With Jalen Brunson leading the Knicks, the Spurs didn’t stand a chance
Only Jalen Brunson could make the New York Knicks actually likeable. Only the diminutive guard brimming with a beautiful balance of confidence and humility could turn the Knicks into an alluring franchise after decades of futility, controversy, missed opportunities, bust free agent signings, and playoff failures.
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The Knicks went 53 years without a championship, bypassing multiple sports generations and with multiple loyal fans having passed away without seeing their beloved team enjoy the ultimate success.
Regardless of how much the San Antonio Spurs increased their lead in Game 5 Saturday at Front Bank Center, a Knicks comeback was inevitable, primarily because of their franchise guard, who put literally an entire franchise, city, fanbase, and culture on his back in the fourth quarter to lead New York to a 94-90 victory to clinch their first title since 1973.
Brunson scored 45 points, including 29 in the second half, as the Knicks stormed back from a 15-point deficit, three days after their record rally from a 29-point hole in Game 4. While the Spurs may have been the more athletic team or possessed the generational player in Victor Wembanyama, the Knicks were the more resilient team with more cohesion in the critical moments after years of experiencing playoff heartbreaks, including the past two years against the Indiana Pacers.
New York team president Leon Rose spent years constructing a team that could not only beat the Celtics but reach the league’s pinnacle. But not even the most steadfast Knicks fan could have envisioned Brunson evolving into an unstoppable scorer, a 6-foot-2 (on a good day) master of footwork and precision who uses every inch of the backboard, every crafty move, every head fake to convert his preferred shot.
He’s an unassuming assassin and the Spurs didn’t stand a chance in the fourth quarter after they were again unable to build on a double-digit lead because of their obsession with the 3-point shot and a putrid fourth-quarter shooting performance. Once Brunson sensed vulnerability, once he realized the Spurs were an immensely talented team that had not yet learned to win on the biggest stage, that the fundamental play is better than the spectacular play, and that poise and resilience outshine athleticism and youth every time, the Knicks prevailed.
So the 53-year drought is over. The Yankees and Giants have combined for 11 championships since 1973. And on the night the Knicks clinched the title in 1973 with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Bill “Spaceman” Lee tossed a complete game and Luis Aparicio scored two wins in the Red Sox 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians in front of 8,640 fans at Fenway Park. Eddie Kasko was Boston’s manager.
For the next five decades, the Knicks tried unsuccessfully to return to the mountain top, but the likes of Bob McAdoo, Bernard King, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Stephon Marbury, Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Jeremy Lin, Kristaps Porzingis, and Julius Randle couldn’t get them there, and the journey had its share of off-court issues, embarrassing moments and subpar head coaches.
But Rose took the calculated risk of firing the successful Tom Thibodeau after last season’s Eastern Conference Finals loss and after a rather public and futile search through big names, settled on the well-traveled Mike Brown, who had recently been fired by the Sacramento Kings.
It took Brown several months, but he was able to amass the Knicks’ considerable talent into a relentless winner. Brunson got the late buckets. Karl-Anthony Towns, maligned over the years for not being able to fill the void left by Kevin Garnett in Minnesota, found a fruitful role as a rebounder and physical defender. OG Anunoby became the prototypical two-way player, an unflappable presence capable of big plays in big moments.
The Knicks had been building up to this rise for the past few years, losing in the playoffs for three consecutive years in series they were favored. They appeared primed for a showdown with the Celtics in 2024, but were stunned by the Tyrese Haliburton-led Pacers in the conference semis. After dethroning the Celtics the next year, the Knicks lost to the Pacers and the ghost of Reggie Miller again, creating major doubt as to whether this group could ever be taken seriously as a contender.
Brunson spearheaded a 16-3 postseason run, including 15 wins in the past 16 games and four comeback wins in this series. The Spurs would jump out to big leads in each of these games, but the Knicks, behind the brilliance of Brunson, would chase down their prey every time.
The Knicks have legitimately been the butt of jokes for years. They searched for the successor to Walt Frazier as the King of New York, their version of Reggie Jackson or Derek Jeter, and their search was futile until they took a chance on a former second-round pick who had been disregarded by the Dallas Mavericks. Brunson arrived, transformed into one of the league’s most prolific scorers and steadiest leaders. For generations, the Knicks looked for their superstar in all the wrong places and finally found a player determined to prove himself and use the Knicks’ quest for respect and recognition as his vehicle.
A franchise that had been generally unlikeable over the years because of its propensity for arrogance, mismanagement, and embarrassing off-court issues are now the darlings of the NBA, a good bunch of guys led by a four-time fired head coach and an impeccable point guard drafted after the likes of Kevin Knox, Jerome Robinson, Dzanan Musa and Elie Okobo.
If it happened in any place besides New York, it would be a heart-warming story. But this title is an example that sometimes even the Goliaths deserve their respect and praise.
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