BY SAL GRECO
For generations of New Yorkers, the phrase “Wait till next year” became synonymous with the New York Knicks.
Not anymore.
On June 13, 2026, the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, capturing the franchise’s third NBA championship and first since 1973. A 53-year drought that spanned nine presidential administrations, countless coaching changes, and multiple generations of fans finally came to an end.
The celebration was immediate. So was the chaos.
As jubilant fans flooded the streets throughout New York City, police officers responded to numerous incidents involving disorderly conduct, vandalism, and assaults. While much of the city celebrated responsibly, videos circulating on social media showed property destruction, arrests, and confrontations as thousands poured into the streets after the final buzzer.
Yet despite the turmoil, nothing could overshadow the significance of what had occurred.
The New York Knicks were champions once again.
The title run will go down as one of the most improbable in franchise history.
Picture courtesy of NBAE Getty Images
After losing back-to-back games to the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs, many analysts had already written the Knicks off. Instead, New York responded by rattling off one of the most memorable postseason runs in franchise history.
The Knicks finished the regular season 53-29 and entered the playoffs as a talented but flawed team. Few experts picked them to survive the Eastern Conference, let alone defeat a heavily favored San Antonio Spurs team led by a young core many believed was destined to begin a dynasty.
Instead, it was the Spurs who watched their championship dreams collapse.
The Knicks outworked, outplayed, and ultimately outlasted San Antonio, winning the Finals in five games despite entering the series as underdogs.
For longtime New York sports fans, the run brought back memories of the 1994 New York Rangers, who ended a 54-year Stanley Cup drought and restored glory to Madison Square Garden. Like those Rangers, these Knicks carried the hopes of an entire city desperate for a championship.
The parallels did not stop there.
One of the most poetic storylines of the Finals involved Finals MVP Jalen Brunson and his father, Rick Brunson.
Rick Brunson was a member of the 1999 Knicks team that shocked the basketball world by becoming the first No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals. That magical run ended in heartbreak against the San Antonio Spurs, who defeated New York in five games.
Patrick Ewing, the face of the franchise, missed most of that series with an injury. Rick Brunson and his teammates were forced to watch the Spurs celebrate a championship on the Madison Square Garden floor.
Twenty-seven years later, history came full circle.
On Saturday night in San Antonio, Rick Brunson stood on the Knicks bench as an assistant coach while Patrick Ewing—now serving as a consultant to the organization—watched the franchise he helped build finally finish the job.
Instead of watching the Spurs celebrate, they celebrated themselves.
The ghosts of 1999 had finally been exorcised.
No player embodied the Knicks’ championship run more than Jalen Brunson.
The All-Star guard delivered one clutch performance after another throughout the postseason and cemented his place among Knicks legends by leading New York to its first title in more than five decades.
His Finals performance will be remembered for years to come, and his legacy in New York sports history is now secure.
The championship was also significant for another reason.
After nearly three decades of ownership, James Dolan finally has a championship.
Dolan became the controlling owner of the Knicks and Rangers in the late 1990s and has spent years enduring criticism from fans of both franchises. Despite overseeing two of the most valuable sports teams in North America, a championship had always remained just out of reach.
The Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 but fell short.
The Knicks experienced years of dysfunction before finally becoming contenders again.
Now, after approximately 29 years as owner of both franchises, Dolan can finally call himself a champion.
For better or worse, his name will forever be attached to the team that ended the longest championship drought in Knicks history.
The victory also arrives during a unique moment in New York City history.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office in January 2026, now presides over the city’s first championship celebration involving one of New York’s traditional major professional sports franchises since the Yankees won the 2009 World Series under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
While New York City FC won an MLS Cup during the Eric Adams administration, the Knicks occupy a different place in the city’s sporting culture.
The Knicks are New York.
And now New York is preparing to celebrate.
On Thursday, June 18, 2026, the team will be honored with a ticker-tape parade through the historic Canyon of Heroes, continuing a tradition that stretches back more than a century. Thousands are expected to line Broadway from Battery Park to City Hall as players, coaches, and executives ride through lower Manhattan.
For many fans, it will be the first championship parade they have ever attended.
Perhaps the greatest lesson from this Knicks championship is one the Spurs—and every contender in sports—should remember.
The future is never guaranteed.
The Spurs are young. Their roster is talented. Most observers believe they will contend for championships for years to come.
Maybe they will.
Maybe they won’t.
Sports history is filled with teams that were supposed to dominate for a decade and never won another title. Injuries happen. Free agency happens. Trades happen. Coaches leave. Players age. Windows close.
The only guarantees in life are death and taxes.
Championship opportunities are not guaranteed.
When a team gets close enough to touch one, it must cash in because there is no promise another chance will ever come.
The Knicks understood that.
The Spurs learned it the hard way.
And now, for the first time in 53 years, the Larry O’Brien Trophy belongs to New York City.
The banners will hang forever inside Madison Square Garden.
The Canyon of Heroes will soon be covered in blue and orange confetti.
And a generation of Knicks fans who spent their entire lives waiting can finally say the words they never thought they would hear:
The New York Knicks are NBA Champions.