Madison Square Garden is the most storied venue in sports and entertainment, where the game isn’t just another sport to be watched, but a spiritual experience. Your GOAT had iconic moments on that hallowed hardwood because excelling under the bright lights and earning validation from a discerning congregation of 20,000 is a rite of passage. But for the better part of the past 25 years, the Garden faithful hasn’t had much to hope for.
That’s different this year.
The New York Knicks are as relevant as they have been since the ’90s. BetMGM’s odds for the Knicks to win the 2025 NBA Championship skyrocketed from +1700 to +650 after a couple blockbuster off-season moves turned the Knicks into legit contenders. Now, there’s a certain je ne sais quoi in the atmosphere around the arena.
“I just love the way the city is back,” said Patrick Ewing, headliner of those ’90s Knicks and a regular at the Garden during New York’s run to the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season. “I was sitting there with a bunch of my old teammates looking around the arena and it reminded me of back when we were playing.”
I was sitting there with a bunch of my old teammates looking around the arena and it reminded me of back when we were playing. — Patrick Ewing
Ewing, who is back with the Knicks in the newly created position of Basketball Ambassador, played when hand-checking rules were loose and illegal defense was, well, illegal. Those Ewing-led teams were defined by defense and grit: players like Anthony Mason diving for a loose rebound or Greg Anthony scuffling at midcourt.
Fast-forward to 2024, and the “Bing Bong” era is bringing that spirit back into the building—and outside of it, too. These days, NYK devotees pour onto 7th Avenue to rally—and talk sh*t with Sidetalk. (You’ve seen the clips.)
The Dark Days of Knicks Fandom
Ewing’s tenure with the Knicks was the last time the team was close to going all the way, but things got dark after his #33 jersey was hung up in the rafters in 2003.
During the ’00s and ’10s, the team was mediocre at best, only making the postseason five out of 19 seasons. Sure, there were some bright spots, like the ephemeral Linsanity run (which lasted all but two months), but they were outweighed by the embarrassing ones. Like the time Amar’e Stoudemire punched a fire extinguisher or when Stephon Marbury testified in court about hooking up with an intern or when Knicks legend Charles Oakley got into a fight with MSG security.
“There was one point I was at a game and Shandon Anderson was on the team,” said Herman Meritt, a Knicks season ticket holder since 1988, recalling the lineup from the early ’00s. “I said to myself, ‘Why am I here? I can’t do this.’ It was a horrible team, and common sense wasn’t a reason for me to hang in there, but I bleed orange and blue.”
Faithful fans like Meritt are finally reaping the rewards of their devotion. Perhaps it’s this collective misery that he and others have experienced over the past 20 years that makes this moment feel divine.
“Karl-Anthony Towns is a better fit.” — Casey Powell, founder of KnicksFanTV
“One of the biggest things for Knicks fans this year is that they 100 percent believe in the organization and believe in the front office. There was a time where that wasn’t always the case,” said Anthony Donahue, AKA AnthonyMSG, mentioning the disastrous tenures of Scott Layden, Isaiah Thomas, and Phil Jackson.
The Knicks Front Office Improved The Roster
This past summer, Knicks president Leon Rose made the loudest offseason moves in the NBA, acquiring Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. Although it came at the expense of losing All-Star Julius Randle and fan favorite Donte Divincenzo, Rose retained the core of last year’s team, which came up one game (and one OG Anunoby hamstring injury) shy of making it into the Eastern Conference Finals.
“Karl-Anthony Towns is a better fit,” said Casey Powell, founder of KnicksFanTV. He added that Town’s ability to shoot around 40 percent from beyond the arc will help spread the floor for the offense in a way that Randle couldn’t. “A lot of fans are upset at losing Julius. It’s understandable because he went through the gauntlet for this team.”
Regardless of how you feel about the team’s roster, the facts remain: Randle didn’t play in last year’s playoffs, Bridges is a more coveted asset than Divincenzo, and KAT is a 4x All Star while Isaiah Hartenstein (who signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the off-season) simply isn’t.
For the first time in a long time, Knicks fans don’t sound delusional when they talk about the team potentially hoisting up the Larry O’Brien trophy come June. One major reason why is that they finally have the franchise player they’ve been longing for, Jalen Brunson, who represents the grit and doggedness of those ’90s teams.
“Last year was a great season. I won’t say successful, but it was great the way we kept fighting a lot of obstacles and a lot of injuries,” said Brunson, who was recently named the team’s first captain since 2018. “We didn’t make excuses. We just went out there and tried to win every game that we could.”
“We have to start all over again and create chemistry with the guys that we have on our team now.” — Jalen Brunson
Brunson proved he’s willing to do anything to get the Knicks back to the glory days. When he signed a four-year, $156.5 million contract this July, he passed up on an extra $113 million he was set to make next year, thus freeing up cap space for the Knicks to pay other players. It was an unusual move in today’s NBA that sports agents probably hated, but Knicks supporters admired.
“We’ve been looking for that number one guy and people were saying that Brunson didn’t have it,” said Gregory Armstrong, a season ticket holder of 33 years. “The way he performed in the postseason gives me confidence that he can lead us to a title.”
Brunson’s temperament as a leader is custom-built for playing in a market where the fanbase demands a lot and will often, as Walt “Clyde” Frazier might say, vociferously tell you about it. This is the city that booed Kristaps Porzingis on his NBA Draft night and where the local fans will glorify someone as a savior in one moment, and then crucify that same player the next.
“People pay an arm and a leg to go see a game, so they want to see the players go out there and get it done,” Powell said. “With that comes a lot of pressure to win and that’s why it’s the heaviest jersey in the league to wear.”
That Elusive Championship
Anticipation and confidence from fans are high. The team itself is playing it a bit more demure. Let’s remember that those ’90s Knicks got close, but never actually won a championship.
“We have to continue to get better as individuals and as a team. We’ve got to continue to build, and learn and grow together,” said guard Josh Hart. “If we do that, then we’ll be happy with the outcome. We’ve got to take it a day at a time and a game at a time.”
Even though the Knicks have improved over the past few seasons, that doesn’t guarantee success this year.
“We keep taking steps and we’ll get there. But we can’t just jump right into the second round [of the playoffs],” Brunson said. “We have to start all over again and create chemistry with the guys that we have on our team now.”
As a Hall of Famer who was part of the last two Knicks teams that made it to the Finals, Ewing knows exactly how difficult that feat is to accomplish. “I don’t know if they’re going to win an NBA title, but I know that they have a very talented team that’s going to be able to compete and do a lot of great things,” he said.
While those within the organization are more modest about the pieces the team has going into the start of the season, the sun is shining on Knicks fans once again.
“We have a young core, so if we don’t win it all this year, it’s not the end of the world,” Armstrong said. “But we want to show some progress.”
Anything less than reaching the Eastern Conference Finals would be a failure in their eyes. They’re looking at the Philadelphia 76ers and reigning champion Boston Celtics as the biggest hurdles to getting to the NBA Finals.
It’s been a 50-plus year championship drought for Knicks fans, as NY sports teams like the Yankees, Giants, Mets, Rangers, and even NWSL team Gotham FC have gotten to the promised land in their respective leagues.
“What would it be like to finally get to the mountain top?” pondered AnthonyMSG. He answered in a wistful voice note: “Just thinking of everything I’ve been through with this organization as a fan, there would be a lot of tears, a lot of joy, and probably no sleep.”
Win or lose, loyalists will still show up at The World’s Most Famous Arena looking for something to cheer for. Otherwise, they’ll find something to boo.
