Gonzalo
The New York Knicks are NBA champions for the first time since 1973. Let that sink in. Fifty-three years. Three generations of Knicks fans who lived and died with this team, who watched heartbreak after heartbreak, who never stopped believing even when belief felt completely irrational. Last night in San Antonio, it was all worth it.
Jalen Brunson dropped 45 points in Game 5 to close out the San Antonio Spurs and bring the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to New York. Forty-five points. In a Finals closeout game. On the road. The man is not human.
The Most Clutch Finals in NBA History
The Spurs won the first quarter of all five games by a combined 57 points. They led by double digits in every single game the Knicks won. In Game 4, San Antonio were up by 29 points at halftime. Twenty-nine points. Most teams would have packed their bags. The Knicks came back to win 107-106 in what is now the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history.
The numbers from this Finals are staggering. Every single game was within five points in the final five minutes. All five games were within three points in the last two minutes. It is the only Finals series in 30 years of recorded play-by-play data where that happened. This was not just a championship, it was a five-game heart attack that nobody wanted to end.
The Knicks finished these playoffs with a 6-2 record in games where they trailed by double digits. Six and two. In games where they were getting blown out. That is not luck. That is character.
The Man Who Carried New York
Jalen Brunson was always good. But this playoffs, he became something else entirely. His 45 points in Game 5 set a new Knicks Finals record, and he was awarded the Bill Russell Trophy as Finals MVP. But beyond the numbers, what stood out was the calm. When the Knicks were down, Brunson never flinched. He just kept playing, kept making the right pass, kept finding the shot when it mattered most. New York has had big personalities over the years. Brunson is different. He is quiet, he is focused, and he is a champion.
Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart deserve enormous credit too. Bridges faced criticism all season long for whether the package of picks and players the Knicks gave up to acquire him was worth it. Last night those conversations ended. Hart, the heart and soul of this team, played his role to perfection throughout. Brunson, Bridges and Hart are now the first trio of teammates to win both an NCAA title and an NBA championship together. That kind of bond does not just show up in stats. You feel it watching them play.
Karl-Anthony Towns was the other piece that made this work. The trade that brought him to New York raised eyebrows at the time. Right now it looks like one of the best moves in franchise history.
What This Means for New York
Owner James Dolan went on radio in January during a 2-9 stretch and said, and we are not making this up, that the Knicks not only had to get to the Finals but should win it. The whole basketball world laughed. Dolan gets the last laugh.
Madison Square Garden is the most famous arena in sports. The Knicks are its heartbeat. But for 53 years that heartbeat was faint. Last night it roared. The ticker-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes is set for Sunday right here in New York City, and if you thought last night was loud, wait until millions of Knicks fans line the streets of Manhattan.