53 Years of Waiting Ended the Same Way It Did for Messier — Brunson Just Joined Him

It took 53 years for the New York Knicks to finally get back on top. And when they did, the echoes of another legendary New York captain were impossible to ignore.

Jalen Brunson didn’t just lead the Knicks to their first NBA title since 1973. He did it wearing No. 11 — the same number Mark Messier wore when he broke the Rangers’ 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994. The parallel is almost too poetic. Two franchises, two iconic droughts, two leaders with the same number on their back.

Messier Saw Something Familiar

Ahead of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, Messier took a moment to shout out Brunson and the Knicks. Speaking on Sportscenter, the Hall of Famer didn’t hold back.

“What a playoff he had. You think about players who will their teams to win, he did that throughout this series,” Messier said. “When they were down at certain times, he just kept playing with those unbelievable baskets. He took the team on his back in the fourth quarter.”

He added: “53 years, it brings back so many memories. You don’t do it alone, obviously. They’re a great team, they’re an easy team to cheer for. They play for each other, they played unselfishly. Congratulations to the New York Knicks, unbelievable.”

Brunson’s Finals MVP Run Was Unanimous

Brunson was the clear choice for NBA Finals MVP — all 11 voters agreed. In the series-clinching 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center, he delivered when it mattered most, scoring key buckets down the stretch to seal the deal. It was the kind of performance that cements a legacy in New York sports lore.

The Knicks — a franchise that had spent more than half a century chasing this moment — finally reached the mountaintop. And they did it with a point guard who plays like he’s been carrying the weight of the city his whole life.

Now Brunson’s name sits alongside Messier’s in the conversation about New York’s greatest champions. Both wore No. 11. Both ended decades-long curses. And both proved that one player, with the right team around him, can change everything.