J. Kyle Mann

Genuinely, who would have thunk it?

I have to say, I, in the back of my mind, had considered that I might just go until I die without ever seeing the Knicks win an NBA championship, given the way that, I don't know, the first 30-something years started since I've been alive.

And yet here we are.

I can only imagine how it feels to be an actual Knicks fan who has gone along for that ride.

That's the thing.

Like when we're still doing this pod 30 years from now, still working out technical difficulties.

I think that's when the Kings are going to finally do it.

And we're going to be there live to podcast on Netflix about it.

Like, yeah.

For what other fan base would John Starks become an immortal piece of lore and just like a banner carrier for everything the Knicks are and have been to this point?

I just I am caught in the wake of all this.

Around this time every year, we reflect on the season, we reflect on the championships, we talk about all the things that they pulled off, the incredible team-building maneuvers that it took to get to this point.

But we don't have to pretend that all of these things are the same, that every championship feels the same way.

And I would say particularly striking coming off of the Thunder's win last year, where an incredible run that the Thunder had to win the title, a seven-game NBA Finals, and yet this is just a different thing.

And that's okay, and it's okay to acknowledge that.

And I think...

part of the reason this has been such a joy just in terms of watching the finals but also kind of basking in the aftermath of it is just this like incredible emotional connection that not just knicks fans have with this particular team but basketball fans as a whole kind of got wrapped up in it and the bandwagoning of really the entire sport has just been on a roll for weeks on end in a way that has just been incredible to watch yeah

This episode of the Ringer NBA show is presented by Ferrero.

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