SAN ANTONIO (AP) 鈥� Knowing New York had waited 53 years to see the Knicks hoist the NBA championship trophy, owner James Dolan didn’t even wait to be handed the 30-pound gold-plated prize.
He grabbed it and lifted it skyward with a yell.
鈥淚 want to say something to New York,鈥� Dolan shouted. 鈥淗ey New York! I’m sorry it took so long! But here we are, and hopefully it won’t take that long again!鈥�
of the NBA for the first time since 1973, beating the San Antonio Spurs in five games for this title. The clincher came Saturday night in a 94-90 victory, the Knicks’ fourth comeback win of the series.
Some will say it鈥檚 the first 鈥渕ajor鈥� professional sports championship for New York in more than 14 years; that would be true when counting only Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NHL and the NBA, though it would be wrong to ignore the New York Liberty鈥檚 run to the 2024 WNBA title and New York City FC winning the MLS Cup in 2021.
But as far as the teams that have been part of the city鈥檚 fabric for generations and generations, yes, this 14-year drought is finally over. The New York Giants won the Super Bowl in 2012, capping the 2011 season.
The Yankees 鈥� the most decorated team in U.S. major pro sports history 鈥� haven鈥檛 won a World Series since 2009. The Mets haven鈥檛 brought a World Series title to New York since 1986. The Rangers last hoisted that trophy in 1994, the Islanders in 1983. The New York Jets haven鈥檛 won a Super Bowl since 1969.
None of that matters, at least not right now. The Knicks 鈥� who won 13 consecutive games at one point in this playoff run and rallied from 29 points down to win Game 4 of the finals at MSG 鈥� are the toast of the town.
鈥淥f course I’ve never seen anything like it, because it’d never happened before,鈥� NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said of the Game 4 comeback in an interview on NBA TV on Saturday. 鈥淏ut it’s been amazing.”
The Amazin’ Knicks, indeed.
A third title, finally
It took them 80 years 鈥� the Knicks won the first game in NBA history in 1946, three years before what was then the Basketball Association of America started being known as the National Basketball Association 鈥� but the franchise has now become the ninth that can say it has at least three championships.
Boston has 18, the Los Angeles Lakers have 17, Golden State has seven, Chicago has six, San Antonio has five, and Philadelphia, Detroit and Miami all have three.
Welcome to the club, New York.
鈥淚 enjoy watching these guys,” Knicks legend Larry Johnson said. “The Garden is back. … It鈥檚 back like when we played and made our little run. The city is behind us.鈥�
It’s a franchise that has gone through 24 different coaches and more than 400 players since what was, until now, the most recent championship season. Some of the game鈥檚 biggest superstars called Madison Square Garden home and couldn鈥檛 end the title drought, names like Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Bernard King and Carmelo Anthony.
The Knicks lost a Game 7 in the 1994 finals to Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston, then made a miracle run to the 1999 finals in a shortened season only to lose to San Antonio in five games 鈥� the first of what became five championships for Gregg Popovich and the Spurs.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 get it done. … I always say the third time is the charm,鈥� former Knicks guard John Starks said.
Starks was right. It took the Knicks 27 years to get back to the finals, had the Spurs again standing in their way, and to fully flip the script, it was New York prevailing in five games.
MSG, a banner is coming
And finally, the world’s most famous arena 鈥� which has raised banners for Billy Joel, Elton John and Harry Styles more recently than it had hoisted one for the Knicks 鈥� will be adding to the collection swaying from the rafters. If it follows form from the others, the banner will only have the Knicks logo, then 2025-26 World Champions beneath that.
A simple message. Getting to the place where the Knicks could say those words again, that wasn’t so simple.
鈥淭here are a couple of franchises that are pretty iconic just because of the history that they have, the location that they鈥檙e in, sometimes even the building that they鈥檙e in,鈥� said Knicks coach Mike Brown, who won this title in his first season with the club. “New York is definitely one of the few that you could say that to in all three facets.
鈥淓verybody goes through their ups and downs. I don鈥檛 really think much about the tough times that they had, because everybody has tough times, including individuals. You just want to try the best you can to be a part of whatever you can to bring joy to the city, to the organization. At the end of the day, the chips are going to fall how they fall. I feel blessed, fortunate, lucky, to be a part of what is going on now.鈥�
It is, to put it mildly, an interesting organization. Dolan 鈥� who rarely speaks publicly 鈥� isn’t afraid of clashes, even including ones with former Knicks greats like Charles Oakley, who was at road games in this title run but has remained away from MSG for years. Leon Rose, the team’s president, typically doesn’t make himself available to reporters either. There is an absolute mystique around the team and how it operates.
It has not always worked. Over a 25-year stretch that ended with the 2021-22 season 鈥� not that long ago 鈥� the Knicks had the worst record in the NBA. In the four years since, starting with the acquisition of Jalen Brunson from Dallas, the Knicks have the NBA’s fifth-best record.
And now, is the best player on the best team in the world.
鈥淚t means the world to me,鈥� Brunson said.
Start spreadin’ the news …
And this year, as Frank Sinatra said, the Knicks are king of the hill, top of the heap. Some in the fan base grumbled when the Knicks declined to hang an NBA Cup championship banner after beating San Antonio for the in-season tournament title earlier this season. Turns out, the Knicks were just waiting for something better.
So, the 53-year wait is over. It was a very different league, and a very different game, in 1973.
There were 17 teams in the NBA that season, barely half of the 30 that there are now. Teams called places Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas City-Omaha and Seattle home then; the league has expanded many times since, adding 13 teams in nine different states, plus Canada and the District of Columbia.
The top salary in the league then was about $380,000, or roughly $2.9 million in today鈥檚 dollars. There was no 3-point line then, no multi-billion-dollar television deal, no international players.
The Knicks flew home on a United Airlines flight from the 1973 title clincher in Inglewood, California, and officials at Kennedy Airport expected what was then called a 鈥渞abid鈥� crowd of fans present to greet the plane. They braced for 鈥渉undreds鈥� of people that day.
This celebration might be a little bigger.
鈥淭o have the fans that we have in New York City and be able to bring home a championship after all these years is absolutely amazing,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a surreal feeling.鈥�
___
AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in New York contributed.
___
AP NBA:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
