The New York Knicks have just won their first NBA championship since 1973, ending the longest title drought in professional sports, and New York City and the internet are excited. But you don’t need to be a basketball fan to understand what happened. In fact, we’d argue that last night represents one of the best storybook endings in sports history, one that’s so good you’d think it was written.
Do you have doubts? Let’s hear it first.
The ‘Nova Knicks are winning big
Last night, three college best friends got together to repeat their 2016 NCAA March Madness on the biggest stage.
Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges were all teammates at Villanova University 10 years agowhere they helped defeat heavily favored North Carolina 77-74 in one of the most celebrated NCAA tournament games of all time.
And the friendship they formed a decade ago is the main reason for their incredible team chemistry today. and the only reason the Knicks have the roster they have now, is because it required team captain and certified superstar Jalen Brunson to take a $113 million salary cap hit in the summer of 2024 to make room for the extra.
Two years ago, NBA commentator/analyst Adrian Wojnarowski called the move “largely unprecedented,” but last night was a big success, as Brunson has been crowned King of New York, and he and his college buddies are now NBA champions.
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The Redemption of Karl Anthony Towns
It’s hard to think of an NBA star who has been maligned more than Karl Anthony Towns. Former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Jimmy Butler famously called him “soft” in 2018, and the insult has stuck ever since — until last night.
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Not only did KAT put up incredible numbers in this series, averaging 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, he did so while battling the toughest defense, guarding Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama, a 7’4 center with a silky-smooth jump shot and superhuman agility without calling him.
But it’s the behind-the-scenes drama, often overlooked by casual fans, that makes KAT’s win so meaningful. In 2020, his mother and biggest supporter died from complications of COVID-19. Unlike many famous athletes and celebrities, or famous men in general, Towns was very open about sharing his grief. In an emotional YouTube video titled “The Hardest Year of My Life,” he detailed his mother’s difficult upbringing, her unwavering support for him, and their pre-game routines, and in interview after the game after one game of the Finals, he talked about what he still meant to him: “I felt like I was seeing him in the stands. It felt like a certain presence that was very comforting and very loving and I felt like I could have fun here in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which is amazing because you would expect the pressure to be higher.
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From that great sadness, good things have emerged, including his engagement to longtime girlfriend Jordyn Woods.
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Instead of “soft,” the internet will now refer to NBA Champion Karl Anthony Towns, and that’s how it should be.
Brunson is burning his haters
If Jalen Brunson wasn’t popular before these NBA Finals, he certainly will be now. But before he entered the biggest stage of the game, he had to endure a lot of criticism. In fact, the 6’2″ point guard has been overlooked and overlooked for her entire playing career. In 2023, former WNBA star Becky Hammon dismissed her as too young to be a “1A” player on a winning team, and Stephen A. Smith, the NBA’s most famous speaker, explained her signing with the Knicksthere is nothing,” a catastrophic move that was never meant to go away.
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Not only did Brunson deliver New York’s first NBA title in more than half a century, but he also averaged 32.6 points, 4.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game, with 45 points in a close Game 5. on the roaden route to his Finals MVP win. And it gets even better: his father, Rick Brunson, a former Knicks player and current Knicks assistant coach, got to share the moment with him.
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Spike Lee Do the Right Thing cast union
For decades, the Los Angeles Lakers had A-list actor Jack Nicholson sitting courtside, cheering on the Showtime Lakers, the Shaq-Kobe three-peat, and the Kobe-Pau era, the full array of Lakerdom. In the entire NBA, only one celebrity has matched that level of dedication: Spike Lee.
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The famous director can be seen in the highlights of the Knicks from decades agobullying reps, mocking Reggie Miller (when he was a Pacer, not an analyst!), and generally showing support. But surprisingly, his biggest moment as a Knicks fan would not happen in Madison Square Garden, but in San Antonio, where he joined Giancarlo Esposito and John Turturro, the main actors of his new movie. Do the Right Thingcheer for the Knicks together.
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In retrospect, it’s only fitting that the film’s director should be the title Knicks fan, because there were enough stories here to make a movie about — maybe with the next Spike Lee?
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