Knicks? Easy choice, I guess, but they aren’t mine.
The WNBA’s NY Liberty won the honor in 2024, and the last time NY celebrated a men’s professional sports team was when the NY Giants won the Super Bowl in 2012.
This year we have the Knicks in the NBA Finals, some say the Yankees will contend in baseball this year, and (believe it or not) I’ve even heard and read that the Giants could be a Super Bowl team. Plus, you should never count out the Liberty.
Ok, then. Here’s my take on sizing up those four franchises.
Graphic courtesy NFL on ESPN Facebook
4. GIANTS: Man, this is a team of “buts.” Everyone’s excited about quarterback Jaxson Dart, despite the fact that he won nothing in college or in the NFL. Everyone loves the players the real manager, Joe Schoen, drafted, never mind that they accomplished nothing in the NFL. The Giants’ hiring of John Harbaugh as head coach has fans thinking Super Bowl this season, even though the players have yet to show they can be a good team.
Verdict: Get real, Giants fans. The Giants should improve, and they might even make the playoffs. But until they start beating the Eagles and Cowboys and have sustained success, it’s foolish to say they’re a Super Bowl contender.
3. Yankees: They’re heavy betting favorites to go to the World Series. They have Aaron Judge, after all, and three starters who can take over a game in Gerrit Cole, Cam Schlittler, and Max Fried. Their bullpen is dynamite, too. So what’s not to like? Well, how about “the” competition?
Verdict: As long as baseball’s best player, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and the Los Angeles Dodgers exist, the Yankees might as well be the rest of the 29 teams looking up to them.
Will They? (photo courtesy Daily Knicks)
2. Knicks: The Knicks are the talk of the town, and for good reason, in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. And how they got there is just as big news, winning 10 consecutive playoff games, many in blowout fashion. Jalen Brunson has played like the best player in the Eastern Conference, Karl-Anthony Towns has played to his potential, and first-year Knicks coach Mike Brown has utilized everyone on the roster in the postseason. Blessed be, say bosses Leon Rose and James Dolan.
Verdict: The Knicks have not been battle-tested this postseason, not against the teams they’ve beaten (Hawks, 76ers, and Cavaliers). It will be a huge step up when they face either the Spurs or Thunder. The Knicks’ championship drought will continue.
1. Liberty: The New York Liberty not only did not repeat last season, but they were so stale that they fired Sandy Brondello, who is now with the expansion Toronto Tempo. Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb then hired Chris DeMarco, who had been an NBA assistant coach for Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors. De Marco’s tasks were to modernize the offense and get Sabrina Ionescu back on track. So far, there’s promise, but not greatness (4-4 overall), with Ionescu averaging 11 PPG in 31 MPG. But it’s early.
Verdict: The Liberty will win the WNBA title this season. The roster is as good as it was two years ago, with MVP candidate Breanna Stewart leading the way (20 PPG, 8.6 RPG thus far). They can win it all despite Ionescu, as we saw two years ago.
