The New York Knicks just won their first NBA championship since 1973, ending the longest drought in professional sports, and both New York City and the Internet erupted in reaction. But you don’t need to be a basketball fan to appreciate what just happened. In fact, we’d argue that last night represented one of the best storybook endings in sports history, the most graphic thing you’d imagine ever written.
Do you doubt? We heard first.
The ‘Nova Knicks are winning big
Last night, three best friends from college got together to relive their unexpected 2016 NCAA March Madness on an even bigger stage.
Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges were all teammates at Villanova University 10 years agowhere they helped defeat a heavily favored North Carolina team 77-74 in one of the most revered NCAA tournament games of all time.
And the friendship they built over the past ten years at the same time is a big reason for their amazing team chemistry today. again The only reason the Knicks have the roster they have right now is because it required team captain and proven star Jalen Brunson to pick up a $113 million payday in the summer of 2024 to make the necessary cap space.
Two years ago, NBA analyst/savant Adrian Wojnarowski called that move “very unprecedented,” but last night had a big payoff, as Brunson was crowned the 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 a more unfairly maligned NBA star than Karl Anthony Towns. Former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Jimmy Butler called him a “softie” back in 2018, and the insult has stuck ever since — until last night.
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Not only did KAT put up good numbers throughout the series, averaging over 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, he did it while maintaining a solid defensive game, guarding Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, a 7’4″ center with a silky-smooth jump shot and superhuman agility for a “personal” reason.
But it’s the behind-the-scenes drama, often overlooked by casual fans, that makes KAT’s victory meaningful. In 2020, his mother is his biggest supporter overcome complications from COVID-19. Unlike many famous athletes and celebrities, or famous men in general, Towns has been extremely open about sharing his grief. In a touching YouTube video titled “The Hardest Year of My Life,” he elaborated on his mother’s tough upbringing, her unwavering support, and their pregame rituals, and post-game interview after one of the finals, he talked about what he still said to him: “I felt like I saw him on the court. It felt like a 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 very strange because you can expect to have a very high pressure.
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Since that heartbreak, however, 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 him as NBA champion Karl Anthony Towns, and that’s right.
Brunson burns his enemies
If Jalen Brunson wasn’t a household name before these NBA Finals, he certainly is now. But before he made it to the big stage of the game, he had to endure a lot of criticism. In fact, the 6’2″ point guard has been overlooked and underrated throughout her career. In 2023, former WNBA star-turned-analyst Becky Hammon famously dismissed her as too small to be a “1A” player on a winning team, and Stephen A. Smith, the NBA’s loudest talking head, described her signing with the Knicks as “the Knicksnothing,” a movement of tragedy that should never have ended.
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Not only did Brunson bring New York its first NBA title in more than half a century, but he did it again while averaging 32.6 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game, with 45 points in a Game 5 shutout. in the streeten route to his Finals MVP win. And it gets better: his father, Rick Brunson, a former Knicks player and current Knicks assistant coach, got to share this moment with him.
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This is Spike Lee’s place Do the Right Thing reunion
For decades, the Los Angeles Lakers have had A-list actor Jack Nicholson sitting courtside, cheering on the Showtime Lakers, the Shaq-Kobe three-peat, and the Kobe-Pau era, the perfect match for Lakerdom. In the entire NBA, only one celebrity matches that level of dedication: Spike Lee.
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The famous director can be seen in the best photos of the Knicks from decades agoabusive refs, taunting Reggie Miller (when he was a Pacer, not a commentator!), and generally showing support. But the irony is that his biggest moment as a Knicks fan would not happen in Madison Square Garden, but in San Antonio, where he reunited with Giancarlo Esposito and John Turturro, the main actors of his debut film. Do the Right ThingThe Knicks are happy together.
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In retrospect, it’s only fitting that the film’s director be the title fan of this Knicks run, because there were enough good stories here to make a movie about — maybe the next Spike Lee?
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