Winning the NBA Cup only raises the stakes, ratcheting up the pressure to get the job done in June.
A couple of New York Post sportswriters mentioned we should be proud of the Knicks for going for it in the NBA Cup tournament last week. A prominent sports columnist and a Knicks beat writer for that paper gaslighted us about winning the NBA Cup, saying it would mean the Knicks have the chops to be a championship team.
If acerbic columnist Dick Young were alive, he would be wincing at what constitutes journalism today. The sportswriters in this town have become nothing more than the team’s public relations.
Are we really serious about winning the NBA Cup? Has it become the be-all and end-all here?
I understand if it meant a lot to the players and coaches since they put in the work. I get it if the bench players get a nice payout for winning the Cup. But celebrating this achievement and putting an NBA Cup title banner at the Garden rafters should really be beneath the team and its fans. Thankfully (as I see it), the franchise decided not to raise the banner.
Photo courtesy Border Fuel Sports
Yes, the Knicks came back to beat the up-and-coming San Antonio Spurs 124-113 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to win this mythical championship finally. But the takeaway should be that it was just a game on the schedule and nothing more. It’s hard to believe the fine folks at San Antonio are upset about their team losing the Cup. Oklahoma City fans couldn’t have cared less that the NBA defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder did not make a Cup Finals appearance.
That’s the difference between those fans and Knicks fans. Those fans understand the big picture. It’s about winning the NBA championship, which is something the Knicks have lacked since 1973. It’s been 52 years and counting.
The Knicks are the favorites to get to the NBA Finals this year, and it’s clear why. The Indiana Pacers don’t have a shot to return after Tyrese Haliburton suffered a severe torn Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals that ended his 2025-2026 season. The Boston Celtics don’t have a shot after Jayson Tatum suffered an Achilles tear in the playoffs, which has him out for the season. I can’t take the Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons, and Cleveland Cavaliers seriously as contenders.
So, this is the best chance for the Knicks to get to the championship round. They are experienced enough after going through postseason wars the last few years. If they can’t get there this year, they likely never will with this core.
Winning this exhibition event serves as a diversion from a long season. It’s only a big deal for NBA commissioner Adam Silver since he is selling this game to Vegas, which housed the semifinals and championship. He is also catering to the corporate sponsors and Amazon Prime Video for hosting it.
It’s a big deal for James Dolan since he has a product in the Sphere that houses entertainment events in Vegas. If he wants to unveil the Cup banner at the Sphere, God bless him. But to put that banner at the MSG rafters would be a joke.
There has to be a standard here. When banners are raised, it should be for jersey retirements and championships.
The Knicks did not go overboard with the celebration, at least. They get it. They understand that whether they won or lost, it doesn’t define their season. That’s the right approach here. They handled it professionally by playing hard and finding a way to win. It’s what they have done under Thibodeau and now Mike Brown. That’s something that should be respected in a league where players play when they want to, and teams use load management to rest players throughout the year.
The regular season serves as an exhibition for the postseason. The NBA Cup serves as a diversion to an 82-game season. We start judging the Knicks when the playoffs begin.
Winning the NBA Cup only raises the stakes, ratcheting up the pressure to get the job done in June.
