Champs.
The Knicks won a thing. Don't feel bad for feeling good.
NBA Cup Final: Knicks 124, Spurs 113
26 and a half years ago, I paid my respects in the only way I knew how.
It was Game 5 of the 1999 NBA Finals pitting the dynasty-in-waiting San Antonio Spurs against the gosh darn it Little Engines That Could. I was in Madison Square Garden that night, having gotten tickets from a friend of my mom’s, hoping against hope that New York would become the first team in history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals. Even at the ripe age of 16, I knew this was not an uphill battle we were likely to wage successfully.
When the final buzzer sounded, after Latrell Sprewell’s last ditch fadeaway fell short, I wasn’t in the least bit disappointed. There wasn’t any room left for disappointment amidst all the pride I felt for that group, having upended the odds and getting as far as they did. At that moment, I did the only thing that felt natural. I stood on my chair and cheered until the final Knick left the floor.
And then, just as ceremony was about to begin, I left. I was sure that I’d see the Knicks hold up a big gold trophy at some point in the future. I certainly didn’t need to wait around and watch another team do it on our home court in the meantime.
Thinking back to that night, I remember the unmistakable feeling of being so close yet so far from the ultimate prize. For all the joy that ‘99 Knick team brought me, there was never a moment when I actually thought a title was a realistic possibility. The odds were too steep and the competition too stout. Second place was my victory. That reality was so certain that I didn’t even feel ashamed in accepting it. Better to have made the Finals and lost than to have never made it that far at all.
Up until yesterday, that night was the closest I ever came to seeing the Knicks hold up a championship trophy of any kind. Since then, like most fans, I’ve imagined what it might feel like to someday witness our team taking part in that hallowed presentation. Imagine what would be going through our heads. All of the trials and tribulations, reflecting on countless losses, pondering how we’d made it this far. The images always change, but they usually involve tears. Tears, and the complete absence of apologies.
As for what I’d feel, my best guess was validation. Validation for sticking out something which common sense dictated was not only a waste of time, but genuinely bad for my healthy well-being in the process. Validation for patience. Validation for perseverance.
Last night, for as much fun as it was, won’t get me to stop daydreaming.
It doesn’t validate all the years of misery, won’t brush away the pain of agonizing losses, and certainly can’t erase the embarrassment that was most of this century.
But facing the team that ended New York’s magical run to begin a special era of their own, these Knicks provided me with two things that I do not take for granted - not as a supporter of this team, and not as a 42-year-old man in full recognition of the fragility of fandom.
The first of those things is joy.
Is it earned joy?
Doesn’t matter.
If a million dollars shows up in my bank account tomorrow, I’d immediately be skeptical of its origin. I’d be looking over my shoulder day after day, week after week, and year after year for whoever made the mistake that changed my life. Eventually, I might relax a bit, but not fully, not without knowing whether someone would be coming to take what wasn’t rightfully mine.
Well do I have news for you: no one is coming to take this away from any of us. New York won a thing that 29 other teams did their best to try and obtain. The Knicks - and only the Knicks - were successful. That means for all of eternity, the New York Knicks will be the 2025-26 NBA Cup Champions. Just because it isn’t the ultimate prize doesn’t mean that we as fans must intentionally deprive ourselves of joy over the title, as if winning the NBA Cup required some act of self-immolation to maintain credibility.
Winning is cool. Winning is hard. Winning is fun. Embrace winning, if for no other reason than that it’s a hell of a lot more fun than losing.
Which leads to the second thing these Knicks have given me…
Hope.
For as much fun as it was to cheer on that ‘99 team and for all the inspiration they provided, hope was the one thing in short supply. I’m not talking about hope to win some playoff games or even hope to make the Finals. I’m talking about hope to win the whole damn thing.
That’s the one thing the ‘99 team couldn’t give me, but 26.5 years later, the cup of the ‘25-26 Knicks runneth over. This win over the Spurs solidifies what probably should have been clear already, which is that these Knicks aren’t here to play the bridesmaid. They are confident, they get physical (23-to-6 rebounding edge in the fourth quarter, are you kidding me?), they are skilled, and they have leadership. Jalen Brunson - tournament MVP, to the surprise of no one - is a man on a mission, and not the sort of mission that will inevitably end with a rousing ovation for the losers in June.
Tyler Kolek. Jordan Clarkson. OG Anunoby. Mitchell Robinson. Karl-Anthony Towns on a bum calf. They all stepped up in myriad ways, and I look forward to honoring those performances tomorrow.
But for right now, all I can do is think back to the end of that game in 1999. A different outcome was never realistic, but now? Now it feels like the Knicks have destiny in their back pocket.
These Knicks aren’t a sure thing, but yesterday they proved that no team is safe against what they bring to the table at both ends. Win, lose or draw, they will be in it to the end, likely saving their best for last, with a coach who refuses to leave any stone unturned.
Does last night mean a bigger championship is on the way? Maybe, maybe not.
But if the joy is in the journey, than last night reminded us all why we root to begin with.
A meaningless NBA Cup? If it isn’t to them, it shouldn’t be to us either.
Let the joy wash over you.
The New York Knicks are champions.
And second place is so 1999.
Stars of the game and a full recap coming your way tomorrow.
🏀
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Friday, May 8th, 1970. A 16 year old me on a media blackout (easier then, stay at home, don't answer the telephone, tell parents not to tell me anything my friends say on the phone as they would be trying to ruin it for me!), because Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Championship vs the Lakers is on delay in New York & won't be played on the TV until 12:01 A.M. May 9th. So at approximately 2:30 in the morning, I (mostly silently) celebrated the first Knicks NBA Championship. I've carried that feeling with me forever!
Now, last night was a wholly different feeling. In many ways similar to that feeling in 1970, but also much different. But as someone who originally thought the NBA Cup was simply a gimmick when introduced 3 years ago, my opinion has drastically changed. Now, certainly the Knicks winning their first title (whatever it's value in the eyes of the public is) since 1973 has a lot to do with it. But, watching these games & the intensity that players from all teams played with, showed the importance that all players put on winning the NBA Cup. I've already ordered both tees, the hat & a crew sweatshirt that's on Amazon, as this is certainly worth remembering! lol
Now Jon has reported the exploits of the various Knicks stars of the game succinctly, so I won't rehash. The one thing that did strike me after the game was that Yabusele saw zero minutes in a game where early on the need for some size was evident. I think it's obvious that he's going to be moved, as they signed him before they hired Brown & Brown doesn't feel he's a fit. Bey would be a great fit if Leon could swing it, so we'll see!
Now, don't celebrate like it's 1999 (apologies to Prince)! Instead, celebrate like it's 1970, 1973 or 2025! #LGK
I was also at that 1999 game—there to thank the Knicks for an improbable season and dream about what would come next. I never imagined "what comes next" would take over 26 years, ushering in an era of lousy basketball that seemed endless until the Prince that was Promised finally arrived.
I remember the 2018 draft vividly. I hoped the Knicks would acquire a second, lower first-round pick (I couldn't advocate for him at #8) to draft Jalen Brunson, the reigning College Player of the Year, finally solving our never-ending search for a point guard. When he dropped to the second round, I was certain the Knicks would find a way to acquire a pick to take him.
Finally, in the summer of 2022, the Knicks signed the Prince that was Promised. Jalen Brunson immediately went to work changing the culture of our team. While last night was not the culmination—we still need to win the NBA title—it was incredibly exciting to watch the Knicks raise a championship trophy. Like the old Holiday Festival days, this title, while not the "whole shebang," is still a title, and I will happily take it.
If they want to win the entire thing, the Knicks will still need to improve the bench, but we can discuss that tomorrow. Today, I am simply going to celebrate the champion New York Knicks.