= Oh to have been in the city on Saturday Night - even in Hoboken. That celebration was going to be insane any day of the week, but make it Saturday Night, with no one having to work the next day, and a city that has a 4am last call anyways, and you were going to get something special, but in the end also so wholesome as well. The impromptu crowds singing Empire State of Mind, or the Fuck Trae Young chants, to so much else. That was the biggest party New York has seen in decades.
= The only two things I was kidn of there for was the Yankees 2009 World Series win, which was a huge celebration too in the city, and of course the day Osama Bin Laden was killed, which started around a similar time of day (11pm) but of couse was a Sunday, and somehow just as fun. Then again, I was in college at NYU for both of those things. The Knicks thing wasn't just drunk 18-22 year olds, but reveling 15-65 years old.
= As for the game (I'll get back to teh New York thing latter - this is going to be in random order throughout), it is just amazing how the script played the same each time. We talk a lot about teh Spurs blown leads, and they did blow leads of 15 or more in three different second halves (Games 1, 4, 5), but whats crazy is in every single game they led by 10+ in the first quarter itself. The Knicks couldn't start strong the entire series. Other than Game 4, which of course the Knicks still did win, the Knicks chased down that first quarter lead by halftime, then saw the Spurs go up big again, and just do it again. Hell, even in Game 3, the Knicks recovered to lead by seven at halftime, only to see the Spurs comeback in that one. I don't know why the Knicks couldn't start well, but their ability to chase the Spurs down became comical.
= The last point also ties into this one, that the whole "The Spurs led for 72% of the series" thing is well overblown. I mean, factually that is true, but also a factor of the Spurs getting the big lead each game. Basically, the Spurs massively won the collective five first quarters, but the Knicks won the other three quarters collectively - so you can as easily say that the Knicks won 75% of the quarters over the series. The Knicks just shat the bad at the beginning, but by the second quarter on, they were nails.
= At some point, I'll write a whole piece on the magical brew that is Jalen Brunson, King of New York, but a quick hit-list of the other guys who made this team so fun to watch, so easy to root for (again, this is true for the general public despite this being NEW YORK).
= From Karl-Anthony Towns who fought so many soft allegations, raising his game to outplay Wemby through two games, all the time giving love to his mother up in heaven who tragically died of Covid in 2020 (among a few people in KAT's family that he lost).
= To OG Anunoby, who couldn't play during the 2019 Finals due to Appendicitis, and then gutted out on one leg in Game 7 two years ago against Indiana, to the injury scare against the Hawks, but making it out healthy and humming in this series, a person who was a conceivable Finals MVP candidate.
= To Mikal Bridges, who will never have to hear the fact that he was traded for five first round picks, No one will care about that, even if we already shouldn't given where those picks have ended. Bridges sacrificed a lot of personal stats taking the role he has (well compensated to do so, of course), and made it work.
= To Mitchell Robinson, who of course is now well known as the longest tenured Knick, a crowd favorite despite his horrendous free throw shooting. One of the gerat moments in the series was when he somehow hit both of this free throws on a trip in Game 3, one of the loudest moments in the garden.
= I could go on - from glue guy Landry Shamet, to three-ball man Deuce McBride who had some huge moments in prior series, to Jordan Clarkson who didn't play much in the playoffs but had big moments throughout the season, to Josh Hart being the best small man rebounder I've ever seen. The Knicks were likeable, underdogs and just fit together like glue
= On the otehr side, a quick couple notes about the Spurs - first on Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle, who will only get better, and will make a great, championship level starting backcourt once they decide to bench or trade D'Aaron Fox. Harper plays so smooth for a 20-year old; he was arguably the Spurs best player in a lot of the series (or at least made it a closer discussion than it should have been with Wemby). Castle is an impossible cool, boss-like player. If he ever develops a jump shot, the league may true and well be cooked.
= Let's get to Wemby, who in the end had a good series, and a magnificent playoffs, and will likely win an MVP over the next couiple years, and almost certainly a Finals at some point in his life, but this finals was a black mark for him. There's him tiring out in many games by the second half. There's his continued weirdly physical outbursts and borderline dirty play. There's the quick exit from the court without shaking anyone's hand (which I'm shocked isn't getting more airtime). Then there's the times he got caught in the moment, the quick, unneeded shot in Game 2 which came before the turnover and foul on the pass. There's the missed free throws in Game 4 and a couple more in Game 5. This was not a good series for Wemby, but one he can absolutely learn from. He probably will, but there is a bit of Icarus there for him this year.
= On Fox, yeah, he was a disaster for much of the series. Especially in Game 5, where it was ridiculous that not only Mitch Johnson left him out there so long, but that he was such a prominent part of the play calling. But let's not forget as the Spurs were close to blowing Game 3, Fox had the biggest shot of the game to put the Knicks away for good. He was a key part of their one win. He was also good in teh Western Conference Finals. It seems clear Harper will overtake him, but I think we are all kicking a man too much when he's down.
= Anyway, back to funner topics, namely - Mike Brown. I, like most, found the move to fire Tom Thibodeau a bit rash last year, given he took the Knicks further than they've gone in 25 years. But Mike Brown is a better coach for this group, and maybe just a better coach period. Now, it is hilarious to remember the Knicks trying to pry away like six other people first, but they landed eventually on the perfect person.
= It will never not be funny that the Knicks finished the playoffs 15-1, and the one game they lost is the one that Trump decided to come to. In the end, stories from the game did make the added security measures seem a bit overblown in how much trouble they gave people, and it seems the city was anyways going towards a little more enhanced security around MSG anyway, but still - Trump chose a reason to insert himself in a cool trend and just killed it, fell asleep and then nicely fucked off for the next two games where the Knicks went back to winning. I 100% believe it was karma that this was the game the Knicks lost.
= I still can't believe that 16-3 run, or more aptly the 15-1 finish. We can say whatever we want aroudn level of opponent, but the Spurs are a great team and the Knicks turned them away in five. Sure, five close games, but their clutch time play is one of the bigger edges the Knicks have - an edge they rarely needed for the prior eleven games given how dominant they were. I will never get over them running train for 11 games with the best point differential over an 11-game span in NBA history. It was mesmerizing to watch.
= What I love most about this Knicks title is that we aren't immediately crowning them as an impending dynasty - probably a first for a winner since the 2022 Warriors, because they already were one. It happened in 2021 with the Bucks, 2023 with the Nuggets, 2024 with teh Celtics and of course last year with the Thunder. It would've happened had the Sprus won. But this time we can just enjoy this, I don't think even Knicks fans will really see themselves as the favorite next year, and I don't think Knicks fans care. This team was perfect for this year. Granted, I can easily see them getting back to the Finals, but they were healthy, all in their primes (some at the later stages of that prime) and it just worked - much like the 2021 Bucks (who looking back were a far older team than we realized) or most notably the 2011 Mavs (granted, the Knicks aren't that old). Just a perfect team.
= Back to the New York thing to wrap this up. I think its overstated that there are more Knicks fans than Giants fans or Yankees fans (definitely at the end of the day, football is just more popular than basketball) but it is definitely true that the Nets don't even register. There is one basketball team. There is no vocal minority of basketball fans mad that their cross town rivals won. That allows for this all-timer type of party - a bueatiful weather on a Saturday, Summer night helps (vs when the Giants beat the Pats). And of course, the 53-years - which I forget what podcast it was who made teh graet point that while 53 is not 86 (Red Sox), realistically, it's basically the asme - a vast majority of Knicks fans have never seen their team win. It all came out over these last two months and more specifically last two weeks. I couldn't help like and bookmark tweet after tweet about the incredible scenes. I will cherish those forever to see my city, the world's best city (yes, I mean that) having such a good time.
= It did get me thinking what is the next example of this we can see - where a metropolis explodes in such unbridled exuberance. Now, I'm not thinking about say Buffalo if the Bills were to win, because it is too small (granted, the scenes will be amazing!). I'm also not thinking of say Philadelphia fans who will burn that city even if the Eagles win now their third - but Philly was probably our msot recent example of a team winning a long awaited title with teh Eagles first win - and of course Chicago with the Cubs and Boston with the Red Sox previously. I have two specific answers: one is Chicago with the Bears. I still say Chicago is a football town above all else and it has been now 41 years since 1985, with only a few close calls since. That city will go insane if the Bears win a Super Bowl. And the final one is probably the closest analogue to the Knicks - what will the scenes be in Toronto if the Leafs ever do win the Cup. It's up to 60 years next year (1967). It is the sport Toronto cares about the most. Hockey is to Toronto what Basketball is to New York City. It will be the best thing in the six if it happens, and even though I have no affinity to them, in the spirit of how amazing this Knicks run was, I'm now fuily behind wanting to see the Leafs win a cup (and honestly, all Canadian hockey teams are eligible for this at this point). That's probably the best way to end this - wanting more to see that level of civic celebration again.
