SAN ANTONIO — This is for Cole Aldrich and Lou Amundson. For Captain Lance Thomas and hitman Quincy Acy. It’s for Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson and the three draft picks sent to the Toronto Raptors for Andrea Bargnani. This is for Alexey Shved, Shane Larkin, Jose Calderon and Langston Galloway. For Ricky Ledo, Cleanthony Early and Samuel Dalembert.
This is for Trey Burke and Ron Baker, for Courtney Lee and Damyean Dotson. It’s for Noah Vonleh, Super Mario Hezonjo, Emmanuel Mudiay and God bless Allonzo Trier.
This is for the fans who endured the three-worst seasons in Knicks history all inside of a five-year span. For the fans who watched the Knicks trade the kitchen sink for Carmelo Anthony when they could have waited until the summer to sign him as a free agent. It’s for the same fans who, just a short while later, watched Phil Jackson drag New York’s beloved child through the mud as the Knicks kicked him out the front door.
This is for the fans who believed — full-heartedly — that Kevin Knox was a future All-Star, or that Frank Ntilikina was the missing piece in Jackson’s Triangle Offense.
New York City, this is for you, for the years toiling away as the laughing stock of the Eastern Conference. For the whiffed first-round pick after whiffed first-round pick after whiffed first-round pick after whiffed first-round pick. For the 27 years spent watching the NBA Finals from the outside and the 53-yearlong championship drought at the Mecca of basketball.
The city that never sleeps can now call itself the city of champions. The New York Knicks are the last team standing. They are your 2026 NBA champs.
“There are a couple of franchises that are pretty iconic just because of the history that they have, the location that they’re in, sometimes even the building that they’re in. New York is definitely one of the few that you could say that to in all three facets,” head coach Mike Brown said ahead of tipoff on Saturday. “Everybody goes through their ups and downs. I don’t really think much about the tough times [the Knicks] 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.
“I feel blessed, fortunate, lucky, to be a part of what is going on now.”
This is for $2.50 bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches and $12 large oxtail platters. This is for dollar pizza slices and dollar MTA rides. For green metro cards and advanced regents diplomas. For $15 haircuts and black medallion taxi drivers, quarter waters and Arizona Iced Teas.
The Knicks are the best basketball team on the planet. New York City is on top of the world.
This is for Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle. For Immanuel Quickley and R.J. Barrett. This is for Bojan Bogdanovic and the five teenagers the Knicks traded to Brooklyn. It’s for Kemba Walker, Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks, who were dealt in a cap-space-clearing trade to create room on the payroll for a max free agent in the franchise-altering summer of 2022.
This is for Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykhailiuk. For Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims. It’s for Guerschon Yabusele. For every player moved, every domino that’s fallen as Leon Rose and his front-office staff have constructed the greatest roster in Knicks history.
This is for Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Captain Willis Reed and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley and Dick Barnett. It’s for Cazzie Russell, Dave Stallworth and Mike Riordan, too. Surely, it is for the great Red Holzman.
This is for Tom Thibodeau, who deserves a championship ring. For the years of David Fizdale, Derek Fisher and Jeff Hornacek. This is for Patrick Ewing. For Bernard King. For Latrell Sprewell and Larry Johnson; John Starks and Charles Oakley; Stephon Marbury and Allan Houston. This is for J.R. Smith and Jeremy Lin.
For the once a Knick always a Knick contingent living vicariously through this group of friends: You are now NBA champions.
This is for Harlem and Tribeca. For the Lower and Upper East Sides. This is for the pits of the Bronx and the streets of Brooklyn, for Queens Gets The Money and, yes, for both Long and Staten Islands. This is for White Plains. For Westchester. For Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo, too.
This is the greatest unification New York City has ever seen. And New York City hasn’t seen an NBA title in over a half-century.
This is for James Dolan. For Leon Rose and Worldwide Wes. This is for Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. For Mike Brown, Rick Brunson and the Knicks’ decorated coaching staff. This is for Mikal Bridges. For OG Anunoby. For Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, Miles McBride and Landry Shamet. This is for the most New York New York Knick, Jose Alvarado. For Jordan Clarkson and the weeklong stretch of Mohamed Diawara shooting 1000% from behind the arc. This is for Tyler Kolek’s best Jalen Brunson impression; for the Spurs intel provided by Jeremy Sochan. For the minutes Ariel Hukporti spent staying ready. It’s for Pacome Dadiet, Kevin McCullar, Dillon Jones and Trey Jemison III.
This is for the group of players, coaches and executives who dragged New York City from the pits of basketball purgatory and ushered in a golden era of hoops.
New York City, go inside the corner store and put your hands inside the cash register for no reason.
The New York Knicks are world champions. And they couldn’t have done it without you.
