After signing Jalen Brunson, the New York Knicks have resurged into the top echelon of the Eastern Conference. The Knicks have made huge progress into becoming contenders again, despite their Game 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers in last season's playoff semifinals. This offseason, the Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges, swinging for the fences and reuniting him with his former Villanova teammates Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart. However, comedian Shane Gillis remained unimpressed with the Knicks, which didn't escape Josh Hart's attention.
Gillis called into the Big Knicks Energy podcast, where he made his feelings known about New York City's marquee team.
“Yeah, the Knicks f**king suck, dude,” the comedian said. In response to a question about the Philadelphia 76ers, Gillis also added, “Exact same as the f**king Knicks this year, baby. This is your guys' Super Bowl, still didn't get a ring.”
However, Hart fired back on X, formerly Twitter.
“Mannnnn I like Shane Gillis…now I got to hate him @Shanemgillis 😂😂,” he wrote.
Josh Hart's response aside, Shane Gillis went in on the Knicks.
“It's all good, though,” he said. “You guys won a series? It felt so good to have the Garden back. The Mecca of basketball that has zero f**king rings. Oh my God, bunch of f**king losers, dude…”
To be fair, for one of the most storied franchises in the NBA, the last time the Knicks have won a title was fifty years ago, in 1973. They rose to prominence again in the 1990s under Patrick Ewing and the hard-nosed coaching of ex-Lakers champion Pat Riley, but they were stuck in the same conference as Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.
Moreover, their best chance to win a title was during MJ's first retirement in 1994, but they lost to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets.
Then, for about a decade, the Knicks floundered in obscurity thanks to roster mismanagement, poor trades, and poor drafting. First, Amar'e Stoudemire and, then, Carmelo Anthony led the team to a mini resurgence, advancing to the second round in 2013, though they lost to the Indiana Pacers.
New look in New York
In recent years, Julius Randle helped turn the Knicks into a playoff team again, though a few more roster adjustments came after. Last season, the Knicks traded for OG Anunoby, one of the most coveted wings in the NBA, of the Toronto Raptors. Moreover, in the offseason, the team also extended Brunson to a four-year, $156-million contract, and signed Anunoby to a new five-year, $212-million deal.
They may have lost an interior presence in Isaiah Hartenstein, but they might have made up for it with the Mikal Bridges trade.
With the arrival of Bridges, the team hopes to have found the winning formula they need to advance to the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics had knocked on the door for a few years before finally breaking through, but have the Knicks found the right pieces to reach the promised land sooner?
