 by sending the Clippers some assets, presumably draft picks? Hard to tell right now. We don’t how much in love the Clipper front office is with the Florida native. Also, it’s hard to know how big a hammer Adam Silver will drop on Steve Ballmer et al regarding the Aspiration scandal. In short, the mega rich Ballmer (as compared to the super rich Joe Tsai) reportedly sent money to a company called Aspiration which in turn paid Kawhi Leonard eight figures for what sure looks like a no-show job. As we noted a couple of reports back, that could affect the Clippers thinking since historically the way the league punishes such transgressions is by docking the offending team future draft picks. A generation ago, Silver’s predecessor David Stern assessed the Timberwolves five years worth of first round picks along with fines, suspensions, etc.

Here’s some possibilities that could affect any discussions between Sean Marks and Lawrence Frank, the Clips GM:

• Might the Clippers decide to resist trade offers for the fifth pick, understanding their cache of picks could be diluted by the league and so, hang on to what they got? That would limit the Nets ability to move up.
• Might they decide to trade the fifth pick for future firsts to lessen the pain of future losses? With the Nets having the most draft assets in the NBA by far, could that provide an opportunity for Brooklyn?
• Might they decide to use the fifth pick in a trade for a star, forgetting any semblance of an organic route contention, knowing how constrained that route will become? That would also eliminate the possibility of a trade and add a new player and new needs to the mix at the top of the Draft.

Complicating matters is that the league is unlikely to make any move before the first night of the draft on June 23 so the Clippers won’t have any intelligence on what’s going to happen. A big new New York law firm, Wachtell Lipton, has been investigating the scandal for months and although Silver said on June 6 that “We need to wrap this up,” he also indicated Wachtell wasn’t done yet. After he receives the report, of course, Silver will have to decide on punishments.

Adding to the uncertainty is that the Clippers have already dispatched some of their firsts in previous trades. The Clippers don’t have clear title to their own first rounder till 2029. If the commissioner pulls Clippers firsts starting in 2029, that’s a lot easier to deal with.

A far less complicated possibility is what Yossi Gozlan proposed in his Third Apron review of the Nets situation: a couple of potential salary dumps that might be appealing to the Clippers.

[T]hey could make that happen by taking on negative-value contracts like Bradley Beal ($5.6 million) and Isaiah Jackson ($7 million) while sending out a minor asset. The last time two teams next to each other in the middle of the lottery swapped picks was in 2023, when the Wizards gave the Pacers two second-round picks to move up from No. 8 to No. 7.

So what happens if the Nets can’t get their hands on Brown? We simply don’t know how they feel about that Acuff, Wagler or Flemings although in previous discussions three weeks ago, Ben Pfeiffer of Sportscasting suggested to Erik Slater that Nets had interest in Flemings. Of those four, we believe that only Acuff has been in. Flemings and Wagler were supposed to be in but scheduling issues intervened. Then, there’s the two big men the Nets paired off last Tuesday: Nate Ament and Karim Lopez. No one — at this point — believes either is likely to be taken as high as No. 6 but there’s always the possibility that the Nets move down or acquire a later first rounder.

‘F*ck them picks’

Josh Hart’s now famous analysis of the picks the Nets got for Mikal Bridges resonates Sunday. As we tweeted numerous times, any time a team makes a trade that leads to a championship, that team is the winner, period. There’s no counter argument and despite some (typical) inconsistent play by Bridges in the Finals, he will be sitting in a float no doubt with his fellow Villanovans Thursday.

All that said, where do all them f*uckin’ picks stand? Here’s how it started:

• Nets traded Mikel Bridges and Keita Bates-Diop as well as the least favorable of Bucks, Magic, Pistons second round picks and the draft rights to Juan Pablo Vaulet.
• Knicks traded Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton and Mamadi Diakite to the Nets along with four unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031 and the Bucks 1-4 protected pick in 2025, an unprotected first round swap in 2028 and the Nets 2025 second rounder which the Knicks had acquired.

So where do we stand now, two years after?

The Nets used two of the first round picks in 2025 to take Nolan Traore at No. 19 (the Bucks pick) and Ben Saraf (the Knicks pick) at No. 26. They traded the 2025 second rounder — No. 36 — to the Suns who sent back a 2026 Clippers second rounder which is currently the No. 43rd pick in this year’s draft and the Celtics 2030 second rounder. The Suns ultimately sent the pick to the Lakers who chose Adou Thiero.

The Nets sent Diakite and his partially guaranteed deal to the Grizzlies along with the draft rights to Nemanja Dangubic, acquiring Ziaire Williams and the Mavericks 2030 second rounder. They also sent Milton to the Lakers along with Dorian Finney-Smith for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three Lakers second rounders 2027, 2030 and 2031. Russell’s contract was not renewed and Lewis was waived.

The Knicks sent the second round pick acquired from the Nets to the Pelicans as part of the package for Joe Alvarado. New York sent New Orleans another second plus cash considerations.

So what’s left?

Three unprotected Knicks firsts in 2027, 2029 and 2031, an unprotected first round swap in 2028 and number of seconds that are by-products of the trade, including the Clippers pick (No. 43) in this year’s draft plus two second round picks — the Celtics and Mavericks — in 2030. Also, there’s Ziaire Williams.

The Knicks picks will likely increase in value. New York was the fourth oldest team in the NBA last season. A dynasty seems unlikely, but who knows.

Draft Sleeper of the Week

For weeks, Sergio De Larrea has been linked to the Nets in more than one mock draft at No. 33, the first of their two second rounders. However, in recent weeks, we’ve seen the 6’7” Spanish point guard start to sneak into the first round. While Mexican Karim Lopez is generally seen as the top international prospect and a lottery pick, De Larrea is the top European this year in a less than stellar group. However, he has a lot of supporters…

His draft status is somewhat uncertain in part because he is still playing for Valencia in the Spanish League. Per the Rookie Wire’s Cody Taylor, he’s unlikely to be available for any workouts until next weekend, days before the Draft, if then.

De Larrea is averaging 7.1 points, 2.8 assists and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 39.5% from 3-point range in 67 games across all league competitions. He has registered three 20-point games, including a season-high 23-point performance on Oct. 3.

The 6-foot-7 de Larrea helped Valencia advance to the ACB Finals on Sunday after sweeping Joventut Badalona 3-0 in their series. The group, which has homecourt advantage, will face Barcelona in the best-of-five championship, beginning on Thursday.

(That’s not necessarily a no-go for the Nets. They drafted Ben Saraf, a similarly sized European guard, last season without working him out. Saraf played in the German league finals after being drafted! Of course, Jordi Fernandez, with his Spanish basketball roots, is likely to have a good read on De Larrea.)

His strengths and weaknesses can best be summed up by Matt Babcock of Babcock Hoops:

“I’m intrigued by De Larrea’s size and craftiness with the ball. However, his lack of athleticism and defensive limitations are concerns, at least to some degree. Regardless, he’s an interesting prospect who should generate plenty of draft interest.”

SB Nation’s Graham Chapple has some of the same concerns, but likes his shooting skills.

Offensively, 3-point shooting is De Larrea’s best strength right now, and that will hold value to NBA teams. De Larrea can hit threes both off of the dribble and in catch-and-shoot scenarios — I suspect the latter will be called upon more in his rookie season than creation off the dribble. Nevertheless, the ability to rise into a three off of the dribble — while not perfected — is still be a useful tool in De Larrea’s arsenal.

Some highlights from earlier this season in the Spanish League.

Should De Larrea wind up in Brooklyn, he’s likely to serve an apprenticeship on Long Island. Same with the No. 43 pick. The Nets have a lot of kids.

Final Note

So what’s the Nets and their fans’ best response to gloating by Knicks gloating about their first title in 53 years? Norman Oder, the critic and chronicler of Atlantic Yards, had the best suggestion we’ve seen…

Works for us.

The NBA is in an unprecedented era of parity.

When the New York Knicks beat San Antonio in game five on Saturday, it was the eighth unique NBA champion in the past eight seasons, dating back to the Toronto Raptors’ title in 2019. That’s 26.67% of the league that has won a title in less than a decade.

For fans of the Utah Jazz, there are two questions regarding this unique time in the NBA’s history: How long will the parity era last, and can the Jazz strike while the iron is hot?

During this eight-year stretch, five teams either won their first title or won their first title since pre-1979 — the Jazz’s first season in Utah. Those teams were the Raptors (2019), Bucks (2021), Nuggets (2023), Thunder (2025) and Knicks (2026). The Pacers were one game away from claiming their first championship in 2025.

In the last eight years, 43.3% of the NBA’s franchise’s have reached the finals and 60% of teams have made the conference finals. The closest the Utah Jazz got during that time was in 2021, when they lost in six games to the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round.

If all goes according to plan, the Jazz will be in the playoffs for the indefinite future. The Thunder and Spurs are the clear frontrunners for the West over the next few years, but both teams could look incredibly different in two years than they do now.

Because of current roster and salary construction in the NBA, it’s difficult to keep all key pieces of a team in tact for more than a few seasons at a time. It’s hard to predict what today’s best teams will look like even two seasons from now — which is what makes this era one of great parity. The current collective bargaining agreement that is in place for the NBA does not expire until the end of the 2029-30 season, so expect the next four years to be filled with as much parity as the rest of the decade.

So until this parity era comes to an end, can the Utah Jazz make the colorful list of teams that won in the 2020’s?

One former Knick was feeling a little left out amid the celebration over the Knicks’ first championship in 53 years on Saturday night. 

Precious Achiuwa, who played for the Knicks for parts of two seasons, took to social media an hour or so after the game and posted a meme from Nickelodeon show “SpongeBob SquarePants” of SpongeBob and Patrick joyously playing outside while Squidward watched through the blinds of his house.

He had been a part of the Knicks during the 2023-24 season after being traded to New York along with OG Anunoby, and re-signed on a one-year deal for the 2024-25 season. 

Achiuwa signed with the Kings in November, just missing out on being part of the championship-winning squad that toppled the Spurs in five games in the NBA Finals. 

While Achiuwa was having a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun with the moment, plenty of Knicks fans responded to his post by wanting to include him in the celebration. 

“Fans ain’t forget your bro. Once A Knick Always A Knick. Thank you for your time with the team,” one fan wrote on X. 

“I’m sure it’s a small consolation but us Knicks fans count you as part of this. It’s been a long road,” another fan wrote. 

“This is your ring too my man, you helped us get here,” a third person chimed in. 

“Once a Knick always a Knick big sneeze. Thank you for helping lay the foundation,” a person also wrote.

Achiuwa played 106 games for the Knicks, averaging 7.1 points per game while shooting 51.3 percent from the field and pulling down  6.3 rebounds. 

He also appeared in 17 playoff games during his tenure with the Knicks, averaging 3.6 points per game.

The New York Knicks, for the first time since 1973, are NBA champions. Their victory represents something unique in the modern NBA. They are the first team since Isiah Thomas and the 1990 Detroit Pistons to be led by an undersized, physical guard all the way to a championship. Sure, you can point to Steph Curry as the best player on the Golden State Warriors dynasty. But Curry doesn’t occupy the same space as Jalen Brunson. And once Kevin Durant arrived in Golden State, much of the burden was lifted from Curry’s shoulders for two of those four championships.

Brunson is different. He is the exception to the rule. Historically, smaller players struggle to withstand the physical toll of four consecutive playoff rounds. I think of how Chris Paul broke down in 2021 and am reminded that’s one of the reasons teams built around undersized guards rarely end up holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end of the season. Yet that’s exactly what Brunson and the Knicks accomplished.

The NBA has always been a copycat league. Whenever a team wins a championship, the natural reaction is to point to that team and declare it the blueprint. Front offices study it. Fans debate it. Media members write about it. Everyone searches for the secret formula. 

What I find fascinating about the Knicks’ title run is that it serves as another reminder that there is no singular blueprint. In fact, this is now the third consecutive season in which the league’s perceived North Star has changed. Three years ago, the focus was on one model. Then another champion emerged and shifted the conversation. Now the Knicks have done it again.

Three seasons ago, the Boston Celtics hoisted the trophy in 2024. Their recipe for success was straightforward. Build from within around two elite wings in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, then supplement that core through the trade market. They added Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday, creating a roster that was deep, versatile, and built to complement its stars. They also leaned heavily into modern basketball. The Celtics attempted more three-pointers per game than any team in the league while finishing second in three-point percentage. They combined elite shooting with elite roster construction and rode that formula to a championship.

The following season, the Oklahoma City Thunder won the title. Their path looked completely different. Yes, they benefited from acquiring Shai Gilgeous Alexander in the Paul George trade, and yes, he developed into an MVP-caliber player. But Oklahoma City’s blueprint centered on drafting and development. They identified Shai as their cornerstone, then strategically surrounded him with players and archetypes that complemented his skill set while creating one of the most disruptive defenses in basketball.

Then came this season and the New York Knicks. Their roster was assembled through a completely different process. Jalen Brunson arrived via free agency, but much of the roster around him was built through trades. Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart all arrived through deals that required New York to part with significant assets.

In many ways, the Knicks are an example of what the Suns attempted to become in 2023. Phoenix pushed its chips to the center of the table, sacrificing future assets in pursuit of a championship. The Knicks did the same thing. The difference is that New York found the right combination of players, chemistry, timing, and health to make it work.

That’s the lesson. Many teams attempt to build a champion through aggressive trades. Very few actually pull it off. This time, the Knicks did.

All of this is a reminder that there is no singular blueprint for building a champion in the NBA. This isn’t the NFL, where a dominant running game and consistent defense can dramatically raise your ceiling. This isn’t Major League Baseball, where the absence of a salary cap allows teams to backload contracts, stockpile talent, and overwhelm opponents with financial muscle. 

The NBA is different. It’s restrictive. It’s unforgiving. And it requires an incredible amount of precision to build a contender, let alone a champion. What the last three seasons have shown us is that there are multiple paths to the top of the mountain. Boston built around homegrown stars and supplemented them through trades. Oklahoma City built through patience, drafting, and development. New York aggressively utilized the trade market and surrounded its star with complementary pieces that fit.

Different paths. Same destination. So, how does this relate to the Phoenix Suns?

Well, the Suns are operating with a $23.2 million anvil tied to their ankle in the form of dead cap money. Every decision they make is impacted by it. Every move they consider has to be weighed against it. It limits flexibility, limits options, and limits margin for error. If Phoenix were somehow able to navigate those challenges and win a championship during this era, it might be the most impressive accomplishment of all the examples we’ve discussed.

But that’s also why there should be hope. The last three champions have reminded us that there isn’t only one way to build a winner. There isn’t a universal formula that guarantees success. Every organization has different circumstances, different strengths, and different obstacles. The challenge is identifying who you are, committing to a direction, and executing it better than everyone else. That’s the task in front of the Phoenix Suns. And while the road ahead is difficult, recent NBA history reminds us that difficult doesn’t mean impossible.

As Jalen Brunson walked into the interview room with a trophy under each arm, he asked the media a question: 

“Do I be myself or do I talk my sh–??” he said. 

Brunson was joking. Of course, he was going to choose the former. This is the Knicks’ version of Derek Jeter. He rarely creates headlines outside of his play. He lets others do the talking.

Brunson, who had just led the Knicks to their first championship in 53 years with a legendary 45-point outburst, knew the question was coming, if he had a response to all those who doubted, criticized and questioned him.

Those who said he was too small to be the leader of a championship team, those who questioned the Knicks for that initial four-year, $104 million contract. 

“I didn’t respond to them then,” Brunson said, “and I’m damn sure not going to respond to them now.”

Even as Brunson established himself as a star in recent years, making the Knicks matter after so many years of irrelevance, there were talking heads that questioned how far he could take the Knicks. The most outspoken one was Becky Hammon, the current head coach of the Las Vegas Aces. 

During a December 2023 episode of NBA Today, Hammon said the Knicks lacked a “1A dude,” and listed contenders who struggled to reach the top of the sport being led by smaller guards.  

 “He’s too small,” she said then. “If your best player is small, you’re not winning.”

Last month, she revisited those comments, and said the two best teams were “probably” in the Western Conference. Hammon did say, “I’m up for being proven wrong.” 

Perhaps an apology is in order, because she was in fact proven dead wrong. So was Warriors forward Draymond Green, who made similar comments. He said the Knicks lacked a “bonafide 1A” and “until they have that, I think it’s going to be very tough to win a championship.”

Brunson not only led the Knicks to a title, but a dominant postseason. They went 16-3, and he was named the MVP of the finals. In the playoffs, he averaged 28.4 points, 6.1 assists and 3.2 rebounds. He scored at least 30 points nine different times, and in four of the five games in the finals.

He put the Knicks on his back in two of the greatest postseason comebacks in recent memory, rallying them from 22 points down in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cavaliers followed by that 29-point comeback in Game 4 of the finals. 

He became the fifth player to win a national title in college and Naismith Player of the Year award, along with an NBA crown and be named the NBA Finals MVP. The others: Michael Jordan, Bill Walton, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Not bad for a little guard who isn’t a “1A.” 

“That’s a testament to who he is, and just his story, never giving up, always being the underdog, always being looked down upon,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “It only takes one person to believe in you. This organization believed in him, and we believed in him.

“We were going to do whatever it took to get him to the next level.”

The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs four games to one last night, overcoming multiple double-digit deficits along the way. While much of New York City and New Jersey celebrate the Knicks’ extinguishing New York’s long title drought across the Big Four sports leagues (stretching back to the Giants in 2011), Rutgers nation can take pride in seeing one of their own step up big time for the Spurs. Dylan Harper not only played extensive minutes, but he looked like the best Spur on the court for large parts of this series.

Despite coming off the bench the entire series, Harper averaged 18 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. As the series got better, so did the rookie out of Rutgers, with his crowning performance coming in an elimination Game 5 at home. Harper led the team with 25 points while also contributing 5 rebounds and 4 assists while playing 31 minutes off the bench.

While much of the team struggled, including De’Aaron Fox throughout the series, Harper stepped up in clutch moments and time again. His crafty finishing around the rim caught the eyes of fans nationwide, while his tenacious defending made things difficult for New York throughout the series. He was the second-leading scorer behind Victor Wembanyama in the NBA Finals as a rookie while coming off the bench, which says just about everything you need to know about his career trajectory

If there is one area where the budding star guard could improve, it would be his three-point shooting. Harper got off to a slow start from deep this series, scoring 16 points in Game 1 on 1-4 from downtown. In Game 2, he missed all three attempts from deep while finishing with 15 points, before going 1-8 from long range during Game 3 at MSG. Coincidentally, that was the lone game the Spurs were able to win over the eventual champion Knicks.

Some of those threes were wide open as well, which made me think about just how good Harper could be if he had even a respectable three-point jump shot. In Game 4, Harper went 8-12 from the field and converted 3 of 6 threes, coming up with 21 points despite the Spurs blowing an unfathomable 29-point lead, the largest in Finals history. Due to the catastrophic loss, San Antonio went from a possible 2-2 tied series to trailing New York 3-1 as the series returned to Texas.

In Game 5, Harper put it all together when his team needed it most. On a night where starting guards Stephon Castle (1-10) and De’Aaron Fox (3-15) combined for 13 points on horrifically poor shooting, the New Jersey native came off the bench and dropped 25 points. As in Game 4, this time he cashed in on two of four from downtown while continuing to play aggressive defense, getting stops and forcing a backcourt violation.

Despite this, Harper was relegated to the bench for some of the game’s most important swings, including when the Knicks roared back yet again. When the Spurs rookie returned to the floor, the Knicks were trailing, and Harper was unable to hit the game-tying layup.

With San Antonio then trailing by three, Landry Shamet fouled Harper off an inbounds pass to prevent a three-point shot attempt, and Harper missed both free throws; the second one may have been an intentional miss. But none of that takes away from the series he had and the poise he showed as a rookie under pressure.

During the Spurs’ postgame press conference, Devin Vassell told reporters, “I know that he’s gonna put so much work into the offseason. It’s not just offensively, but defensively, he’s made a lot of plays. He’s grown so much. And was he 20, 21 years old? I mean, the sky’s the limit for him.”

With De’Aaron Fox going 24-70 from the field and contributing to some of the most head-scratching moments for the Spurs, many fans and analysts see him being traded this offseason, possibly to the Nets. Even if not, it will be hard to see how Harper does not crack the starting lineup next season after outproducing both Castle and Fox, all while coming off the bench in basketball’s biggest stage.

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Saturday’s Game 5 victory that sealed the first Knicks championship since 1973 was an emotional moment for fans everywhere, many of whom have been waiting their entire lives for a championship.

On Sunday morning, Joe Benigno joined WFAN to share a message to Knicks fans who have been waiting patiently for this moment for many years.

“All the pain, all the disasters. Oh my God, all the ghosts are buried now. The dragon has been slain. It’s unbelievable,” he said. “All of that, all the pain, all the suffering, all the aggravation. It’s gone. It’s over. We are world freaking champions.”

Benigno, a longtime Knicks fan, is referring to the years where the team was at the bottom of the barrel.

Since the arrival of now-captain Jalen Brunson in 2022, however, the team has had a magical turnaround from irrelevancy to playoff contenders the past four seasons.

Beyond the historic finals win that brought the Knicks their third championship in franchise history, the team had an incredibly dominant playoffs. They went 16-3 and won their last nine road games in a row.

Their 13 consecutive wins, stretching across sweeps of the 76ers and Cavaliers and into the finals against the Spurs, is the second longest winning streak in the history of the NBA playoffs.

In the finals, the Knicks overcame double-digit deficits in each of the five games, winning every one outside of the Spurs’ Game 3 victory.

Benigno’s podcast, appropriately titled “Oh the Pain,” has been a succinct description of his experience rooting for his New York sports teams over the years.

Oh the pain no more for the Knicks.

It’s tremendously alienating. I’ve had plenty of time to reckon with this inevitable championship for the Knicks, not just a great team but the clear Team of Destiny for weeks now, but it’s still hard to swallow.

I am not actually happy for the innumerable Knicks fans around me. I am not quite “happy for the city” either, a begrudging middle ground that, as a born-and-raised Manhattanite who roots for the Yankees, Giants, and even the Rangers with an incurable case of New York Exceptionalism that would disgust the many New Jerseyans that visit this site, I thought I could get to. No. I am an outsider in my own home. This, of course, is the true essence of Nets fandom…

I’ll say it so you don’t have to: It doesn’t really matter that the New York Knicks are champions, not as it pertains to Brooklyn’s on-court success. Of course, those future Knicks picks might not be so valuable…

…but that’d still be the case even if Victor Wembanyama made eye-contact with Stephon Castle before throwing that pass. You, Nets fan, are still allowed or even encouraged to be excited for a future with Egor Dëmin and whoever the team drafts at No. 6 overall in ten days.

Regarding the rest, there’s little to be done. If there is anything, anything at all surprising about Fort Greene/Downtown Brooklyn/Park Slope drowning in blue-and-orange ecstasy…

…it’s that any of us lived long enough to see the Knicks win another title. As Ock Sportello told me, this would be easier to accept if the franchise were an indomitable, Laker-esque force rather than a tortured soul with The Greatest City in the World and, therefore, the moral arc of history behind them. LeBron James told Cleveland that his crowning achievement was for them. He wasn’t exactly lying, but we all know that 2016 as The LeBron Title. Kawhi Leonard put a whole nation in The North on his back in 2019; alas, that is The Kawhi Title.

But 2026 is The New York Title. Jalen Brunson cemented his place in NBA history, of course, but he also cemented his place as a contender for the most beloved athlete in NYC history, simply a different plane of existence. I will always remember his 45-point NBA Finals closeout game; many more will remember what felt like eight million New Yorkers partying on the streets until the sun came up, from the true die-hards to the property-destroying streamers to the Kips Bay transplants singing their “Empire State of Mind” transplant anthem because it’s something to do on a Saturday night and hey, New York is about all those things.

So does it matter that the Knicks are growing their fanbase faster than the Nets? Does it matter that this mode of achievement is inaccessible for your favorite team despite also playing in New York City?

“No” is a very reasonable, healthy answer. We’ll all rejoice when the Brooklyn Nets are one day competitive again, perhaps an evil thorn in New York’s side just as they were in the mid 2000’s. I was in the building for Nets-Bucks Game 5 in 2021; the crowd was packed, loud, and very pro-Nets, a low bar but cleared nonetheless. I enjoyed not just the talent on that team, but I loved the vibe. Their best players were hired guns, mercenaries who, under cover of darkness, joined forces in Brooklyn of all places to wreak havoc on the NBA. It fit.

Admittedly, cold villainy is a difficult vibe for a franchise to lean into — I’m not writing this to ask the Nets for anything in particular, maybe other than more Josh Minott quotes. But as Ock Sportello explains: “My grievance, ultimately, is not with the Knicks for reminding me that I will never be a New Yorker, but for the Nets for attempting to convince me that that is something to be ashamed of.”

As a New Yorker, my shame is slightly different, though still distinctly Nets-flavored. I root for the team that moved here and immediately shed any trace of their New Jersey past when I wouldn’t tolerate that quality in a friend. It is the irrepressible feeling that Mikal Bridges was justified in committing the Nets’ cardinal sin, openly pining for a trade across the river, which allowed him to better his life and career and become a local legend. He won.

When I woke up on June 25, 2024, I did not think I’d be standing alone at the Belmont LIRR station at 2 A.M. on June 26, so I did not throw a hoodie in my backpack. Of course, I did not know the Nets were going to make a franchise-altering trade during the fourth quarter of the Commissioner’s Cup Final between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, moved to UBS Arena from Barclays Center so as not to interfere with next day’s NBA Draft.

But I couldn’t tell if I really was cold, or if it was coffee jittters, or if the Six-Pick Mik trade(s) had given me goosebumps all by itself. In any case, I called anybody I figured would be awake, excitedly explaining that the Nets had saved themselves from mediocrity. That the next two years would be painful, but perhaps Cooper Flagg or Ace Bailey or AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson could be in black-and-white.

As you all know, that didn’t happen. Lottery luck was never guaranteed. Such is life. Brooklyn still owns future picks from that deal, and they do have flexibility; not every trade or signing or draft pick reaches its ideal outcome. But only the Nets could make one of the great trades in franchise history, setting themselves up to tank for a two-year period that produces the #8 pick, the #6 pick, and said trade being mocked by a rival team as they accept their Larry O… 

Only the Nets, I tell ya. 

Alright. No more. For real. Let’s have a great summer! 

The airing of grievances is a Festivus tradition.

The Knicks’ playoff run began with a Festivus of their own.

Head coach Mike Brown met individually with each of his five starters — Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — and then all of them collectively for them to air their grievances before the Knicks entered the postseason, according to SNY.

The meetings were conducted for the players to get lingering issues off their chest, and Brunson’s dad Rick, one of the Knicks’ assistant coaches, told SNY that those meetings “were pivotal to New York’s playoff success.”

After the Knicks fell behind 2-1 in the first round against the Hawks, they reeled off 13 straight victories as part of a surreal run to their first NBA championship in 53 years, culminating with Saturday’s 94-90 win over the Spurs in Game 5 to win the NBA Finals 4-1.

Jalen Brunson was unanimously voted NBA Finals MVP after carrying the Knicks in the finale with 45 points on 14-for-27 shooting while going 13-for-15 from the free-throw line.

Brown, the 56-year-old in his first season with the club, set the tone from the outset by having everyone put their commitment in writing.

“The buy in. It was a contract that I had everybody sign opening dinner night and I still have it framed,” Brown told MSG Saturday night. “Everybody’s signature from Mr. Dolan to Leon Rose, all the coaches, all the players, all the staff that was there that night signed it and basically it was about committing to sacrifice, having a competitive spirit, being connected, believing in each other in the process while holding everybody accountable — even myself. I’m not above the law, I’ve gotta be held accountable too.

“I told everybody that night, if you’re not gonna abide by this, I’d have more respect for you to not sign it than to sign it and BS your way through the night and BS your way through this and everybody bought in from Day 1. And that speaks volumes to all of these guys as individuals and especially the leadership on this team, starting with Jalen Brunson.”

I must admit, the way this series has gone, I felt pretty certain heading into the fourth that San Antonio was going to lose this game. Simply put, the Spurs showed time and again that they could play well enough to hold a lead against the Knicks late in the game, but inevitably that edge would wither away in the face of missed opportunities, mistakes, and poor composure. In short, these contests against New York really do seem to have come down to the advantage earned through experience, as the Knicks consistently exhibited an ability to outperform San Antonio at the most critical times.

Despite it’s disappointing ending, we would be remiss to overlook how amazing this season has been. Back in October, the Spurs were expected to be a fringe playoff team that would be thrilled to get past the play-in and go down fighting in the first round. Instead, they won 62 games and marched through a series of tough Western Conference opponents. Replicating that feat next year won’t be easy, but the core of this team is still well within the age range in which substantial year-over-year improvements are the norm, so we have every reason to believe that next year’s squad will be even more impressive. In the meantime, let’s review our last box score of the season:

Note: Now that we’ve moved into the postseason, the reference period used for grading changes from the set of regular season games since 2012-2013 to the set of postseason games since 2012-2013. Unless otherwise noted below, this set DOES include play-in games. As of the end of June 13 2026, this group include 1,206 games.

Factors that decided the game

• This was yet another game in which many key battles were essentially draws. For example, New York edged out the Spurs in defensive rebounds (+2), but San Antonio had a +1 edge on the offensive glass. Similarly, the Knicks had one more turnover than the Spurs, but San Antonio’s edge in points off of turnovers was just +3 (certainly an advantage, but unlikely to swing a game).
• Shooting volume and efficiency from the field was similarly balanced. The Spurs did have a key edge in overall FG% (+2.74 percentage points), which would normally provide a sizeable advantage in terms of winning. Though San Antonio did make two more field goals than New York, both teams had exactly the same performance from distance (12-of-37), and the broader context is that neither team shot well from the field.
• Because points from the field were so scarce, the free throw line played a dominant role in this game, and unfortunately this was the one area where the Knicks clearly outplayed San Antonio. In addition to having a FTA margin of +9 (part of which can be explained by fouling at the very end of the game), New York enjoyed a FT% differential of +8.27 percentage points. As a result, they outscored the Spurs by eight from the charity stripe, which ultimately proved decisive.

Rare Box Score Stats

• It is EXCEPTIONALLY rare in the modern NBA for a team to win a postseason contest with the dismal shooting efficiency that New York achieved last night. In fact, there has been only ONE other postseason game since 2012-2013 in which the winning team logged FG%, 3P%, and FT% values at least as bad as 35.63%, 32.43%, and 71.43%, respectively. That other occasion was a May 11, 2013 game in which Indiana beat the Knicks 81-72 in the Eastern Conference Semis.
• Of course, New York was able to win with these terrible percentages because the Spurs were even less efficient. In fact, since 2012-2013, just three teams have lost by no more than four points while recording FG%, 3P%, and FT% values at least as bad as 38.37%, 32.43%, and 63.16%, respectively. On average during this period, a postseason loser with a shooting percentage line that bad in all dimensions loses by about 21 points.
• Although both teams were woefully inefficient from the field, I must grudgingly admit that Jalen Brunson was exceptional, as he scored 45 points on very good efficiency and accounted for nearly half of his team’s points. In fact, since 1996-1997, only 18 other players have put together a playoff performance in which they scored at least 47.87% of their team’s points.

What are Team Graded Box Scores?

Very briefly, these box scores grade winner-loser differentials for basic box score statistics, with the grade being based on the winning team’s differential relative to other NBA winners during a defined reference period. Think of it like a report card for understanding how a given winner performed relative to other winners. The reference period used runs from the start of the 2012-2013 season to the latest date of play, including only games in the same season category (i.e., regular season and playoff games are not compared to each other).

Data Source: The underlying data used to create these box scores was collected from Basketball Reference. In all cases, the data are collected the morning after the game is played. Although rare, postgame statistical revisions after data collection do occur and may affect the results after the fact.

Spike Lee saw one championship and immediately started thinking about the next one.

After the Knicks clinched their first NBA Finals championship since 1973 on Saturday night, the longtime fan was asked his thoughts.

“Back to back!” Lee answered with a smile.

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The Knicks superfan has been a season ticket holder since 1985, which also happened to be Patrick Ewing’s rookie season.

He has become so well-recognized as one of the most passionate celebrity Knicks fans that folks online, including actor Kevin Hart, have called for Lee to receive a championship ring from the team.

Hart posted a video to Instagram and Facebook Sunday morning saying that the Knicks should give the filmmaker a ring.

“Give @officialspikelee a CHAMPIONSHIP RING DAMN IT!!!!!!!! Congrats Knicks and Congrats New York!!!!! Long overdue,” Hart captioned his video.

Lee’s Knicks roots run deep. Despite being born in Atlanta, his family moved to Brooklyn when he was young, and later received his masters in film and television from New York University.

The 69-year-old said in a recent CNN interview that he would trade his honorary Oscar for a Knicks title.

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Fortunately, Lee won’t have to worry about that anymore.

The Knicks ended their 53-year championship drought on Saturday night with a 94-90 victory over the Spurs in Game 5.

They trailed by double digits in all five games and came back to win the four they needed to clinch their third championship in franchise history.

If Lee’s wish of back-to-back championships comes true, the Knicks could be on their way to building a dynasty on the back of their captain and reigning Finals MVP, Jalen Brunson.

Since Brunson’s arrival in 2022, the Knicks have won at least one playoff series every season. In the 21 seasons prior, they had won just one.

Jalen Brunson didn’t address his haters after winning the NBA Finals MVP, but his sister Erica took a different approach.

Erica took to X the morning after the Knicks won their first title in 53 years, calling out critics of her older brother who claimed that he was not a player capable of leading his team to a championship.

The critics were clearly proven wrong on Saturday night, when Brunson scored 45 points in the deciding Game 5.

One of Erica’s targets was Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, who in 2023 commented that Brunson was too small to be a team’s No. 1 option.

“Now what?” Erica tweeted over Hammon’s comment.

Erica then reposted a clip from Colin Cowherd’s show “The Herd” where the longtime sports personality claimed Brunson was “a number two, on a great team a three.”

“Unfortunately I’m petty and idc. WHAT. NOW!!! Where will the goal post move now?” Erica wrote.

It’s going to be difficult for Brunson’s critics to keep it up. With his huge performance in the closeout Game 5 and the upswing the Knicks have been on since his arrival in free agency in 2022, Brunson has cemented his place as one of the greatest Knicks in recent history.

In the past four years with Brunson, the Knicks have won at least one playoff series every season. In the 21 seasons before the three-time All-Star? The Knicks won one playoff series.

After the Finals win, Brunson was asked about those who have claimed he isn’t a 1A player.

“I didn’t respond to them then, I’m damn sure not gonna respond to them now,” Brunson said pointedly.

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Knicks point guard Jose Alvarado started his victory tour in his native Brooklyn by making a surprise appearance in the Knickerbocker Avenue Puerto Rican Day Parade on Sunday.

Alvarado ditched his white tank top and waved it over his head while the crowd chanted “Knicks in five!” during the eighth annual parade in Bushwick.

“Thank you guys so much, it means the world to me. Really,” Alvarado said as he stood on a float. “I’m a kid from Brooklyn. And the Knicks party f–kin’ did it.”

Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson was also seen posing with fans at the celebration.

The parade typically starts before noon, but was pushed to 3 p.m. – likely to accommodate this year’s special guests.

Alvarado is the only born-and-raised New Yorker on the current Knicks roster.

He grew up in Williamsburg before his family moved to Queens, where he quickly established himself as a standout athlete at Christ The King High School in Middle Village.

Alvarado is of Puerto Rican descent and helped the island’s basketball team qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.

For their first NBA championship in 53 years, the Knicks will also get a bump in their bank accounts.

Per Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen, each player on the Knicks will earn an additional approximately $770,000 for winning the title.

The team share for winning the NBA Finals is $9,078,000, and this will be split amongst the team.

As Badenhausen pointed out, the added money is huge for players on the team with lower salaries. Jeremy Sochan has the lowest salary on the team of those not on two-way contracts with $806,000. Mohamed Diawara makes $1.3 million and Jose Alvarado makes $1.7 million.

The franchise will also receive $471,000 for finishing as the third seed in the Eastern Conference this season, alongside bonuses for going through the first round, the conference semifinals and the conference finals.

Players will also likely receive more money from outside the NBA playoff prize pool that is tied to their individual contracts through incentives.

The full NBA playoff pool including all teams and results is worth $35.74 million. Payouts for each team differ based on regular-season finishes and playoff results.

The San Antonio Spurs, as the Finals runner-up, will bring home an extra $3.921 million alongside their prizes from their progress through earlier playoff rounds.

There are also rewards for the best regular-season results. The team with the best record in the NBA earns $896,000, while the top record in each conference merits $784,000. The bonuses proceed down to the sixth-best record in each conference, which gets $210,000.

Of course, the biggest prize will always be the championship itself, but the money that comes with it, especially for the players earning less money, is a nice add-on too.