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    On Saturday, the New York Knicks fulfilled a prophecy over 50 years in the making. As an avid sports fan, I’ve watched basketball pretty much my entire life, and history hasn’t been the kindest to Knicks fans since their last championship run in the early 1970s. Granted, they’ve had some really great players (Patrick Ewing, Stephon Marbury, Amare Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony, just to name a few), but the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy is something that always eluded them. So, to see the boys in blue and orange capture the title this past weekend was good to see. I’ve said for years that the NFL is better when the NFC East is competitive. When the Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, and even Washington are all relevant, the league simply feels bigger. Watching this year’s NBA Finals reminded me that basketball has its own version of that phenomenon—the energy of the NBA is just better when the New York Knicks are a great team.

    For the past several weeks, it has been nearly impossible to escape Knicks fever. Every win created viral moments; from fans expressing joy, locals dancing in the streets, and a bevy of hilarious social media clips from New Yorkers who had waited decades for a run like this. Madison Square Garden became the epicenter of the basketball world, while celebrities lined the sidelines hoping to witness history. Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Jay-Z, Nas, Cardi B, and Jordyn Woods (Karl-Anthony Towns’s fiancé) were among the familiar faces who showed up during the Finals, there was an increased interest in the game, if even for a moment.

    Game 4 of the series averaged 20.9 million viewers on ABC, making it the most-watched NBA Finals Game 4 since Michael Jordan’s Bulls faced the Utah Jazz in 1998. At its peak, more than 23 million people were tuned in. Those numbers say a lot about the appeal of a championship series involving the Big Apple. When the Knicks matter, casual fans start to pay more attention, and basketball becomes watercooler conversation for people from all walks of life. But of course, none of this would have happened if the team hadn’t delivered.

    Led by team captain and Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, the Knicks defeated the Spurs in a 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5. As they had done all playoffs-long, the team came together to become more than the sum of its parts, and it also brought an entire city together, too. After falling behind 2-1 in the first round against Atlanta, the Knicks won three straight games to advance. They swept both Philadelphia and Cleveland, and during the Finals, they repeatedly found themselves trailing before working their way back into games—as true champions do. Their record-setting comeback in Game 4 will likely live in franchise lore for years, and it provided the spark for the championship-clinching performance two nights later.

    New York is one of the world’s great sports cities, and when its basketball team is thriving, the entire league benefits, and this postseason proved that point every step of the way. The energy surrounding the sport felt impossible to ignore. After 53 years, Knicks fans finally have their championship, and the NBA feels a lot more interesting because of it.

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