00:00And let's thank the man who brought Jalen Brunson to the Knicks and assembled this championship roster.
00:05That is Leon Rose, a longtime agent turned team president.
00:08They spoke with Ernie Johnson on the stage after the win.
00:11How much satisfaction do you get?
00:14How much satisfaction do you get out of seeing a team you pieced together bring it to this point?
00:22It's really, there's not, there aren't really words you can put into what these guys have done,
00:28the character that they have, the fight they have, the grit they have, the never say die.
00:35It's incredible, incredible the run that they've been on.
00:38You know, the guy behind you right here, Carl Anthony Towns, has said you have instilled a family atmosphere.
00:45How did you do that?
00:47Just by caring about each other.
00:49Just by caring about each other and making sure that we all look out for one another,
00:55or have each other's back, sacrifice, and do it for the better good.
01:01That's perfect from Leon Rose.
01:03Absolutely perfect.
01:05And he brought in Jalen Brunson and then everyone and everything around Jalen Brunson.
01:10And Leon Rose should take a bow.
01:11Jalen Brunson should take a bow.
01:13And you heard Leon talk about the grits and the toughness and the New York tough of this team.
01:19How about an all four wins, double-digit comebacks?
01:23That's amazing.
01:24And the Spurs are incredibly talented.
01:26The Knicks finished the playoffs going 15-1 in their last 16 games.
01:32They went 16-3 in the NBA postseason.
01:36Absolutely, positively incredible.
01:38So, the Knicks and Leon Rose, they bring in Jalen Brunson.
01:42And I love the move.
01:44I did not love the contract.
01:46I thought, well, I love Brunson.
01:49Loved him in Dallas.
01:50Loved him in Villanova.
01:52I know he's a winner, but did you leave enough money to build the rest of the roster?
01:58Can he, do you need more players around him?
02:01And boy, I love the move.
02:03I was nitpicking the money.
02:04This was absolutely as majestic as it gets.
02:08But the key was, and it was about Brunson, but it was about World Wide West and Leon Rose
02:14finding the right surrounding ballplayers who had that same singular focus.
02:19And look, it was such a smart calculation for these guys.
02:24Because to bring in the Nova boys, where you don't have to wonder aloud about how they fit with Brunson.
02:29You don't have to wonder aloud if the chemistry is going to be there.
02:32Mikel Bridges and Josh Hart, being there, won that on the collegiate level with Jalen Brunson.
02:39Josh Hart, when they made that trade.
02:42Remember, he had a reputation of being, you know, a hard worker, but a little bit of a jokester,
02:46where you think about him with the Lakers or New Orleans or when the Knicks got him from Portland.
02:50And Josh Hart, I mean, just incredible and just a great worker and rebounder and, you know, do everything and
02:58hit big shots.
02:59Game one of these NBA Finals, you think about it, the 15-rebound game when he had three points
03:04as instrumental and so vital to the Knicks' success and obviously there for Jalen.
03:10And then you think about Mikel Bridges.
03:13And I love that Bridges didn't even say F.
03:16He let it fly.
03:17And, you know, I got emotional often on Saturday, Sunday, even this morning,
03:22thinking about this championship, which is so special, watching Mikel Bridges break down,
03:27where I didn't even know he had that in him, right?
03:29And he's been through it, right?
03:31Where fans, media, where we're on him when the lows are low.
03:35And there were enough of those, but obviously saving his best for when it mattered the most.
03:40And, of course, it's kind of fitting, right?
03:43You know, Brunson, the leading scorer with the 45.
03:45Next two top scorers in game five were the two Nova guys.
03:49And that's pretty incredible when you consider what's, you know, you look at Bridges
03:52and when you take a look at what transpired with Hart and what they were able to do.
03:57And I just think the world of Mikel Bridges.
03:59And Mikel Bridges, such an incredible three and D player.
04:02And when Leon Rose made that deal, they brought him in to win.
04:07He played every game of the regular season the last two years.
04:09Was great in the playoffs last year.
04:11Bridges was awesome.
04:12When you take a look at game two of these NBA finals,
04:15and you think about those Leon Rose moves and the three and D guys, right?
04:21You know, the OG and an OB trade.
04:23And I was a big R.J. Barrett fan.
04:25But OG was such an integral part, obviously, of what the Knicks wanted to ultimately do.
04:32And obviously, we talked about it last week, right?
04:35After the incredible moment on Wednesday night, the Knicks had to win to make that stick, right?
04:41The Knicks had to win to make it stick.
04:43And for it to ultimately be considered, in my opinion, the best moment in New York sports,
04:48they had to win in game number five.
04:51And when you look at Ananobi and what he did, I mean, every time I see this, I just get
04:58the chills.
04:59I mean, how does this even happen?
05:03It's an all-timer.
05:04It's the Knicks moment in history.
05:06It's the NBA finals moment now that the Knicks won.
05:10And it's the greatest moment.
05:12I mean, look at how he's able to leap over the trees.
05:15This is unreal.
05:17The difficulty of this shot.
05:19And then to do it in New York City, to do it at Madison Square Garden, to complete the single
05:25greatest comeback in NBA finals history,
05:28that all matters, plus the 53-year drought, you know, and that being the signature play to get us to
05:34game five
05:35and then to win the next game, that is, the debate is over with all due respect to, you know,
05:41the helmet catch or Matto Matto or Aaron Boone or Bucky Dent or Jim Lairitz or anything,
05:47or the ball going through Buckner's legs.
05:50That is the moment.
05:51And it's the Knicks, and that matters.
05:53It's New York City's team, the one team everyone can agree on.
05:57That sealed the deal.
05:58OG Ananobi, that move was everything.
06:01And how about Carl Anthony Towns?
06:03That was incredible.
06:04We're not going to talk about the stat line from game five because, frankly, it doesn't even matter.
06:10Carl Anthony Towns, and I love that trade.
06:12I love the Ananobi trade when Leon Rose made it.
06:14Not everyone did.
06:15I love the Carl Anthony Towns trade when Leon Rose made it.
06:18Not everyone did.
06:19You know, Julius Randall should always get credit and respect for helping to restore credibility.
06:24Dante DiVincenzo, feel terrible for him.
06:26Obviously, one of the Nova boys who can't celebrate with the other cats, Villanova Wildcats.
06:31But, you know, getting someone like Carl Anthony Towns was everything.
06:36And he's so dominant, and he's so amazing.
06:39And then starting game four in the Atlanta series, you know, the offense went through him,
06:43and it changed everything for this basketball team in terms of the fluidity, the domination.
06:48He was phenomenal in the first two games of the NBA Finals.
06:52He was drawing such strength from his late mom who passed away in 2020, COVID, COVID complications.
06:58I mean, everything about Carl Anthony Towns, who's now cemented forever, absolutely incredible.
07:05I just, I love him.
07:06I love everything he stands for.
07:08And look, I love the guy that he replaced in the starting lineup, Mitchell Robinson.
07:11Mitchell Robinson and Carl Anthony Towns.
07:15This moment, right after the buzzer went to zero, that was as great a hug and joy and jubilation as
07:23you could find.
07:23And how about the single most important rebounds in New York Knicks history?
07:29Look at the score, understand the situation, bam.
07:33That was everything.
07:35And that's vintage Mitchell Robinson, the longest-tenured Knick, who was part of a Knicks team that once won 17
07:42games,
07:43seemingly on the trade block forever.
07:44If the Knicks were traded years ago for Donovan Mitchell, he would have been included in that deal.
07:49We still have no idea how he broke his hand.
07:51And a related story, I don't care.
07:54Keeping Mitchell Robinson, listen, Leon Rose gets credit for that.
07:58And give Mitch credit, right?
08:00He found a home in terms of, you know, his role on the team.
08:03And I just love Mitch and who he is and what he stands for.
08:07And New Yorkers and Knicks fans will always and forever love Mitchell Robinson.
08:12And how about Landry Schammett?
08:14I mean, this was the final guy who made the roster during the course of the training camp period
08:20and then goes into the regular season.
08:22And Mike Brown loved him.
08:24And, you know, you see Landry Schammett, or relatively speaking, a quiet NBA final.
08:28But what he did against Cleveland, what he did in all the different levels,
08:32the three levels in the Eastern Conference, that is as worthy a champion as you could find.
08:38I mean, this guy is unbelievable and tough and clutch and ready in his defense
08:42and those monster threes in the comeback in game one against Cleveland.
08:46I mean, just absolutely amazing.
08:49And listen, you got to give credit to my dog, Mike Brown.
