00:00So the parade is Thursday. So we made a list of those who should be at the parade and at
00:07the very least should be celebrated by all Knicks fans. Okay. I want five guys to be celebrated for their
00:16contributions to this championship. I want to start with Julius Randall. I said a couple of years ago after the
00:25Knicks lost that they can never win a championship with Julius Randall.
00:30And I was right. But that doesn't minimize what Julius Randall meant to the Knicks when he signed with the
00:40Knicks. His effort, his offense, how he loved New York, loved being a New York Knick. Five seasons with the
00:48Knicks. He was an offensive machine. He crashed the boards. Likeability off the charts. Look, obviously can be a bit
00:58of a black hole on offense.
00:59Ball goes in. It doesn't come out. I never thought they could win with him in terms of celebrating and
01:06having a parade. But Randall really got the ball rolling in terms of credibility.
01:12And also, again, you have to remember, there were plenty of stars that had no interest in joining New York
01:20and joining the Knicks. We could talk about LeBron and the decision.
01:23Obviously, Kyrie and Kevin Durant. Julius Randall wanted to be here. He should always be celebrated. You think about, obviously,
01:33Dante DiVincenzo. And he was in that deal for Carl Anthony Towns with Julius Randall.
01:38And I thought the Knicks appropriately sold on Dante DiVincenzo. They sold at the right time in terms of, at
01:47the end of the day, selling on a high. But that doesn't minimize this and who Dante DiVincenzo was and
01:54what he did when it mattered the most.
01:56And bang, bang, bang, bang. That was unbelievable as a moment. Every Knicks fan remembers where they were. Obviously, Dante
02:06and Brunson, the best of friends, and Josh Hart and Mikkel Bridges.
02:11And, listen, we'll always feel bad for Dante in that regard, that he couldn't live this out with the rest
02:19of his Nova guys.
02:21But I'd love to see the Knicks bring him back as a reserve in some way, shape, or form.
02:25But Dante DiVincenzo, his effort, his energy, his clutch gene, the fact that his brothers from Villanova won this championship,
02:33make sure you give him flowers as well.
02:36Obviously, Tom Thibodeau. And Tibbs, still getting paid by the Knicks. I would love to see Tom Thibodeau at the
02:44parade. I would love to see him celebrated.
02:46I think that, you know, you think of the Buck Showalter-Joe Torrey arc and comparison with Tibbs and with
02:53Mike Brown.
02:55Sometimes you just have to know when a coach is not going to be the one to win you a
03:00championship.
03:01And I was wrong. I thought they were capable of getting there with Tom Thibodeau.
03:06He never developed the bench. He was too rigid in terms of game-to-game, quarter-to-quarter, not making
03:13adjustments based upon what you see on the court.
03:17But Tom Thibodeau, listen, you want to talk about credibility?
03:20Again, I've referenced at the course of this show and this run the buffoonery, the nonsense, the awful coaches,
03:27Fischer to Hornacek to Fisdale, and Tom Thibodeau equaled credibility.
03:32And remember, he was a Jeff Van Gundy former assistant and a clone in a lot of ways.
03:37Things really went sideways when Dolan got rid of Jeff Van Gundy.
03:41Van Gundy left. You could debate how that happened.
03:43But Van Gundy couldn't stand working for the Knicks anymore.
03:47Thibodeau, right guy, right time, should always be given flowers.
03:50How about Patrick Ewing? And that scene with Patrick Ewing, with Jalen Brunson, I mean, Patrick Ewing was the man.
03:59And I talked to John Starks yesterday on my SiriusXM radio show, and he said for him and for Patrick,
04:06Saturday night was one of the great nights of their lives.
04:09Think about that for a second. Think about 94, how close the Knicks were.
04:14Think about what transpired in Game 6, Game 7.
04:19Think about, you know, the finger roll against Indiana.
04:22Think about Reggie Miller, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon blocking them.
04:26Patrick was hurt in 99.
04:29This, and Patrick's part of the team, part of the organization at every game.
04:33As Stark said to me, it's wonderful. Mike Brown, Leon Rose.
04:36Not only do they want these guys around, they want them contributing advice and coaching and wisdom.
04:43So absolutely, Patrick Ewing should be celebrated.
04:47And Mike Breen, who's always celebrated, should absolutely be celebrated like no other.
04:55I mean, I don't know if you want to chant Mike Breen's name at the parade, but you should.
04:59If you want to just see him on the street and go bang, bang, bang.
05:03But how about Mike Breen? For all these years as the voice of the Knicks, also the voice of ABC,
05:10ESPN, the lead play-by-play voice.
05:12And it never overlapped in terms of the Knicks being in the finals and Mike Breen getting to call a
05:19Knicks championship.
05:20And he's a diehard Knicks fan, grew up a Knicks fan.
05:23He also knows how to call a Knicks game nationally, neutrally, while still absolutely loving the team.
05:31It's an art. Mike Breen is the best. Mike Breen is a terrific human.
05:37I've known him forever since I was an intern at WFAN, and he was doing the Imus show in 1997.
05:44He is an unbelievable human being, a great play-by-play voice.
05:49You know, at some point they'll build the Jalen Brunson statue.
05:52I'd like a Mike Breen statue outside of Madison Square Garden.
05:57He was the voice of the Knicks forever, still is the voice of the Knicks forever, and called the championship,
06:03and told everyone it's okay to cry.
06:06Man, celebrate, validate, stamp, appreciate Mike Breen, Tom Thibodeau, obviously Julius Randle, Dante DiVincenzo, Patrick Ewing, when you see the
06:17parade coming up on Thursday.
Comments