NEW YORK.- Half a century of frustration and misery ended Saturday night for the New York Knickswhich culminated their improbable conquest of the NBA and they restored happiness to a city tired of sporting failures.
From the hand of a heroic Jalen Brunsonwho scored 45 points, the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs and they reached their first ring since 1973.
“HISTORY”, the young mayor wrote in X Zohran Mamdaniwhich announced a grand celebration parade on Thursday Manhattan.
His passionate fans did not want to wait and took to the streets from Saturday afternoon, in a day of madness in the area of New York due to the confluence with the first game it hosted of the World between Brazil and Morocco.
“NEWOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, he also cried in X Bad Bunny joining a collective cry of emotion and relief.
It is the first time since 2012 that the largest city in USA celebrates a title from the main North American sports leagues.
The Giants They then triumphed in the superbowl of the NFLthree years after the last championship of the emblematic Yankees in the World Series baseball
While the Giants and Yankees compete with neighboring franchises (Jets and Mets), the Knicks are the team that really brings together the Big Apple despite the distant memory of his only two rings from 1970 and 1973.
If necessary, their extreme popularity was reflected in these playoffs, in which they were carried by their fans.
Their passionate fans mobilized to the point of making them feel like locals both in the home of staunch rivals and the Philadelphia 76ersas in the Finals themselves against the Spurs of Victor Wembanyama.
3,000 kilometers away, thousands of New York fans pushed their team to take the final step, including staunchly loyal celebrities, such as the actors Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller.
53 years of punishment
In New York, the euphoria around the Knicks was skyrocketing from the start of the playoffs, when the Knicks team Mike Brown began to show that something had changed.
The regular season had been very uninspiring and people began to doubt whether the discreet Brown had been the right bet for a team that had reached the last season final. Eastern Conference.
Tom Thibodeaua coach with a completely opposite character, had not managed to climb the last step with the most ambitious New York project in recent years, which orbits absolutely around Brunson.
The signing of the point guard was a masterstroke by the New York offices. The Dallas Mavericks They underestimated Brunson, a second-round draft pick, and allowed the Knicks to get him in 2022 as a free agent.
Then came the important investments to surround him with a star center, Karl-Anthony Townsand two forwards as capable of drying up rival stars as they are of scoring when required, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.
With this arsenal, the NBA once again paid attention to the Knicks, a franchise with only one playoff qualification between 2014 and 2022.
During that period passed the era of Carmelo Anthony (2011-2017), one of the best players who never stepped foot in the Finals.
The figures that he had at his side, like Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler either Derrick Roseeither they were underweight or they landed late in the Madison Square Garden.
The true stars for which the most global city longed, such as LeBron Jamesthey ended up choosing other destinations.
The final humiliation came in 2019 when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving They planted them to play with the neighbors Brooklyn Nets.
Without a reference of that caliber, the current Knicks have applied work, humility and collective play to recover the spirit of their great predecessors.
The previous New York Finals date back to before the 9/11 attacks, ending with defeats in 1994 against the Rockets and in 1999 before the Spursan account more than settled this Saturday.
