The Knicks are NBA champions for the first time in 53 seasons. New York completed an epic postseason run with a win over the Spurs in Game 5 on Saturday night to clinch the NBA title.
Jalen Brunson fulfilled his legacy as he scored 45 of the Knicks’ 94 points while New York erased yet another double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter in what wound up the final game of the NBA season. He left the Mavericks to become the Knicks’ star guard four seasons ago. Now, he stands atop the NBA’s mountaintop as the Finals MVP after he scored 30 or more points in four of five games against the Spurs.
He’s had a wild journey that’s drawn criticism along the way as the Knicks struggled to get over the hump in the postseason. This year, however, he willed his team to a championship and was overcome with emotion when he finished the job.
Look what it means to Jalen Brunson!pic.twitter.com/zkImOQr0lg
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) June 14, 2026
“I got no words, it’s everything I ever dreamed of,” Brunson said on the ESPN broadcast immediately after the game, letting it all sink in. “I don’t know what I’m feeling, I’m in awe. Whenever someone counted us out, we find a way to come back and do something about it.”
"I don't know what I'm feeling."
— ESPN (@espn) June 14, 2026
Jalen Brunson is in disbelief after leading the Knicks to the mountaintop 👏 pic.twitter.com/OQRgWcRotw
The emotion continued onto the podium as he received the Finals MVP trophy with his dad and assistant coach Rick Brunson right by his side. “It’s everthing we dreamed of, it’s why I came to New York,” Jalen said with his dad’s arm around him.
Josh Hart’s epic postgame quote and all Knicks’ starters comments after championship win
The Knicks have built their roster mostly through all-in trades. They dealt for NBA Finals hero OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. The franchise had to mortgage its future by sending out considerable draft capital to get the key trades done. None of that matters now that the Larry O’Brien trophy heads to New York.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Hart said on the championship podium. “Aye man, forget them picks. Forget them picks, dawg. We here, we here, we here.”
Josh Hart on Mikal Bridges: "Forget them picks, dawg" 🤣 #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/4o6iOu3qa8
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 14, 2026
Towns’s journey from the top pick in the 2015 draft until now has been as fascinating as Brunson’s underdog story. He made his first trip to the Finals this year in his 11th NBA season and only his second with New York. The six-time All-Star always plays with a heavy heart as he often brings up and thanks his late mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, who died in April 2020due to complications from COVID-19. He thanked her after both of his great performances in Games 1 and 2 of the Finals and did the same when he became his NBA champion.
“You work your whole life for this moment,” he said, “throughout my career I’ve seen myself fall down, people tell me to stay down and I got back up. Even when I was in the mud and I kept putting my left foot in front of my right foot. ... At the end of the day, we’ve always said from the beginning, it is written. This was written for New York and we went and got it done today. It’s because of all my brothers here, because of the fans.
“I appreciate everyone, but y’all have heard my story, you know my story. I just want to say, thank you Mama I appreciate you getting me one.”
“Thank you, mom. I appreciate you getting me one.”
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 14, 2026
Karl-Anthony Towns on his inspiration during the Knicks’ championship run 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/UbAudPqbQ5
Then there’s Anunoby, the hero of Game 4 who completed the game-winning tip-in that has already went down as one of the greatest moments in NBA Finals history. He’s a smooth criminal who rarely cracks a smile, at least publicly. Even he was cheesin’ after the Knicks’ title.
“It’s very special, this is what we’ve been working for the whole season,” he said. “This was our dream, this was our goal and we did it.”
Straight-forward comments from a straight-forward guy. But even he smiled ear to ear once he got off the mic, even if his teammates pressured him into it.
OG Anunoby with a characteristic postgame interview after Game 5, during the championship ceremony. pic.twitter.com/tWGDjV5kI1
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) June 14, 2026
Bridges, a member of the “‘Nova Knicks” with Brunson and Hart, was overcome with emotion after he officially became an NBA champion. He came to the Knicks from the Nets for five first-round picks and a pick swap, which Hart already let us know we can forget all about. He already had chemistry with his college teammates, but he made sure the whole world knew the entire group and how it jives together is special.
“I call these two my brothers ever since I been with them at Villanova,” Bridges said postgame. “But it’s great to call all these other guys my brothers, too. Without them, we wouldn’t be here, so I’m proud of everybody and I’m very grateful.”
Mikal Bridges is an NBA Champion. 🙏🔥 pic.twitter.com/b5g0dkuoXM
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 14, 2026
This is just the start of the celebrations for the newest NBA champions. But everything they’ve been through and how incredible of a run it was made the immediate championship bliss special.
More NBA Finals From Sports Illustrated
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