The New York Knicks are in the NBA Finals!
This is a stream of consciousness post about the Knicks finally making it to the playoffs. I wanted to get these thoughts out there, and my loved ones are just about sick of me talking about nothing but the Knicks for the last month. So here we are.
Finally, the phrase "living through unprecedented times" means a good thing.
I love you, Jalen Brunson. ¡Big KAT, de lo mío personal ! Josh Hart—the human swiss army knife—you're the new Excellence of Execution. Landry Shamet, we dub thee "Champagne Shamet." Big Mitch, you've seen this team go from zeroes to heroes.
Mikail Bridges, who might be a Viltrumite? You've shown us what it truly means to be—
This means nothing when it comes to Technical Writing, but by God, the New York Knicks have actually made it to the NBA Finals! Not only did they make it, but they're in the middle of an 11-0 run. In May. In the Playoffs. In the finals! I keep repeating that to myself because I just simply can't believe it. For so long the Knicks have been the punchline to every joke about teams that suck.
Actually, this has something slightly to do with technical writing. I want to be to a team what Josh Hart is to the Knicks. I'm fine starting, I'm fine coming off the bench for the team. Hart will do whatever the team needs. You need buckets? Say less. You need some boards? Hart is there like a bulldog with something to prove. That's the kind of teammate I am. I'm fine doing whatever as long as the team gets ahead.
Remember the Pixar movie Soul? With the Jazz musician that dies and his soul goes to heaven? It outright said that the Knicks' constant misfortune was just one gigantic cosmic joke at our expense. But who's laughing now?
Not only have we been winning, we've been dominating. The Knicks lost two games to C.J McCollum and the Atlanta Hawks in the 1st round and decided to get revenge by perfecting the game of Basketball. The Knicks have swept the Sixers in the 2nd round, and now we've swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals. Game 6 against the Hawks was so insane, my girlfriend walked in towards the end of the 2nd quarter and asked, "Is that the right score? Does that say 76-27? That's not crazy?" And the answer is "Yeah, that's right. We're killing these people."
Jalen Brunson and Landry Shamet might be wanted for murder in the states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, and now Ohio. And Karl-Anthony Towns. Big Bodega, Big KAT. Representing Dominicans on the grandest stage in basketball. KAT went from making stupid fouling mistakes to playing like a machine out there. You got your 8ft alien monk or whatever in San Antonio, we got a 7ft Dominican brolic sharpshooter. Or those foul merchants in Oklahoma. We are not the same.
The Knicks haven't won a 'chip since 1973, and haven't seen the finals since 1999.
Let's look at life since 1999:
- The Yankees won three titles (1999, 2000, 2009).
- The Giants won two titles (2008, 2012).
- 9/11 happened.
- The 2003 Blackout.
- Five mayors (Giuliani, Bloomberg, de Blasio, Adams, and Mamdani).
- Hurricane Sandy.
- The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.
- I went from having one toddler sibling to having three (the younger two are now teenagers).
- The advent of social media.
- Streaming killed cable.
- The Red Sox and Cubs broke their respective curses to win their first titles in over 100 years (2004, 2016).
- Linsanity and Carmelo Anthony's entire career happened.
- The Rock went from WWE Champion to the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.
- The entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (from Iron Man to the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day) happened.
- Three Supermans (Brandon Routh, Henry Cavill, and David Corenswet).
- Three Batmans (Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Robert Pattinson).
- Three Spider-Mans (Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland).
- One Blade (Wesley Snipes).
- Five presidents (Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden).
- LeBron James' entire career as of May 2026 has happened.
- Hamilton was a whole thing, stopped being a thing, and looped back around to being a thing again.
- We got two Star Wars trilogies and like 13 shows.
This is for all the New Yorkers who witnessed those events from inside the 5 boroughs, pleading for this team to be at least competent. For New Yorkers whose faith wavered and turned off most games in disgust. We were being treated like this by an owner who has no idea how to run a basketball team.
It's also for you, Carmelo Anthony, you should be out there hooping with those boys. Father Time did you wrong, Melo. But you're a Knick legennd, and we should probably just give him, Clyde, Pat Ewing, and Oak a ring.
The smartest thing James Dolan ever did with the Knicks is keeping his nose out of Leon Rose's business and just letting that man cook. And by God, he has prepared us the finest meal. 5 stars, Michelin level, 10/10. My highest compliments to the chef.
Also: LET CHARLES OAKLEY BACK INTO THE GARDEN, JIMMY . HE'S A KNICK LEGEND AND HE DESERVES TO BE THERE.
And it's for you, Spike Lee, who was courtside when Frank Ntilikina and Emmanuel Mudiay were the starting backcourt. And was there (with a random T-pose) that time Tim Hardaway Jr. stopped playing defense to call a safe baseball slide when a ref tripped and slid down the court..
New York is a basketball city. Madison Square Garden isn't called "The Mecca" for funsies. NBA players and legends don't gather in Rucker Park or go up to Dyckman to hoop for no reason. The Knicks are inarguably New York's team. Every other sport divides the city: are you a Yankees or Mets fan? Jets or Giants? Rangers or Islanders? But we don't even acknowledge the Brooklyn Nets as a high school JV team, much less an actual NBA team. But we're all riding behind the Knicks. I don't think Jalen Brunson has to spend money in this city ever again. He's good everywhere.
The New York Knicks are playing good ol' fashioned NYC bully ball. We'll punch your mother in the face to get to the rim and score. The Knicks are done being the joke. The New York Knicks are the certified boogeyman of the league.
Kenny Atkinson, head coach of the Cavaliers, said, "Analytically … we’ve won 2 out of 3." James Harden, after getting swept by the Knicks, still genuinely believes that they are still the better team. To which I would reply with this quote from Josh Hart: "[Analytics] are lamppost to a drunk person. You can lean on them, but they won't get you home."
The only New Yorker not celebrating this is Donovan Mitchell, who is probably still trying to figure out how the Knicks beat the brakes out of him. But it's ok Spida, you can come home and witness the parade. We thank you for your service. But we will need you to give up that Spider-Man thing you've got going on. Spider-Man is a New Yorker, a Knicks fan, and he actually gets the job done when it's the 11th hour.
This 11-0 run is rarified air. We're now tied with the 1989 Lakers and the 2001 Lakers for playoffs runs. Captain Brunson and his merry band of absolute savages are in the same conversation as Magic, Kareem, Kobe, and Shaq. I can't believe it.
Spurs, blurbs, messieurs. Knicks in 6.
OKC, UFC, KFC. Knicks in 6.
Get in where you fit in, because as of now, it's all gas, no brakes with it! The New York Knicks are coming to your city, and when it's done, it ain't gonna be pretty.

We're only four wins away from adorning the Canyon of Heroes in Knicks paraphenilia for the first time. Ever. The Mets got 3 parades. They've also won two titles. The first two parades came before the Knicks won their two chips. That's not crazy?
It's orange and blue skies for New York City and its much beloved Knickerbockers.
There's been some murmurs about LeBron (and I guess Bronny by extension?) is looking to don the orange and blue. I don't know if there's any smoke in that fire, but if there is, who do you see Mike Brown benching to put Bron in the starting 5? Who would you bench for 40 year old LeBron? OG? Bridges?
Bang my line, let's talk about it. Call us up at (800) 223-9797, that's (800) 223-9797. Or email me.
Fun Fact: A Knickerbocker is a type pants that were popular in the 1800s. It's named after the original Dutch settlers of New York (then New Amesterdam) who wore pants bunched at the knees. In the 19th century, the term "Knickerbocker" became a nickname for any denizen of this surreal metropolis.
