New York or nowhere, baby! Brunson wills the Knicks to first NBA title since 1973

The wait is over.

It’s been 53 years since 1973, the last year the Knicks won an NBA title before Saturday night,  but Jalen Brunson, a transcendent star, made sure that New York City, the New York tri-state area, and Knicks fans across this country and abroad had to wait no longer. 

Coming back again from a late-game deficit, the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 to capture the franchise’s third league championship, joining the 1970 and 1973 teams. They were led by the steadfast Brunson. The 29-year-old point guard proved to be the one. Decades of Hall of Famers — Bernard King, Patrick Ewing, and Carmelo Anthony; much bigger men with seemingly more physical gifts — couldn’t do what the 6-2 Brunson has done.

He completed the transformation of a once moribund franchise by scoring 45 points in Game 5 — the third-most ever in a finals closeout game — to clinch the series 4-1, including 13 straight for the Knicks during a crucial and defining stretch in the fourth quarter. It was the Knicks’ remarkable NBA-record ninth consecutive postseason road win. 

Brunson’s performance conjures memories of and comparisons to Walt “Clyde” Frazier’s epic masterpiece of 36 points, 19 assists, and seven rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the 1970 finals, lifting the Knicks to a 113-99 triumph. 

Now, the debate has begun: Has Brunson, awarded the Bill Russell trophy as the finals MVP, surpassed Frazier, Willis Reed, and Ewing, the latter who never won an NBA title, as the greatest Knick of all-time? If Brunson has not yet attained that lofty subjective status, a persuasive case can be made that he is the most consequential Knick to ever don the franchise’s uniform. 

After the game, Brunson, in an interview with ABC’s “Inside the NBA” show — seated with his father, Rick Brunson, a former Knicks player and current Knicks assistant coach — like most of the basketball world, admitted he never envisioned himself becoming the force multiplier that would shepherd the Knicks to the sports’ Promised Land. Indeed, he is now New York’s metaphorical Moses. 

June 30, 2022, may be consecrated as the Knicks’ holy holiday. It is the day Brunson agreed to leave the Dallas Mavericks and sign a four-year, $104 million deal with the team. Today, it is laughable to recall that numerous pundits and fans said the Knicks had overpaid Brunson, who at that time was a backup to then Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic. 

Brunson would quickly dispel those views, immediately elevating the entire organization. He was deservedly named the Knicks captain on August 6, 2024, and has epitomized sacrifice and selflessness. Committed to the singular goal of winning a title. More by actions than words. It is evidenced by Brunson leaving $113 million on the table when he signed his $156.5 million contract extension three weeks before instead of waiting until last summer, when he could have inked a deal for $269 million. Brunson’s decision was rooted in providing the Knicks with financial flexibility to pay players that would be integral to achieving the goal of winning a title. 

A little more than one year ago, Brunson sat stoically on a dais next to teammate Karl-Anthony Towns in the Knicks’ interview room at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The emotional toll he was experiencing at that moment saturated the room. Roughly 45 minutes earlier, the Knicks were eliminated from the Eastern Conference Finals 4-2 by the Indiana Pacers, losing Game 6 by 125-108. It was a disappointing ending to their season. The Knicks entered the series as the favorites and firmly believed they would advance to the NBA Finals.  

Brunson looked at the assembled media and in a monotone voice asserted, “It sucks, man. Simple as that.”  

When asked if he felt the group that had just fallen short of their ambitions could come back the following campaign and finish the job, Brunson didn’t waver. “The most confidence,” he maintained. “Overconfident. Seriously, there’s not an ounce of any type of doubt that I’m confident with this group.”

His words were prophetic.   

Brunson embodies the organization’s determination. From team president Leon Rose to William “World Wide Wes” Wesley, the Knicks’ executive vice president, to head coach Mike Brown and the players. 

“It’s the most resilient group I’ve ever been around,” Brown told ESPN after he joined the late, legendary Red Holzman as the only Knicks head coaches to win NBA championships.  “You can’t teach the resiliency this group showed throughout the course of the year.” 

Brown’s crew was behind by 10 or more points in the first quarter in each game — the first time that has happened in the finals. They trailed with under 2 minutes remaining in each of the first four games of the series and were down 75-65 early in the fourth quarter on Saturday.

Conversely, the Spurs, who could have reversed roles with the Knicks and been up 3-1 entering Game 5, go into the offseason with thoughts of what could have been, as the average margin of victory in Games 2 through 5 was 2.25 points, with the Knicks taking three of the games. 

“This is the biggest lesson of my life — the biggest learning moment,” said the Spurs’ 22-year-old center Victor Wembanyama, who finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds. “I can’t tell exactly what the lesson is, but we’re learning from that for sure. I’m learning more than any other time in my life.”

Yes, the Knicks schooled the young Spurs. And Brunson was the professor at the front of the classroom.