Big Bear Nolan's Blog

For my closest friends and family that know me, they know that I don’t really have a dog in the fight when it comes to NBA (I like both the Timberwolves and Bucks). But this New York Knicks run which they can end it tonight by holding up the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time since 1973 has been fun to watch. Yes, they are in a massive market in New York City but being a fan that is neutral it has the feel of a cinderella team that is having a dream run.

I know a lot of people have been saying how painful these last 53 years have been for Knicks fans. As long as I have been alive, all I have known when it comes to the New York Knicks is failure. I still remember the 2019 NBA Draft lottery when they were supposed to land Zion Williamson after having the worst record that season and only got pick #3. All of those Stephen A. Smith rants on ESPN every morning, that’s what I associated with the Knicks. Heck that scene from Pixar’s Soul when Tina Fey’s character cursed a Knicks player and all you heard was the announcer saying, “And the Knicks lose another one!”

Now slowly and slowly the Knicks went from the bottom of the NBA back to becoming a contender again. This year it’s really paying off, led by Guards Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart along with Forward Karl Anthony Towns and Center OG Anunoby (who hit the winning basket in game 4). This Knicks team rests on the heels of basketball greatness. As a Minnesotan and a Timberwolves fan, it would be along the long line of former Minnesota athletes winning a championship with another team but a lot of T-Wolves fans are rooting for KAT to go get that title. And it’s because of how he was in his time here on and off the court. Like KAT, really none of the Knicks players are truly easy to root against which is why I want to see them get this done.

It has been also fun to see how the city of New York City has been embracing it. The Sidetalk videos of Knicks fans going bonkers are insane and hilarious to watch. Everything that Mayor Zohran Mamdani has done has been awesome, especially when he signed that bedtime is postponed so kids can watch the Finals, that moment itself was really cute and awesome. It also has been cool to see how the diehard celebrities like Spike Lee, Ben Stiller and Timothee Chalamet have been. Because when we associate people like them with sports, usually they are just folks going for the attention aspect. But those three and many others have showed how much of a fan for their team they are like us.

I know I am not the only one that has this stance or the exact opposite, but personally I’m really rooting for the Knicks because that fanbase has suffered for long enough and I know they will be awesome to see if New York win it. I was even asked to go with friends to go to NYC TONIGHT and it sounded fun to possibly be in the middle of the chaos after a Knicks title but due to constraints I had to decline.