I heard the full team is gonna be on Jimmy Fallon tonight, with the Wu-Tang Clan performing. Not sure that’s gonna help make it real, but it’s certainly gonna be entertaining.
Once again, thank you JM for everything this season!!!
Had to subscribe after this magical run. Looking forward to reading about the knicks all summer! KFS is my goto spot, I found you after the KAT trade and so happy I did.
Welcome Jonathan! You will not be disappointed. Like Brunson and this Knicks team, Jonathan Macri and the community have as much to offer the intellectual experience of fandom as they do to the raw emotion of it all.
Good day to decompress. Jalen deserves to be in the company that you mentioned but frankly records are made to be broken so my fullest overwhelming love and joy for Frazier and Reed has now been replaced by Brunson. A man for all ages. The forever man.
I haven’t forgotten Clyde, The Captain, Dollar Bill, Barnett, Dave DeB, Dave Stallworth, Cazzie, Mike Riordan, and even Nat Bowman. You and Ken Tim and DBN123 haven’t either. They were a great team that was talented, skilled, and-tenacious. They played with hyper intelligence both on offense and defense ( see the ball - hit the open man). I saw them develop from the League doormat to Here comes Willis. I loved that team. It’s a part of who I am.
However we just witnessed a short non athlete, put 15 guys on his back and have the single greatest playoff run ever. How can you not honor what he accomplished. John, years from now they will a championship ( not the next one which I hope to see ). I means years from now. Do you think you won’t recall JB? Do you think you’ll forget OGs unreal game 4 or his incredible contributions throughout the Run? Or KAT battling the Giant?
Both teams were/are great. This teams stars gleam as bright ( not more not less ) as the old. Let’s celebrate our love for the Knicks and the gift we just received.
Then after awhile we can get into THE SECOND APON.
I wouldn’t call Brunson a non-athlete. He may not jump high or have a high top running speed, but his stop-start quickness, fine motor control, endurance and ability to play in pain are all elite.
Totally agree. Any of us should be that type of athlete respectfully Martin he is not a non-athlete. Certainly going by Wemby leaving him flat footed shows some athleticism
They will never be surpassed as a memory but for once I'm gonna try and live in the present and still save this team as my affection even more than than the Clyde Willis teams
Exhilarating, now and forever. Everything else seems to fall short in comparison to this Knicks championship season. Winning the NBA cup and the NBA championship in the same season is great in and of itself but to beat the Spurs in both is the icing on the cake. Looking at this historical playoff run that the Knicks just had puts this championship above all the rest in my opinion.
The Rangers drought was actually longer (1940-94) but it was hockey, which I like but not to the same level as the other three team sports. But I have had that same sense of elation for lots of NY champs. The 1977 and 1978 Yankees and 1996 (1998 was more of a sense of relief not to blemish the regular season). If I really liked the Mets I would bet the Miracle Mets of 1969 would have elicited the same elation. Giants super Bowls particularly against the Patriots. The 1970 Knicks. I have had lots of highs (and certainly lows too). But what I will say is that the 70-73 Knicks and this version were the most likable of those teams and I think one reason is the nature of the sport. You need great players, but teams win. And this was a team.
The one thing about the Knicks is they are the sole basketball team that is a NY team, the nets don’t count. While the Rangers are in that boat, NY isn’t a hockey town as much as it’s a basketball town
The miracle mets of 69 was more of an improbable run, but the team had only existed for 7 years! The 86 championship after years of mediocre to embarrassingly futile teams may be a better Mets analog, but it was only 17 years, not 53!
Also, Keith Hernandez may be a good Mets analog for Brunson. Not particularly fast or powerful, but did things at 1st base no one had ever done, and the smartest, most competitive hitter I’ve ever seen.
The 10-0 personal run to tie it is what stopped my scrolling. I knew he dominated the 4th and he brought them back of course, but somehow i didn’t process he was literally the only person to score. Unreal.
My friend has a mini-plan in the 100s, in the same row where the Brunson family used to sit. The first time I met Sandra was a few months into JB’s first season. I told her that I thought Jalen was going to bring a championship to New York and he would be the most revered athlete in this city since Derek Jeter. What’s struck me is how she just nodded, like I hadn’t said anything special, I’d just acknowledged what they already knew. We are there now. There are, presumably, many more chapters of the Jalen Brunson saga yet to be written, and he has already secured his spot in the pantheon of all-time beloved NY greats: Namath, Reed, Frazier, LT, Messier, Lundqvist, Jeter, Reggie, Yogi. Can he crack that upper echelon of greatest in the sport (Mays, Robinson, Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio)? He’s still got a of ball left to play, and I for one am done putting ceilings on what this man is capable of achieving.
Congrats to the entire KFS family You guys are the upper echelon of NYC fandom.
As a teacher just beginning my summer break, one of the things I'm most looking forward to is rewatching the entire playoff run. I want to soak it up, but, really, I want to once again witness what Brunson just accomplished. He didn't have a moment like OG's in Game 4 (or, frankly, like last year's Game 6 shot against the Pistons), but he hit so many extraordinary - and big - shots when we needed them most.
For the last two months, he was the best player in the entire league. And while this championship is about how the team emerged and flourished, how it finally found its magic, it all starts with JB.
Can keep finding more and more stats on Brunson’s greatness. The clutchest player since MJ. His determination to win is a quality that few people possess. He is our forever hero, a name that will span generations of NYK fans, and for that reason, this team and this championship will go down as the greatest in the City of New York. Basketball is in our blood, and no team controls the 5 boroughs like the Knicks. Combine that with a 1A SUPERSTAR who embodies the qualities of the City with both his play and character, and I think Jalen Brunson will go down as the greatest NY athlete ever (I am also a Knicks, Mets, Jets, Rangers fan). He led what made what felt impossible for decades a reality. His tears after the game were flowing from Long Island to Westchester to Bergen County and all through NYC. What a man. What a team. What a run. We are the champions.
Brunson’s will to win is the #1 reason the unimaginable NBA title is ours! It is truly reminiscent of Jordan and Kobe. Something we Knick fans saw clearly, but most of the media was slow to pick up on and the Vegas odds makers completely missed.
There was a certain inevitability to beating the Spurs, winning these 4th quarters in spite of 10 point deficits, all of the 20 point comebacks, the 15-1 playoff run, and ultimately the Knicks first NBA Title in 53 years.
I love the comparisons to Mariano and Jeter and the 8 Playoff series wins which tell us more than NBA stats that have been inflated by the 14 second shot clock reset and 3pt shot frequency.
Brunson always finds a way to score moving side to side, often fading away or landing on floor. Given his size and athleticism JB’s will to win tops them all.
Excellent point about the 14 second reset and 3pt frequency.
I never really pay too much attention to point totals unless they have shot attempts attached. A high point total does indicate a lack of fear and willingness to put the team on one’s back. But it can also mean a lack of trust in teammates.
That can be ascertained by whether the game was won or not!
In Game 5 it was Brunson scoring 45 points on 14-27, 4-7 on 3FG and +10, Bridges scoring 14 on 5-10, 3-7 on 3FG and +6, and Hart scoring 11 on 4-11, 3-6 on 3FG and a game high +15. The rest of the team scored 24 points on 8-49 or 16% and 2-17 or 12% on 3FG.
The championship pedigree of the 3 Nova Knicks led by JB that got us over the top.
J-Mac! When he came out of college I was hoping we could get him because I felt he might one day become a solid NBA PG that could distribute the ball and he had a winners mentality. When the Knicks signed him, I hoped the playoffs weren't a mirage, but thought if they're not, we were getting a good starting PG! Even Jalen admitted after the victory in one of the interviews with Rick, that he didn't know he could be this good! But again he stated that he was taught the value of hard work by his parents and he truly believed that as long as he continued to work on his craft, that anything was possible! All of his traits make him the ultimate leader. Each year the league crowns someone else as the new face of the NBA. I'm here to tell you, there's no need to crown Wemby or anyone else. We already have a new face of the league, and his name is Jalen Brunson!
Jalen Brunson , OG and the rest are in the same conversation _ the 69 and 73 Knicks, Mantle, Maris, Ruth, Gerhig, Namath, Yogi, Mariano, Jeter, Reggie, Dimaggio, WFord, Thurman, Lou etc etc- The 2026 Knicks are not yet The Yankee 26 &98 teams. But very close to the 78 team.
The 94 Rangers were the best team in hockey all season long and while the curse was similar the Rangers were favorites in every series and heavy favorites in the finals.
The 98 Yankees were very possibly the best baseball team ever assembled. That core won four titles in five years. We had season tickets from 81 until 99 and I can affirm that the 98 Yankees were ungodly great. Like unstoppable behemoth great.
The Knicks run through the playoffs was very similar to the 98 Yankees run through the playoffs but the Yankees won more regular season games than any team in history before those playoffs and a failure to win the title would have been a scandal.
The unique combination of high expectations, horrible crushing pressure and consistent underdog status makes this Knicks team unlike any other.
It doesn't fit the Giants either because the Giants didn't have the weight on them.
This is the most magical team in city history but it can't be the best. Nobody ever crashed out wanting someone to blow up the 98 Yankees.
Such a weird team. On paper a 60+ win team but a little snake bit until it all came together.
Only the Knicks can galvanize the entire City like they did. And for sheer drama, basketball easily tops the other major sports!
As a kid I saw my 1st Yankees game in 1963 and my hero, Mickey Mantle. NY was a baseball town then and having multiple teams meant not everyone was a fan of one team.
Growing up on LI ( born in Queens) I was proud to watch the Islanders win 4 Cups in a row, and was witness to that 4th Cup clinching game. What a team! But the city barely knew them.
Basketball became my true love and my favorite player early on was Pistol Pete! But I became a Knicks fan at that time and what an era it was with those 2 Championships!
The long wait is over and I can’t believe how satisfying it is to have followed this team for all of these years, and for this group of very likable players and HC to deliver the Championship back to this City!
Thanks Jon and this community… it has been a joy to read your column and also all of these years many comments from the members!!
Amen. We might miss it in the moment, but we are lucky enough to be witnessing one of the truly transcendent careers in NBA history. I say this without an ounce of hyperbole.
The pantheon exists because the greats needed a temple.
The Greeks imagined Elysium because they needed a place where heroes could find eternal bliss.
The authors of the Old Testament gave us the Garden of Eden so humanity could glimpse perfection.
For centuries, civilizations have searched for ways to describe greatness beyond words. And now we know what they were reaching for.
Because we have Jalen Brunson.
He of the calm heartbeat and impossible footwork.
He who walks into chaos and leaves with order.
He who treats double-teams as mild inconveniences and fourth quarters as personal invitations.
The ancients had myths.
We have No. 11.
Another myth to add to the pantheon
Very nice!
I’m wondering when this all will sink in…
Still doesn’t feel real…
I heard the full team is gonna be on Jimmy Fallon tonight, with the Wu-Tang Clan performing. Not sure that’s gonna help make it real, but it’s certainly gonna be entertaining.
Once again, thank you JM for everything this season!!!
The Knicks will indeed be on the tonight show! At 11:35.
Will Huk be sober or henny’d?
Will any of them be sober?
OG on Good Morning America had the same vibe I had at end of Game 5 … mine was shock though 😆
Had to subscribe after this magical run. Looking forward to reading about the knicks all summer! KFS is my goto spot, I found you after the KAT trade and so happy I did.
Welcome Jonathan! You will not be disappointed. Like Brunson and this Knicks team, Jonathan Macri and the community have as much to offer the intellectual experience of fandom as they do to the raw emotion of it all.
Good day to decompress. Jalen deserves to be in the company that you mentioned but frankly records are made to be broken so my fullest overwhelming love and joy for Frazier and Reed has now been replaced by Brunson. A man for all ages. The forever man.
I haven’t forgotten Clyde, The Captain, Dollar Bill, Barnett, Dave DeB, Dave Stallworth, Cazzie, Mike Riordan, and even Nat Bowman. You and Ken Tim and DBN123 haven’t either. They were a great team that was talented, skilled, and-tenacious. They played with hyper intelligence both on offense and defense ( see the ball - hit the open man). I saw them develop from the League doormat to Here comes Willis. I loved that team. It’s a part of who I am.
However we just witnessed a short non athlete, put 15 guys on his back and have the single greatest playoff run ever. How can you not honor what he accomplished. John, years from now they will a championship ( not the next one which I hope to see ). I means years from now. Do you think you won’t recall JB? Do you think you’ll forget OGs unreal game 4 or his incredible contributions throughout the Run? Or KAT battling the Giant?
Both teams were/are great. This teams stars gleam as bright ( not more not less ) as the old. Let’s celebrate our love for the Knicks and the gift we just received.
Then after awhile we can get into THE SECOND APON.
I wouldn’t call Brunson a non-athlete. He may not jump high or have a high top running speed, but his stop-start quickness, fine motor control, endurance and ability to play in pain are all elite.
You’re correct in a sense. Is his craftiness a mind or body phenomenon. Whatever the answer, boy does he possess it
Totally agree. Any of us should be that type of athlete respectfully Martin he is not a non-athlete. Certainly going by Wemby leaving him flat footed shows some athleticism
And as he has said himself, he is an elite below-the-rim protector.
They will never be surpassed as a memory but for once I'm gonna try and live in the present and still save this team as my affection even more than than the Clyde Willis teams
Exhilarating, now and forever. Everything else seems to fall short in comparison to this Knicks championship season. Winning the NBA cup and the NBA championship in the same season is great in and of itself but to beat the Spurs in both is the icing on the cake. Looking at this historical playoff run that the Knicks just had puts this championship above all the rest in my opinion.
This title has to be bigger than all the ones listed. The title drought the Knicks had and how long of a joke the organization has been
The Rangers drought was actually longer (1940-94) but it was hockey, which I like but not to the same level as the other three team sports. But I have had that same sense of elation for lots of NY champs. The 1977 and 1978 Yankees and 1996 (1998 was more of a sense of relief not to blemish the regular season). If I really liked the Mets I would bet the Miracle Mets of 1969 would have elicited the same elation. Giants super Bowls particularly against the Patriots. The 1970 Knicks. I have had lots of highs (and certainly lows too). But what I will say is that the 70-73 Knicks and this version were the most likable of those teams and I think one reason is the nature of the sport. You need great players, but teams win. And this was a team.
The one thing about the Knicks is they are the sole basketball team that is a NY team, the nets don’t count. While the Rangers are in that boat, NY isn’t a hockey town as much as it’s a basketball town
Agreed. I follow hockey but it is a clear fourth place finisher interest wise.
The miracle mets of 69 was more of an improbable run, but the team had only existed for 7 years! The 86 championship after years of mediocre to embarrassingly futile teams may be a better Mets analog, but it was only 17 years, not 53!
Also, Keith Hernandez may be a good Mets analog for Brunson. Not particularly fast or powerful, but did things at 1st base no one had ever done, and the smartest, most competitive hitter I’ve ever seen.
A football analogue might be Peyton Manning.
The 10-0 personal run to tie it is what stopped my scrolling. I knew he dominated the 4th and he brought them back of course, but somehow i didn’t process he was literally the only person to score. Unreal.
My friend has a mini-plan in the 100s, in the same row where the Brunson family used to sit. The first time I met Sandra was a few months into JB’s first season. I told her that I thought Jalen was going to bring a championship to New York and he would be the most revered athlete in this city since Derek Jeter. What’s struck me is how she just nodded, like I hadn’t said anything special, I’d just acknowledged what they already knew. We are there now. There are, presumably, many more chapters of the Jalen Brunson saga yet to be written, and he has already secured his spot in the pantheon of all-time beloved NY greats: Namath, Reed, Frazier, LT, Messier, Lundqvist, Jeter, Reggie, Yogi. Can he crack that upper echelon of greatest in the sport (Mays, Robinson, Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio)? He’s still got a of ball left to play, and I for one am done putting ceilings on what this man is capable of achieving.
Congrats to the entire KFS family You guys are the upper echelon of NYC fandom.
As a teacher just beginning my summer break, one of the things I'm most looking forward to is rewatching the entire playoff run. I want to soak it up, but, really, I want to once again witness what Brunson just accomplished. He didn't have a moment like OG's in Game 4 (or, frankly, like last year's Game 6 shot against the Pistons), but he hit so many extraordinary - and big - shots when we needed them most.
For the last two months, he was the best player in the entire league. And while this championship is about how the team emerged and flourished, how it finally found its magic, it all starts with JB.
A player like JB is only one part of what makes a championship team. But it might be the hardest part to find.
Can keep finding more and more stats on Brunson’s greatness. The clutchest player since MJ. His determination to win is a quality that few people possess. He is our forever hero, a name that will span generations of NYK fans, and for that reason, this team and this championship will go down as the greatest in the City of New York. Basketball is in our blood, and no team controls the 5 boroughs like the Knicks. Combine that with a 1A SUPERSTAR who embodies the qualities of the City with both his play and character, and I think Jalen Brunson will go down as the greatest NY athlete ever (I am also a Knicks, Mets, Jets, Rangers fan). He led what made what felt impossible for decades a reality. His tears after the game were flowing from Long Island to Westchester to Bergen County and all through NYC. What a man. What a team. What a run. We are the champions.
Love this and completely agree.
Brunson’s will to win is the #1 reason the unimaginable NBA title is ours! It is truly reminiscent of Jordan and Kobe. Something we Knick fans saw clearly, but most of the media was slow to pick up on and the Vegas odds makers completely missed.
There was a certain inevitability to beating the Spurs, winning these 4th quarters in spite of 10 point deficits, all of the 20 point comebacks, the 15-1 playoff run, and ultimately the Knicks first NBA Title in 53 years.
I love the comparisons to Mariano and Jeter and the 8 Playoff series wins which tell us more than NBA stats that have been inflated by the 14 second shot clock reset and 3pt shot frequency.
Brunson always finds a way to score moving side to side, often fading away or landing on floor. Given his size and athleticism JB’s will to win tops them all.
Go NY, Go NY, Go
🏀🏀🏀
Excellent point about the 14 second reset and 3pt frequency.
I never really pay too much attention to point totals unless they have shot attempts attached. A high point total does indicate a lack of fear and willingness to put the team on one’s back. But it can also mean a lack of trust in teammates.
That can be ascertained by whether the game was won or not!
In Game 5 it was Brunson scoring 45 points on 14-27, 4-7 on 3FG and +10, Bridges scoring 14 on 5-10, 3-7 on 3FG and +6, and Hart scoring 11 on 4-11, 3-6 on 3FG and a game high +15. The rest of the team scored 24 points on 8-49 or 16% and 2-17 or 12% on 3FG.
The championship pedigree of the 3 Nova Knicks led by JB that got us over the top.
Time for a parade!
J-Mac! When he came out of college I was hoping we could get him because I felt he might one day become a solid NBA PG that could distribute the ball and he had a winners mentality. When the Knicks signed him, I hoped the playoffs weren't a mirage, but thought if they're not, we were getting a good starting PG! Even Jalen admitted after the victory in one of the interviews with Rick, that he didn't know he could be this good! But again he stated that he was taught the value of hard work by his parents and he truly believed that as long as he continued to work on his craft, that anything was possible! All of his traits make him the ultimate leader. Each year the league crowns someone else as the new face of the NBA. I'm here to tell you, there's no need to crown Wemby or anyone else. We already have a new face of the league, and his name is Jalen Brunson!
Jalen Brunson , OG and the rest are in the same conversation _ the 69 and 73 Knicks, Mantle, Maris, Ruth, Gerhig, Namath, Yogi, Mariano, Jeter, Reggie, Dimaggio, WFord, Thurman, Lou etc etc- The 2026 Knicks are not yet The Yankee 26 &98 teams. But very close to the 78 team.
The 94 Rangers were the best team in hockey all season long and while the curse was similar the Rangers were favorites in every series and heavy favorites in the finals.
The 98 Yankees were very possibly the best baseball team ever assembled. That core won four titles in five years. We had season tickets from 81 until 99 and I can affirm that the 98 Yankees were ungodly great. Like unstoppable behemoth great.
The Knicks run through the playoffs was very similar to the 98 Yankees run through the playoffs but the Yankees won more regular season games than any team in history before those playoffs and a failure to win the title would have been a scandal.
The unique combination of high expectations, horrible crushing pressure and consistent underdog status makes this Knicks team unlike any other.
It doesn't fit the Giants either because the Giants didn't have the weight on them.
This is the most magical team in city history but it can't be the best. Nobody ever crashed out wanting someone to blow up the 98 Yankees.
Such a weird team. On paper a 60+ win team but a little snake bit until it all came together.
There's never been anything quite like it.
Only the Knicks can galvanize the entire City like they did. And for sheer drama, basketball easily tops the other major sports!
As a kid I saw my 1st Yankees game in 1963 and my hero, Mickey Mantle. NY was a baseball town then and having multiple teams meant not everyone was a fan of one team.
Growing up on LI ( born in Queens) I was proud to watch the Islanders win 4 Cups in a row, and was witness to that 4th Cup clinching game. What a team! But the city barely knew them.
Basketball became my true love and my favorite player early on was Pistol Pete! But I became a Knicks fan at that time and what an era it was with those 2 Championships!
The long wait is over and I can’t believe how satisfying it is to have followed this team for all of these years, and for this group of very likable players and HC to deliver the Championship back to this City!
Thanks Jon and this community… it has been a joy to read your column and also all of these years many comments from the members!!
Amen. We might miss it in the moment, but we are lucky enough to be witnessing one of the truly transcendent careers in NBA history. I say this without an ounce of hyperbole.