Knicks Win First Championship Since 1973; Brunson Named MVP

Jalen Brunson was named Finals MVP, wrapping up the series with 45 points in Game 5. He was overwhelmed by the moment in a post-game interview on ABC (Twitter video link), taking a long time to compose himself before calling it “everything I ever dreamed of.”

With a huge contingent of Knicks fans cheering them on after making the trip to San Antonio, Brunson said the championship is “the reason I came to New York” as he accepted the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award.

Head coach Mike Brown thanked owner James Dolan and team president Leon Rose before giving a shout-out to New York fans for their support. Sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes that the Knicks plan to fly back to New York City tonight to continue their celebration (Twitter link). Dolan implored New Yorkers to be safe and said the championship parade will be held on Thursday (Twitter link via Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints).

Saturday’s game followed a familiar pattern as San Antonio built a large early lead before the Knicks began to chip away. New York scored just 13 points in the first quarter as the Spurs flashed a dominant defense built around Victor Wembanyama patrolling the paint. San Antonio kept the lead for most of the game, but the Knicks put together another late rally led by Brunson, who finished 14-of-27 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range.

Mikal Bridges (14 points), Josh Hart (13) and OG Anunoby (11) were the only other Knicks players to hit double figures, but Brunson made plenty of big shots with the game in the balance. It was a difficult night for Karl-Anthony Towns, who was in foul trouble all game and finished with two points and 10 rebounds in less than 23 minutes.

Rookie guard Dylan Harper carried the offensive load for the Spurs, posting 25 points, five rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes off the bench. Wembanyama contributed 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

“We weren’t ready to win an NBA championship,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the loss, per Siegel (Twitter link). “The better team won. We did a lot of good things, and we didn’t finish the job. That’s what it is.”

Even though the series lasted just five games, it will go down as one of the most competitive in NBA Finals history, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link). New York outscored San Antonio by just 12 total points, which is tied for the closest Finals ever that went five or fewer games.

The Knicks also set a record with the longest drought between championships, notes Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), breaking the old mark of 50 years held by Milwaukee (1971-2021).

The long-awaited title is the result of several gutsy moves by Rose and the front office, states Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Rose made the decision a year ago to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau, who had just taken the team to the conference finals, and replace him with Brown, who was dismissed by Sacramento in the middle of last season.

Rose’s transformation of the Knicks from a perennial loser to a title contender began with the 2022 signing of Brunson in free agency, but it also included ambitious trades that brought in Anunoby, Hart, Towns and Bridges, as well as smaller moves to pick up Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado.

“I found a home in New York,” Hart said during the post-game celebration (Twitter link from James L. Edwards of The Athletic). “They embrace for who I am, and I’m not perfect.”

As always, the end of the NBA Finals marks the beginning of the league’s offseason. Starting Sunday, teams will be permitted to negotiate with their own free agents and extension-eligible players — contract agreements reached before the end of the month with those players can be officially finalized in July. Trade restrictions are also lifted, as all 30 teams are now able to make deals.

The major decision for New York in its quest to repeat will be how to handle Mitchell Robinson as he approaches unrestricted free agency. Robinson is the longest-tenured Knick and an indispensable part of the second unit, but the team already has a very expensive roster in place. Jordan Clarkson and Shamet will also be unrestricted free agents, while Alvarado holds a $4.5MM player option.

The Spurs’ roster is more stable as most of their rotation is on low-cost rookie deals. Wembanyama, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson will all be extension-eligible this summer, as will Julian Champagnie, whose contract includes a $3MM team option for next season. It will be interesting to see whether San Antonio decides to explore trade opportunities involving De’Aaron Fox, who suffered through a difficult Finals and has a four-year, maximum-salary extension that’s about to kick in. That contract is worth a projected $221.76MM.

The Spurs and Thunder are listed as the early co-favorites for next year’s title by DraftKings, relays Bill Speros of The Boston Herald (Twitter link).