The New York Knicks finally did it. Fifty-three years after the last banner went up, the franchise has another NBA championship. And the man standing at the podium on Thursday, the guy who’s taken more heat than just about any owner in sports, actually sounded like a human being.
James Dolan thanked the fans. Twice. For real.
At the championship parade that snaked through Manhattan and ended with a rally in front of a sea of blue and orange, Dolan stepped up to the microphone and didn’t ramble about corporate synergy or legacy. He just talked to the people who’ve sat through some truly brutal Knicks basketball over the last half-century.
“Thank you for supporting our team,” Dolan said. “We’re gonna keep working to bring you even better basketball, although it’s hard to imagine that we get much better than this. But we will, right fellas?” He turned to the players on the stage behind him. They laughed. The crowd roared.
It was the kind of moment Dolan doesn’t usually get. Or deserve, depending on who you ask. The Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 back on June 13 to close out the Finals, and the city has been in a fever ever since. This parade was a long time coming.
The drought that almost defined a generation
The last time the Knicks won a title, Nixon was still president. The 1973 team had Walt Frazier and Willis Reed, and nobody in 2026 under the age of about sixty had ever seen their team finish on top. Only the Sacramento Kings (75 years and counting) and the Atlanta Hawks (68) have longer active championship droughts in the NBA.
For Dolan personally, this is the first title he’s ever owned. He bought the New York Rangers in 1998 and the Knicks in 1999 and watched both teams come close but never close it out. The Rangers last won the Stanley Cup in 1994, before Dolan took over. So yeah, he’s been waiting too.
Can they do it again?
The Knicks got the parade. Now they have to deal with the target. Back-to-back champions haven’t happened since the Golden State Warriors pulled it off in 2017 and 2018. That’s a whole different kind of pressure. The roster is young enough to run it back, but the league has a way of punishing complacency.
For one day though, none of that matters. Dolan thanked the fans. The fans thanked him back, probably with a mix of genuine appreciation and years of pent-up frustration. The banner is going up next season. The parade is over. And for the first time in 53 years, the Knicks are on top.
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