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No Dunks

Jalen Brunson Leads Knicks To First NBA Championship In 50+ Years!

14 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 3.594 J.E. Skeets

This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.

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4.495 - 21.751 Tass Mellis

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports, and giving you the real story behind the headlines.

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21.771 - 39.009 Tass Mellis

And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And for more, follow Timbo Slice Life 12 and the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

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39.51 - 57.311 Therapy Gecko

I am the therapy gecko. I am an unlicensed lizard therapist who takes phone calls from real anonymous humans about their problems, such as this. Sometimes I'll have my girlfriend pre-chew spicy food and kind of baby bird it into my mouth. Is that weird?

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57.612 - 81.49 Therapy Gecko

This week on Therapy Gecko, we're hearing all real, authentic human stories about anything from relationships to family drama to serendipitous encounters with unexpected people and things. If real people pique your interest, this is the podcast for you. Listen to Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

82.583 - 88.242 Fernanda Echavarri

It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag, whoever you root for.

88.563 - 94.909 Trey Kirby

Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? and it's beautiful.

94.929 - 97.292

The guys are young and cute and fit.

97.392 - 100.095 J.E. Skeets

It's not just a game. It's your culture.

Chapter 2: What was Jalen Brunson's performance like in Game 5 of the NBA Finals?

714.783 - 735.726 Tass Mellis

James Bond. Exactly, exactly. And as they walked it back... And it was, it really was just Brunson. I mean, Bridges played okay. He had the second most points. What a shot. Josh Hart played okay. I'm talking offensively. Defensively, the Knicks were amazing. And we can get into that, especially down the stretch. Their interior defense was elite. But it was just those two guys.

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735.827 - 755.928 Tass Mellis

Of course, it's the Villanova guys. Like, man, what did we learn here? Family and friends. That's what matters. Family, he went to the Knicks only because of his goddamn dad with Rick Brunson there. Awesome. And then the friends part, yeah. The Villanova boys, get them all together. Poor Dante. Not there any longer, but yeah, it worked. Friendship in the end.

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756.128 - 775.698 Tass Mellis

Yeah, well, and I mean, even sorry to Dante DiVincenzo, but Carl Anthony Towns and Leon Rose are very close as well. So he brought him in there and it was just amazing. They literally built on the power of friendship and family to win the NBA championship. Because I think... None of us would think that the Knicks were the best team in the NBA this year.

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776.359 - 793.092 Tass Mellis

But they peaked at the absolute perfect time twice, if you want to throw in the NBA Cup as well, because they played great basketball during all of those games. But we all picked New York to get to the finals during the preseason. But we all also, I think, agreed that the Celtics were the favorites heading into the Eastern Conference playoffs. They obviously botched it.

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793.072 - 811.359 Tass Mellis

But then the Knicks get down 2-1 to Atlanta. They completely reformulate the way they play offense. Destroy the rest of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Get to the finals. And their offense went back to stinking. This was a bad offensive series for the Knicks, all things considered. The thing that happened, though, is that they started to believe. They went on this crazy winning streak.

811.66 - 827.722 Tass Mellis

And in reality, what the winning streak was, was playing defense. Because their defense in this series was awesome. They they're like a bottom five offensive team during the NBA finals here with their offensive rating was like 108 to 110, depending on what site you look at. But they held the Spurs to even worse. And that was really the difference maker.

828.183 - 846.528 Tass Mellis

It was awesome when Towns was out on the wing orchestrating things. They were destroying everybody in the Eastern Conference. It didn't work in the finals against the Spurs, but they had Brunson. He was willing to go. I'll take 30 shots. Yeah, I'll shoot 30 percent from the field. Somebody's got to do it. And that was the difference for New York. That's why the NBA is great.

846.548 - 865.118 Tass Mellis

It doesn't matter if we believe or if anybody believes. It's always a new team, right? It's obviously the last eight years. It's been a new team. But in that locker room, they believed. In the NBA Cup, they believed that they would get there. And they got there. While we all... Doubted it.

865.278 - 887.119 Tass Mellis

Now, we gave the Spurs, a lot of people did give their Spurs their flowers after they were able to knock off OKC and anoint them. OK, here they are. They're the champs now. But that's what makes basketball great. Some predicted it, obviously, that the Dicks would do it. Well, they did just start it. They did become a team of destiny. There's no way around it. The victories and like...

Chapter 3: What were the most memorable moments from the NBA Finals?

1433.797 - 1442.813 Therapy Gecko

Sometimes I'll have my girlfriend preach you spicy food and kind of baby bird it into my mouth. Is that weird? Or this.

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1442.86 - 1448.892 J.E. Skeets

I had my boyfriend over and I had dirty dishes everywhere. And I put the dirty dishes in our closet so he wouldn't see them.

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1449.233 - 1461.257 Therapy Gecko

If you're the kind of person that would enjoy being a fly on the wall of a stranger's therapy session, or if you pass people on the street and constantly wonder what might be going on in their heads, this is the podcast for you.

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1461.237 - 1483.296 Therapy Gecko

This week on Therapy Gecko, we're hearing all real, authentic human stories about anything from relationships to family drama to serendipitous encounters with unexpected people and things. If real people pique your interest, listen to Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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1485.318 - 1513.726

Keith Giamonka seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy. But I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong and what that might look like? No.

1514.387 - 1540.209

I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue.

1540.71 - 1548.484

Listen to Deep Cover, The Family Man on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1552.312 - 1561.28 J.E. Skeets

June is Black Music Month, and on the Drink Champs podcast, we're speaking with the hottest names in the culture, like Swae Lee. Do you realize how legendary you are?

1561.64 - 1571.088

I appreciate that. I be seeing it, but I'm like, man, I still got, like, so much more to do. Like, Prince, he dropped, like, 30 albums. We dropped, like, five right now. Like, that's the rate we gotta be going.

Chapter 4: How did the Knicks celebrate their championship win?

2084.158 - 2099.027 Tass Mellis

Did anything happen in that one game? Not much. Not much. Not much. Anything else from game five or X's and O's or all that stuff? We got funny, silly, random notes. Yeah, this was a little bit the push in the back game.

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2099.888 - 2121.797 Tass Mellis

We got two flagrants for a guy pushing somebody as they go up for a layup. It was Deere and Fox on Josh Hart and then Mitchell Robinson on Wemby, which brings about the craziest rule that exists in the NBA because both guys made their shot that they got fouled on. the two-for-one made free throw on a flagrant, on an and-one, it always catches me by surprise. Same, same, yeah.

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2121.817 - 2127.585 Tass Mellis

Because when he missed his first free throw, I'm like, nope, he gets another chance. That's such a weird one to me. Two-for-one.

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2127.665 - 2128.666

And then the ball back, of course.

2129.928 - 2149.594 Tass Mellis

Got it twice. We talk about this all the time. It's a super dangerous play. When a guy is in the air or is about to take off in the air, and the tiniest of push, it doesn't take a lot. It's dangerous as hell. So that should be penalized as such. And they got those and they've usually been all over the sliding under guys too. So that's why that Brunson was weird.

2149.694 - 2161.209 Tass Mellis

He went down, he rolled his ankle or hurt his ankle on Wemby's giant ass foot. I don't know. Maybe a part of it. I was thinking too, is he hit the three and they were like, well, he hit it, you know, let's go. I wonder if he misses.

2161.229 - 2162.191

I don't know.

2162.271 - 2173.624 Tass Mellis

Why is he even in a finals game? He's like, was like, I'm sorry. He was like on the list as one of the refs that needs improvement. So why is he in the final? He was a tier three? I think so. I believe you.

Chapter 5: How did Mitchell Robinson impact the Knicks' championship run?

2179.512 - 2195.934 Tass Mellis

They were the ones. That was from the PA, right? The referee association probably looks at it differently. Fair. But anyway, they messed up. There's no doubt. They probably said, that guy's going to keep playing. Just let him go. Because he battles through every injury.

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2195.954 - 2196.315

It was stupid.

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2196.335 - 2198.779 Tass Mellis

They're like, he actually gets stronger when he rolls his ankle.

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2199.239 - 2200.121

Kind of true.

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2200.501 - 2213.882 Tass Mellis

Yeah, it's a spinach. I remember a thing. I was like, remember when he hurt his knee? Harrison Barnes fell into his knee in the first quarter of game one. I was like, the Knicks finally make it back to the finals and they're going to lose Jalen Brunson for the entirety of the series. And instead he ends up.

2213.862 - 2242.198 Tass Mellis

finals MVP so pretty sweet for him there was some championships I'm like trying to think of what is this finals run remind me of first thing of course 2011 Mavs where a team just like clicks at the absolute perfect time plays their best basketball in the playoffs and I guess you can consider I guess you could consider Dirk a little bit of Brunson and that he was making all these clutch shots but also a little bit of Carl Anthony Towns where it's like we've had questions about can you get to the absolute highest level

2242.347 - 2261.774 Tass Mellis

And they finally come through late in their career. But the peaking at the right time, for sure. And the idea, to me, of an older team, too. Absolutely. And I know when you compare them to the Spurs, for sure, their immaturity, their inexperience definitely reared its ugly head. But the Knicks, not that, of course. So, yeah, I think that is a fair comparison. That was the first one I think of.

2261.814 - 2284.375 Tass Mellis

I also think Celtics 2024 is kind of a similar championship to the Knicks in that they dominated the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Celtics didn't have Porzingis for that entire championship. They got him back in the finals, but they didn't have him in the Eastern Conference at all. They're also a great team that beat a young phenom. It was Luka Doncic on the Mavs back then, Wemby on the Spurs.

2284.435 - 2290.36 Tass Mellis

I guess it got a Texas connection as well. And then finally, the Cavs in 2016 in that this is such a massive

Chapter 6: What factors contributed to the Knicks' success in the playoffs?

2446.759 - 2456.292 Tass Mellis

Random! My first random note. Did a Spurs player fart during the National Anthem?

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2457.501 - 2472.821 Tass Mellis

Yes, because you can watch the camera, go across all the Spurs players. You see Stephon Castle. He's getting into the zone type of thing. And then it's panning. And then it gets to Victor Wembanyama, who's got his eyes closed. He's locked in. And then he opens up.

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What is that?

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2473.982 - 2493.155 Tass Mellis

Is it something he heard that was odd in the national anthem? That's what I thought he was reacting to. I thought she did a great job. Your question to Mickey Guyton? Well, I thought there was like a weird, I don't know, it was a little out of pitch on that part. I thought that's what he was reacting to. Yeah, I thought more so that.

2493.195 - 2494.918

Not a fart, but I hope it was a fart.

2494.938 - 2505.23 Tass Mellis

I don't know. That's a question for someone to ask. Now, Mickey Guyton. Also was questioning things. She took out her earpiece, you know, when it happens to a singer.

2505.591 - 2510.097

Really early. Really early. It was super early because things were going poorly. But that was way later.

2510.398 - 2535.593 Tass Mellis

She crushed it. Oh, she did crush it. Yeah. So that's why I think it's more fart than sound. Because he was puzzled. He was locked in. I can't think of any or a few things more disrespectful during the national anthem than literally dropping a fart. I'm sorry. I mean, I'm not the most patriotic guy, but even I have a line that you would cross. And I'd love to fart, but I wouldn't. Hold it.

Chapter 7: What does Victor Wembanyama need to improve on after the Finals?

3006.881 - 3013.087 Tass Mellis

That's why it was overwhelmingly good. 4 of 15 is not overwhelmingly good. The makes are loud, though.

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3013.868 - 3017.851 Tass Mellis

Those are the ones that have been planted in my brain. I thought he had one game where he went 50%.

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3018.812 - 3020.614

He probably did. I think he went 3 of 6.

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3021.015 - 3041.816 Tass Mellis

I thought so. And then we were like, wow. Good shot. So it was 1 for 9. 1 for 9 the rest of it. Yeah, maybe that's what you're thinking. He missed eight of nine. Yeah, that sounds right. Three for six, hot night. June 13th, that's a big date for OG Ananobi because that is the day he won two NBA championships. Once with the Raptors in 2019.

3041.876 - 3064.595 Tass Mellis

He unfortunately didn't play in the finals because of surgery. But June 13th, yesterday, he wins it with the Knicks. And man, this guy was happy. It was great to see a smiling OG, man. He was cheesing. Yeah, he was. When he was up on stage, look at this photo of Bernie Johnson looking right at the camera too. But yeah, Tess, I'm just curious, like, you happy for OG? Of course.

3064.615 - 3088.817 Tass Mellis

To get another title as a former Raptor? I was. I mean, he played obviously incredible. He was finals MVP running for a while. And he played. He didn't play in 2019. So that's a big difference. The fact that he got to be a monstrous part of it. Obviously, the tip was huge. But yeah. And I thought post-game, everybody rocking it pretty, pretty well.

3089.05 - 3113.127 Tass Mellis

I don't want to give James Dolan credit for anything, but a lot of the times when you see an owner grab the mic, it is boring. At least James Dolan said the only thing he said was, hey, New York, I'm sorry it took so long. Hopefully this time won't take as long. That's it. Just quick. It's all about New York. Get off the mic. Jalen brings in Rick. Quick, good, solid.

3113.467 - 3133.249 Tass Mellis

The Josh Hart basically saying, along with Mikkel Bridges saying, F the picks. Who cares about the picks? Forget the picks instead of F the picks. Ernie killed it. Just one question for everybody. In comes Kat. It was all solid. OG, I don't even know. Was that pre-interview or post-interview where he was smiling? Because you could hear the Knicks players behind him.

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