Knicks 2026 – A surreal experience for a local basketballer

The NBA postseason has been a surreal experience as a Knicks fan, and as someone who played basketball with Julian and Justin Champagnie in Carroll Park and the P.S. 58 school yard.

I missed out on the great Knicks teams of the ‘90s, which included two NBA Finals appearances in 1994 and 1999, but no championship. My early memories of the team were of Stephon Marbury, a talented player who created an affordable basketball shoe line called “Starbury.” I liked the shoes and had a few pairs, but the team was not good at the time, was filled with drama, and finished well out of playoff contention.

No matter how bad the Knicks were, they always had an extremely large and passionate fanbase. Though the Nets are now in Brooklyn, they played in New Jersey through the 2011-12 season, and New York fans are always loyal. I grew up in Brooklyn within walking distance of the Barclays Center, but most of the people I knew were Knicks fans, and I estimate that more than 90 percent of basketball fans in New York City are Knicks fans.

The Knicks had some fun players like Nate Robinson and Danilo Gallinari, but they always attempted to sign superstars and missed out. During the 2010-11 season, they landed a star in Carmelo Anthony, but they traded away many of their talented young players to do so. They ended up making the playoffs a few times, and even won a playoff series, but were never title contenders. There was also “Linsanity” in 2011-12, which was incredibly fun but didn’t last long as Jeremy Lin suffered a knee injury and then signed with the Houston Rockets that offseason.

Not only a watcher
Throughout my childhood, in addition to watching the Knicks, I played basketball in parks and schoolyards. While it took a lot of equipment and planning to play other sports, for basketball, you just needed a ball and a hoop, and so I would play with friends on Friday nights after school, during weekends, and during the summer.

During elementary school at P.S. 58, there were these two twins I would sometimes play basketball with. They seemed to constantly be playing basketball, and whenever we played, if they weren’t playing against each other and guarding each other, I would guard one of them because I was tall and they were tall. They would joke around a lot, but they were both good defenders who kept improving offensively. I remember them blowing in people’s ears like Lance Stephenson, an NBA player who was also from Brooklyn. At the time, I thought they were one year younger than me, but they were actually 4.5 years younger than me and already very good.

As time went on, the “Melo Era” in New York came to an end, the Knicks became very bad and went 17-65 in 2018-19, meanwhile, the twins became high school stars and then college stars. I still enjoyed watching the Knicks, and there were some likable players, including an athletic center the team drafted in the second round, named Mitchell Robinson. It was also cool seeing the twins play on television, and I was amazed by how good they had become.

After the Knicks spent years hoping to land a star free agent like LeBron James, they began to build a good team by making smart signings in free agency and drafting and developing young players. They made the playoffs in 2020-21, led my Julius Randle, but lost in the first round and missed the playoffs in 2021-22.

Ahead of the following season, they signed an undersized point guard named Jalen Brunson, and everything changed. For as long as I could remember, the Knicks had struggled to find a long-term solution and point guard, but Brunson has gone from being a good player to a great player, who elevates the play of everyone around him. They continued to build and traded for Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and later Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. They have won playoff series in four consecutive seasons and made a run to the Eastern Conference Final last year. The run to the Eastern Conference Final included a gut-wrenching Game 1 loss, which I had nightmares about months later.

Knicks fans have been incredible through each of these playoff runs, and while there seemed to be hope during those years with Carmelo Anthony, there is now a belief that this team will find a way to win regardless of the opponent.  The tickets for home games at Madison Square Garden are very expensive, so fans travel and turn road games into home games and gather outside the Garden and throughout New York for raucous watch parties.

I know someone who went to Cleveland to cheer on the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Final since tickets were cheaper on the road, and after every playoff win, trucks going down the street will honk to celebrate with fans. I watched Game  2 of the NBA Finals this season with my friend at Luana’s Tavern, and people shot off fireworks in the street after the Knicks dramatically held on to win, as fans sang “New York, New York.” When I walk down the street in my Knicks shirts, people come up to me and chat or yell, “Let’s go, Knicks.”

While the Knicks were developing and improving as a team, Justin and Julian were doing the same as players. They both went undrafted and bounced around a bit, but Justin has carved out a role with the Washington Wizards, and Julian has done the same with the San Antonio Spurs. The Wizards missed the playoffs, but the Spurs have been playing incredibly well with Julian in the starting lineup, and he has helped them go on a run to the Finals.

This year either the Knicks, or someone I played basketball with when I was little will become a champion. I’m overjoyed that it’s the Knicks, but the Spurs will be back. For the Knicks, it has been 53 years filled with heartbreak, drama, injuries, and painful losses since they won it all in 1973. All of that has led to this opportunity, and now they have brought a championship back to Madison Square Garden. The players on this Knicks team are already loved, but now they are NYC legends!