The New York Knicks are so good that they attended France’s World Cup game on Tuesday…
…and got a louder ovation than anyone kicking rocks on the turf of MetLife New York New Jersey Stadium.
Here’s a very mixed-up Bulletin as we keep waiting for the most anticipated parade ever.
Karl-Anthony Towns
On meeting Patrick Ewing after winning the title:
“It was so amazing to see how this win healed so many people in New York, fan-wise and even to the alumni, and Patrick. When
I hugged Patrick, it was like he finally was able to exhale and see a trophy in a Knicks jersey.”
On seeing Ewing with the trophy:
“To finally be able to see that Larry O’Brien in [Ewing’s] hands and not in Michael Jordan’s and all these other people’s hands, I mean, there was just so much healing that I was stunned. I didn’t realize how impactful it really is, and I still honestly don’t think I understand the true magnitude of what we’ve done.”
On the many generations of Knicks fans enjoying this championship:
“You never realize a little kid watched the Knicks play, win a championship with his father, and now he’s the one with his son celebrating the same moment that him and his father.”
On the Knicks’ resilience being key for the title win:
“I think it’s also not just the culture of our team, but the culture of New York City. When you live here in New York City, you have to understand that with a lot of things that happen, and the tides will change quickly. So, for us, just to continue to stay focused, stay disciplined, and continue to appreciate.”
On the Knicks leaving no question unanswered this postseason:
“To win, it’s so difficult just to make it to the conference finals, but it’s a whole another level of difficulty to win the conference final, and then obviously when you’re in the finals, it’s even another level. I just learned a lot about our team, learned a lot about ourselves. There were always questions about all of us, whether our character, our personality, or if we had the mental strength to actually make it happen. I think we answered.”
On his teammates’ contributions through the championship run:
“I could go down the list from everybody on the team. Everyone has such a big part in this season’s success.”
On the title being a healing experience:
“What was so special about this — and I didn’t realize this until after the win — was how much healing that win would do for all of New York City, from the fans to the alumni to even for us as the players in our personal lives. It was a healing experience.”
On James Dolan’s pre-playoff speech:
“I knew the team that [Dolan] was telling that to would hear it because we were all on our first opportunity at an NBA championship, especially after last year, when we didn’t get to see the NBA Finals.”
On confidence and criticism:
“I never needed people’s vindication to feel good about myself. My confidence is built in the work. My confidence is built in the gym in the long hours that no one can see.”
On who the real Knicks celebs are:
“In my mind, the real celebrities are the ones in the 200’s and the nosebleeds.”
Miles McBride
On attending World Cup games:
“Even the guys that like don’t like soccer, like they’re watching too, and they’re like enjoying it because like I think as competitors and athletes, you see how hard they’re playing, and then you start seeing the atmosphere, and it’s a beautiful game too, and I think we just appreciate that.”
James Dolan
On the firing of Tom Thibodeau:
“We changed coaches at the end of last season because we believed that you, the players, and the rest of the organization, needed to be heard. Needed to work together. Needed to be heard. Not just led or dictated to.
“And Coach Thibs was a great coach. Brilliant. But we thought you needed a coach that would pull you together. That would have you playing as a team. And although that’s not been perfect, we believe that together, a joint effort, would be better. Would give us a shot at winning a championship — rather than relying on one person’s opinion.
“And that’s the team we have now. We believe that instead of relying on the coach that you would discipline each other, that you talk to each other, that you would figure out how to play together with each other. And that was stronger than just hearing that from one voice.”
Mike Breen
On the Knicks and their fans:
“It’s a team that pretty much the entire city gets behind and it’s a team that has struggled for so long. But the fans never went away even in the rough years and there were many rough years as we all know so to go from that and stick with them through thick and through thin and see not only a team that have success but a team that that is such representative of the city and the kind of people that you want they’re such high character individuals they’re all about the team the way they carry themselves that’s a big part of it as well and then when you have your star player be the kind of young man that Jaylen Brunson is from a player to his toughness to his will of never giving up to overcoming all the yeah he’s good but stuff that’s an important factor as well.”
On Jalen Brunson’s coachability:
“I said this the other day and it might sound a little corny but Brunson has all these these different characteristics that you want in your star player, that you want in your franchise player. One that that sometimes goes underrated he’s extremely coachable. Even at this level, he’s extremely coachable and that’s huge for a team to come together because if if the rest of the team sees okay this guy’s taken some some guff from the coach and and the coach gets on him not just the head coach but of course the assistant namely one Rick Brunson yes then then we can do it too so you put it all together and it just it becomes something really magical and that’s that’s what we always hope for that’s the long long-term dream when we start rooting for a team to have a team like this.”
Jay Wright
On Villanova’s pride in the Knicks’ title:
“I know they waited 53 years. I think they might have a little bit more pent-up excitement. But in terms of pride, no one could be more proud of their guys than we all are at Villanova, than I am.”
On Brunson, Hart and Bridges:
“They did the same thing in Villanova. They’re really unique young men. And I just sat back and watched on this one. I feel like a proud papa.”
Luka Doncic
On Jalen Brunson’s championship in New York:
“First of all, he’s a great guy. He has a winner mentality that makes him different from other players. We talk all the time. We talked before the last game. I said you’ve got one more, and of course, after he won, I congratulated him on the title.”
Allen Iverson
On Jalen Brunson’s championship:
“Congratulations Lil Big Man!! If you think you can, you’re right. If you think you can’t, you’re right.”
Mark Cuban
On why he let Jalen Brunson leave Dallas:
“It was really, really simple. We didn’t see JB, as what he would become.”
On Brunson’s development not fitting the Mavs timeline:
“He showed that star potential when Luka [Doncic] got hurt, and he won those games against Utah for us, but we were trying to get a star to put next to Luka, and JB’s star had not risen yet.”
Robert Horry
On the Spurs’ decision not to shake hands after the Finals loss:
“People get mad at athletes when they don’t shake hands. You go back, and you start like the 2000s back. Nobody shake hand. We didn’t care. We lost, we don’t want to talk to you. People like, ‘Well, that’s just not sportsmanly.’ Dude, I am mad in the moment that I got my a** whooped. I ain’t trying to be friends with nobody who kicked my a**. So, I don’t understand when everybody that’s never played a sport gets so upset. ‘Oh, you didn’t shake my hand.’ I just lost. I don’t want to talk right now. That’s even after games. They tell us in the locker room to take a minute before you speak because you don’t want to speak out of anger. And so, when guys shake hands, I’m cool if they don’t shake hands. I’m cool they do shake. But me, I ain’t shake your hand. I’m mad. I walked off the court.”
Draymond Green
On the Spurs walking off after Game 5:
“They walked off. That was disappointing. Bit disappointing. The reason it was disappointing is because when you go mano a mano, toe to toe, blow for blow with a team, and they get the better of you, those that become champions, look them in their eyes and say, ‘Respect, congratulations, well deserved.’ And then you go to the locker room.”
On how champions handle defeat:
“That’s what those that become champions do. If you leave the court and you don’t look me in my face and I just beat you, I actually know that I own you forever because you couldn’t even look me in the face. And so to see them walk off the court, it was disheartening. I’ll blame it on youth. I’ll blame it on lacking the leader to show them that, ‘Hey, this is what you do, not walk off.’ I blame it on that.”
Fat Joe
On what he learned from the Knicks’ title:
“The lesson is, you can’t buy a championship. You can’t waltz, you can’t get lucky. You’ve got to earn your way to a championship.”
On James Dolan’s apology to NYK fans:
“And it’s just like when we won, Mr. [James] Dolan gave that speech where he was like, ‘I’m sorry, New York, I was trying,’ you know, ‘I’m sorry it took so long to win this chip.’ That’s how hard it is to be a champion. You’ve got to beat the very, very best.”
On Knicks fans traveling during the playoffs:
“But I want to thank everybody, man, for fighting hard — and the fans, man, we went out there. We went to Cleveland. We went to Atlanta. We went to San Antonio. I mean, by the thousands. There was so many New York fans all over. I like to think we willed them some way or another. We willed them. Like, whenever they had doubts, or whenever it was down, we was like, yeah, let’s go.”
On the celebrations in New York:
“These scenes in New York City will never get replaced.”
David Tyree
On where OG’s tip-in ranks in New York sports history:
“I’m No. 1. I’ll let everybody else argue. I would give him No. 2 because I’m a Knicks fan, it’s not even a shadow of a doubt. It’s No. 2 for me. The argument for me is it’s the Super Bowl, undefeated Patriots. What makes OG No. 2 is you talk about the drought the Knicks had been in. That’s what makes this massively over other moments. It’s a stand-alone reality, what basketball means to New York City, what the Knicks mean to New York City.”
On comparing the two iconic moments:
“When you’re talking about football and beating an undefeated Patriots team that’s still looked at as a top 10 NFL team of all time, there’s probably more narratives in our Super Bowl.”
On OG Anunoby’s legacy:
“Yes, absolutely, the scale of which, I don’t know, he’s got a good amount of basketball in front of him. He’s earned that, especially in relation to what the Knicks mean to New York City. He has earned his lore, he has earned his folklore.”
On Brunson and Anunoby’s roles:
“Brunson is the Eli of the story and OG is the Tyree of the story.”
Geno Smith
On the Knicks inspiring the Jets:
“I think that’s a special thing, to see the energy and just how devoted the fans are to the team and the city.”
On the added motivation:
“It gives us a little bit of added motivation. We’re motivated already, but, man, just watching those guys win that championship, it has to do something for you as a competitor.”
On New York City’s title celebrations:
“Just seeing just the energy of the city and how the fans are just so happy and excited, to have those bragging rights to be the NBA champion and for that to be at home in New York, I think that’s a special thing, to see the energy and just how devoted the fans are to the team and to the city.”
On the impact of the championship on the Jets:
“It gives us a little bit of added motivation. We’re motivated already, but man, just watching those guys win their championship, it’s gotta do something to you as a competitor.”
Breece Hall
On congratulating Tyler Kolek:
“I went to eat wings with Tyler the other day in the city — we were watching UFC fights — and I congratulated him and I’m like, ‘I can’t wait to have that feeling.’”
On positive jealousy:
“So there’s definitely positive jealousy because I want my team to be able to do that as well.”
On seeing the Knicks win:
“I was just talking to some of my boys — it gives you, like, positive jealousy.”
On Mikal Bridges and Tyler Kolek:
“It’s like damn, like I’m very cool with Mikal [Bridges], Tyler Kolek, a lot of those guys, so I was just like, ‘Bro, that’s so lit.’”
On wanting the same feeling:
“I went to eat wings with Kolek the other day in the city and we were watching UFC fights and I congratulated him and I’m just like, ‘I can’t wait to have that feeling.’ So definitely positive jealousy ’cause it’s like I want my team to be able to do that as well. It’s definitely very cool to see.”
On attending Game 5:
“It was crazy. Most of the arena was Knicks fans anyway so I had a suite with some of my boys. I got to chill with Jaxson Dart so me and him got really well acquainted and now we’re really cool, super cool dude. We were there just as fans of another New York team and just cheering the guys on, and after the game went and dapped everybody up.”
Zohran Mamdani
On handing out free tickets to the championship parade:
“From packed watch parties in our parks to joyous celebrations that spilled out onto our streets, this championship belongs to New York City. The Knicks brought together New Yorkers from every borough and every walk of life. That’s why we’re making these tickets free and accessible — so working-class people have a chance to be part of this historic moment and celebrate the team that brought a championship home.”
On the Knicks’ meaning to New York City:
“The Knicks belong to New York City. And this championship belongs to the people who waited 53 years for it.”
