For the first time in 53 years, the New York Knicks are NBA champions. If you’re tempted to stop reading right there, please hear me out. Let’s back up. My 9-year-old self would have been over the moon watching the Knicks clinch the title on Saturday night in San Antonio. As a kid growing up in the 1990s — the heyday of the league, as far as I’m concerned — I was a committed Knicks fan. I wore a blue and orange Knicks ball cap everywhere. I rooted for Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, John Starks, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson, and Charlie Ward. Those squads made some deep playoff runs, but always fell short. It was a thrilling, if frustrating, era. Over the years, my interest in the NBA faded for a variety of reasons. My winter sports fandom shifted decisively to NHL hockey and NCAA hoops. I’d rarely watch even a few minutes of professional basketball, even when championships were on the line.
But over the course of this postseason, the Knicks bandwagon started to fill up, as the team steamrolled its way to the Finals. Perhaps it was childhood nostalgia kicking in, but to my own surprise, I started following their run — despite not being able to name a single player on the roster.
That changed quickly, thanks to Jalen Brunson. The Knicks star, leader, and captain is a pleasure to support, both on and off the hardwood. He’s a family-oriented man who married his high school sweetheart, proposing to her inside their Chicagoland high school gymnasium back in 2022. They have a young daughter together. The toddler won fans’ hearts when she shouted “hi dada!” during a press conference following a key playoff win over Philadelphia. Dada burst out laughing and lost his train of thought. Charming.
