New Yorkers have hungrily yearned for the sweetness of an NBA Finals victory since 1973. Fans have spent decades wishing they could share the joy seen in other cities, but let me tell you: when you finally get it, your city feels different. How do I know? I lived it.
June 13, 1989, marked the beginning of one of the best summers Detroit, where I was born and raised, had seen in decades. That was the day the Pistons gave us the NBA crown. Yeah, I know this is New York’s moment, but humor me for a second, pham.
It was a magical time back then if you were a basketball fan. The league was hotter than it had ever been. The Motor City had previously experienced championships with the Tigers in 1984 and 1968, but other sports were in a drought. The Lions had never been to a Super Bowl (and are still waiting for their turn), and the Red Wings were still a few years away from clinching the Stanley Cup.
But then there was the “Bad Boys.”
That group of physical basketball renegades spent the late ‘80s climbing the playoff ladder. After a heartbreaking loss in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals to Boston and a narrow loss in the 1988 NBA Finals to the Lakers, 1989 was finally the Pistons’ year.
The moment Isiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars, James Edwards, Rick Mahorn, John Salley, and coach Chuck Daly claimed the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, everything changed. Images of Thomas kissing the trophy flashed across newspapers and televisions, signifying that Magic Johnson had been deposed as king of the court in a sweep of the Lakers. That victory shifted the attitude of the entire city.
Detroit was on top of the world, regardless of the critics. As a majority-Black city, we could finally boast that we were winners. It wasn’t our first championship, but it was our first NBA title, and it felt monumental. We were outside that summer with a heavy case of main character syndrome.
The Big Apple itself is no stranger to championships. World Series wins for the Yankees are so commonplace they are expected. Giants, Mets and Rangers fans have also known victory in recent memory. The most recent champs were the Liberty in 2024. But Knicks fans have not struck gold in 53 years. To put that in perspective, 1973 was the year Richard Nixon’s presidency collapsed under the Watergate scandal. The United States officially exited Vietnam. Abraham Beame was elected New York mayor, inheriting an essentially bankrupt city. That same summer, DJ Kool Herc hosted parties on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, giving birth to the global phenomenon of hip hop.
Since that time, New York has endured the Son of Sam, the 1977 blackout, John Lennon’s assassination, the HIV/AIDS crisis, the Central Park Five, the crack epidemic, the September 11 attacks, the 2008 financial crisis, Superstorm Sandy, and COVID-19, among many other challenges.
A city can withstand a lot. Detroit has endured numerous trials since the 1967 social uprising, which many argue still impacts the city today. We even had a mayor, Coleman Young, whom the right wing hated — much like the contemporary political climate surrounding Zohran Mamdani. The difference was that Young had no problem cursing out anyone who dissed Detroit. Mamdani hasn’t quite reached that level — yet.
But once the Pistons brought home the NBA Championship, our city became the best place in the world to us. That summer, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing someone in “Bad Boys” gear or a jersey representing their favorite player. The pride only grew the following year when the Pistons defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in five games. This was the era when people started saying with their chest to the world, “What Up, Doe!” We’ve been repping like that ever since.
New Yorkers certainly know how to rep their city, their boroughs, and their neighborhoods. This summer, you’re going to do it wearing orange and blue. The song of the summer will likely be French Montana’s Knicks remix of “Ever Since You Left Me.” You can also expect Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind,” Ja Rule’s “New York,” and Busta Rhymes’ “New York Sh*t” to top everyone’s playlist.
The last time New York celebrated an NBA championship, they had already taken the title before in 1970, so that was a continuation of what had already happened. But this is different. This is something people’s grandparents remember from their youth but never had the chance to pass it on until now. When you finally get something that has been out of reach your whole life, you see the world through a different lens. You hear it with different ears. Everything becomes about what you had to overcome to get where you are. Your heroes are the people who got you there. All you can talk about is the prize you’ve earned. That is what you will be engrossed in for the next several months.
People in other cities will envy you. As a premier travel destination, expect pilgrimages to what is now reclaimed as a basketball mecca.
When you live in a city that holds this crown — when your NBA squad has given you this level of pride — the summer hits different. You can truly say you are kings of the world. Because you are.
Congratulations, New York. It’s going to be a hell of a summer.
