It took 53 years and 45 points from Jalen Brunson for the New York Knicks to win an NBA championship.
They beat the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals thanks to heroics by Brunson and his teammates. A ticker-tape parade is set for Thursday and hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers will celebrate in the streets.
The Knicks first title since 1973 goes way beyond basketball. The team united a city and bonded millions of strange bedfellows.
The cast of Knick supporters includes such diverse personalities as Donald Trump, Pope Leo, Spike Lee, Taylor Swift, Ben Stiller, actor Timothee’ Chalamet, Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Fallon, rapper Fat Joe and NY Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani happens to be a Democratic Socialist but that didn’t dent his Knicks’ kinship with Republican Trump. “Any of the political differences didn’t matter, because this team can bring people together,” Mamdani told radio station WFAN. “(Trump) and I are both New Yorkers and we both wanted to see the Knicks win a championship.”
Trump –who attended Game 3 in New York — praised the Knicks playoff run that saw the team win 16 games against only 3 losses. “…what incredible playoff wins we have all witnessed…Maybe the greatest in the history of basketball” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Spike Lee — a longtime Knick fan and movie director — earlier this year gave Pope Leo a team jersey. “The Pope went to Villanova…and the Knicks had three players from Villanova,” Lee told CNN. Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart all went to Villanova and were part of that Catholic university’s college championship team.
They, along with Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mitch Robinson, Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado, Miles McBride and Coach Mike Brown made the team’s long-suffering fans delirious with joy.
“This is everything I ever dreamed of,” Brunson told reporters after the 94-90 victory in game 5 to clinch the title. His 45 points in that game marked a team record for the playoffs.
Rick Brunson – Jalen’s father and a former Knick – is an assistant coach for the team. After the final buzzer, the two embraced through tears, “after I saw him, I got emotional,” Jalen said.
The most memorable playoff moment against the Spurs came in Game 4. The Spurs led by 29 points at one time, but the Knicks had a furious rally.
Then, in the final seconds – with the Knicks trailing 106-105 — Brunson missed a long 3-point shot.
OG Anunoby raced in toward the basket to tip in the ball with 1.2 seconds to play. The Knicks pulled out the improbable victory, 107-106.
A personal reflection:
I’ve been a life-long Knicks fan. I remember in 1973 watching the team win the title on a small black and white television set. I still have reverence for those players: Willis Reed, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Earl Monroe, Jerry Lucas and Phil Jackson.
But the past 50 years have seen playoff heartbreak and mediocre basketball for New York. It all started to change four years ago when the Knicks signed Jalen Brunson.
Sometimes, it’s hard to explain the ties that bind a person to a sports team. You want the team to win, but the frustration builds with every loss. Especially close defeats in playoff games (I’m also a Buffalo Bills fan).
But you’ve got to keep believing, because your team is like your family, and despite frustrations, you can’t give up on them.
“The emotion of caring is an amazing thing,” said Mike Breen, the NBA and Knicks announcer told ESPN. “It hurts so bad when they lose, but when they win, the joy is overwhelming.”
New York is a tough place to live. But in the past week, Breen noted, fans – despite some minor violent incidents — have been hugging each other and sharing a renewed spirit of community thanks to the Knicks. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets the night the Knicks won the title.
Breen is a native New Yorker, but said he’s never seen anything like it, adding “sports is the great unifier.”
Mayor Mamdani put it this way in a statement: “This city never stopped believing in the Knicks. And this team fulfilled that hope with grit, resilience and heart…”
It’s a lesson that goes beyond New York and to a deeply divided country. Faith and unity can overcome any obstacle.
Karl-Anthony Towns told reporters despite all the obstacles and criticism; the Knicks were working on “God’s time. I stayed faithful and I kept believing. I was ready for the blessing.”
As Knicks fans like to say: Go New York Go.
Tony Violanti writes about entertainment and sports for Villages-News.com.