Before the Knicks won a championship, James Dolan told players their families would have to sacrifice, too

Knicks owner James Dolan urged players to "eliminate all distractions" in a speech ahead of their playoff run.

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As the New York Knicks prepared for what would become a championship run, owner James Dolan had a message for the players: Winning would require buy-in from everyone at home.The remarks came during an April 3 speech that was made public on Monday, when it was released on "The Roommates Show," a podcast hosted by Knicks players Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.The speech marked the first time Dolan had spoken directly to the team during his tenure with the franchise."I believe that this team can go all the way. And in my 30 years of doing this, I've never felt closer to achieving that goal than right now," Dolan said.He challenged players to fully commit to the opportunity before them, urging them to "sacrifice everything" and "eliminate all distractions" — including those at home."I suggest that you go home and you talk to your families, you talk to your girlfriends, your wives, and you tell them about the next 10 weeks — about how you're going to be different the next 10 weeks, and how your families are going to sacrifice for the next 10 weeks," Dolan said.He then told players to make sure their families understood what would be expected of them in the weeks ahead.