Welcome to Open Floor where the Knicks are no longer in a title drought. Jalen Brunson’s 45-point masterpiece in Game 5 of the NBA Finals clinched their first championship in 53 years on Saturday night. In this issue, we key in on the diminutive guard and how the Knicks’ belief in him paid off.
Also, Sports Illustrated is producing a commemorative magazine celebrating the Knicks’ championship. You can purchase your copy now.
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Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images
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The cameras were rolling, the NBA Finals MVP trophy was in his hands and, here, finally, the world would get to hear what Jalen Brunson thinks. Even in a fishbowl like New York, Brunson has managed to maintain an air of mystery. Some of it is intentional. In interviews Brunson chooses his words carefully, revealing little. “Methodical and intentional,” is how Brunson’s mother, Sandra, once described her son’s Belichickian approach to interviews. Some of it is not. In the final seconds of the Eastern Conference finals–clinching win in Cleveland, cameras panned to a Knicks roster in full celebration … with an expressionless Brunson planted on the bench behind them. “I was icing my knees,” explained Brunson. “I didn’t even want to get up.” Yet here, in the aftermath of New York’s 94–40 title-clinching win, after delivering a 45-point masterpiece, at the end of the Knicks’ 53-year championship drought, Brunson would finally open up. “I got no words,” he said. “It’s everything I ever dreamed of.”
Some of the greatest athletes in sports history have worn New York uniforms. Names like Namath, Messier and Jeter. Taylor, Frazier and Rivera. Now, Brunson. Only three players—Bob Pettit, Michael Jordan and Giannis Antetokounmpo—had scored 45 points or more in a Finals closeout game. Brunson made it four. He kept New York in it in the first half, scoring 16 of the Knicks’ 37 points. He had 14 points in the third quarter. He had 15 in the fourth. San Antonio threw everything at Brunson. Size, length, athleticism. Nothing worked. “Unreal,” said Mitchell Robinson. “Literally, unreal.”
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After ending a 53-year title drought, the Knicks are on top of the NBA world. To celebrate, Sports Illustrated is producing a commemorative championship issue that you can purchase now and will be on newsstands in New York.
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Dustin Safranek/Imagn Images
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By Liam McKeone
For the first time since 1973, the New York Knicks are NBA champions.
Thanks to a heroic performance from Jalen Brunson and another series of clutch late-game plays, the Knicks beat the Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to win the series, 4–1. It was another incredibly close game that followed the pattern established from the first four games—San Antonio jumped out to a big, early lead but wobbled as New York clawed back into it. And when the game came down to the wire, the Knicks proved up to the challenge of making winning plays, while the Spurs were not.
It marks an end to a wondefully entertaining NBA Finals, as well as a landmark moment for one of the league’s most famous franchises; New York will be celebrating the breaking of a 53-year title drought for days, weeks and even months to come. The celebration started in San Antonio, however, as the Knicks raised the Larry O’Brien Trophy in celebration at the Frost Bank Center.
Here are the best moments from that celebration, which leaked into the early hours of the morning.
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Subscribe to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, on all podcast platforms. Chris Mannix is joined by Rachel Nichols and Evan Turner for two episodes per week. Listen on Apple or Spotify or watch on YouTube.
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More From Knicks’ Championship |
Jalen Brunson Delivers Knicks Title With All-Time Great Game 5 Performance |
Jalen Brunson drove the Knicks to their third NBA championship in franchise history with an all-time great Game 5 performance.
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The Best Celebrity Reactions to the Knicks Winning the NBA Title |
After 53 long years, the New York Knicks are NBA champions again. It was a celebrity-filled postseason and here’s how the team’s most famous fans celebrated.
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Four Takeaways As Knicks Win NBA Championship to End 53-Year Title Drought |
The Knicks rallied—again—in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to beat the Spurs.
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