00:00That greatness is validated.
00:02How do we know that any of the last eight champions are actually validated
00:05because they have not done it again?
00:08Giannis is itching to get out.
00:09Boston is thinking about trading Jalen Brown.
00:12They don't believe in their one championship.
00:14LeBron's one championship in L.A. was not enough.
00:17So why would it be enough for us?
00:20Validate is the Larry O'Brien that I put on that shelf and stays there forever.
00:24That's the validation.
00:25The Lakers thing.
00:26Oh, you mean participation trophy then?
00:28I'm sorry.
00:28Larry O'Brien is a participation trophy?
00:29If everybody gets one.
00:31It is an actual trophy.
00:33You won the league that year.
00:36That was the single worst take in the history of sports television.
00:39A clown take from a guy that I respect, Vince Goodwill, on Get Up.
00:46I love Get Up and our guy Grady on ESPN.
00:49I mean, I thought Alan Hahn's head was going to explode.
00:52But that's kind of it, especially when you have someone like Vince Goodwill
00:57calling the Larry O'Brien Trophy a participation trophy.
01:01The disrespects diminishing this Knicks championship or any team's championship as a participation trophy,
01:11if they don't win multiple rings, if they don't win multiple rings, if they don't win multiple rings, that is
01:14wildly disrespectful.
01:17Wildly disrespectful.
01:18You won a championship, you're stamped forever as a champion.
01:22I'm begging Vince Goodwill.
01:24Now, with that said, what are the chances when it comes to this parade today, this championship this year?
01:31Can the Knicks repeat?
01:33Is it a one-off title?
01:34Is it just a participation trophy?
01:38Loser take.
01:39Or are they contenders next season?
01:41Does the league now belong to the Thunder and the Spurs, as many have speculated?
01:47Here's the deal.
01:48The last eight years, we've had eight different champions.
01:54And by the way, I think this is actually terrific for the NBA.
01:59And I think that there are a few of these teams, especially when you consider Jokic in 2023,
02:06the Thunder last year, the Celtics in 2024, you felt like, okay, we could see more.
02:14Let's even go back to Giannis and the Bucs, right?
02:18And, you know, I thought Phoenix would win that series.
02:20They were up 2-0, and Milwaukee came back.
02:23And you kind of had the feeling, I know I did, erroneously looking back,
02:28we could see more in terms of another championship.
02:31Listen, I don't want to say dynasties are dead.
02:36I think what we've seen has been great for the NBA, by the way.
02:39The ratings for this Knicks championship were off the charts,
02:43the highest-rated finals in the NBA since Jordan won his sixth ring against Utah.
02:49Think about that and what the Knicks meant to saving the NBA in a lot of ways
02:55and giving extra buzz and juice and pop and sizzle.
02:58And I love the NBA.
03:00Today, this celebration, this championship was amazing.
03:03The parade today is going to be absolutely incredible.
03:06Of course the Knicks can do it again.
03:07Of course.
03:09I felt like Giannis was one of those guys who could win another chip.
03:12Not going to happen in Milwaukee.
03:14He's going to get traded.
03:15I felt the same way about Jokic once he won that one.
03:19I felt, you know, that when you look at the Celtics in that core getting over the hump,
03:24yeah, they could do it again.
03:26And here's the deal.
03:27The Thunder are not dead.
03:28Like, OKC had injuries this past year in the Western Conference Finals.
03:33And if they didn't, they might have beat the Knicks.
03:35We'll never know.
03:36Knicks deserve all the credit in the world.
03:38And if the Thunder win a championship next year, is that a dynasty?
03:42I mean, if you go championship, lose in the WCF, win a championship.
03:46So, I still think that the way the league is now with, you know, financial considerations
03:52and second apron and that kind of conversation, it's great because if you build the right team,
03:58you're going to have a chance if you have the right stars, the right team, the right coach,
04:03the right owner, the right general manager.
04:06Which leads me back to the Knicks.
04:09Of course the Knicks will win again.
04:11And at some point around Labor Day, when Jalen Brunson and company stop celebrating,
04:17and they should celebrate for the next three months.
04:20I mean, I'm still buzzing.
04:21I'm still floating.
04:22Today's parade is going to be the greatest celebration in the history of sports.
04:26The New York Knicks have everything in place to win another championship.
04:32Everyone's coming back.
04:34Everyone's going to be hungry.
04:35Now, when you repeat, there's a different aura, different mentality.
04:40You're going to get everyone's best shot.
04:42You have to make sure that you're up for a game on a Tuesday against New Orleans in December
04:50because the Pelicans are going to want to beat you more than anything else.
04:53That's just the way it works.
04:55But why wouldn't you pick the Knicks to at least win the East?
05:00Now, we'll see what happens with Giannis.
05:02Are we allowed to talk about how bad Giannis has been since and how bad his teams have been
05:07since they won that championship?
05:09If he goes to Boston, what does that mean for the fabric of that team?
05:13Boston needs to rebuild that roster.
05:15Remember, last offseason and what they thought was going to be a gap year,
05:18they traded away Holiday and Porzingis, which made sense for the Boston Celtics.
05:24What are the Orlando Magic going to look like?
05:26Are the Detroit Pistons going to add any scoring?
05:28Are they going to be in the mix for Kevin Durant?
05:31But everyone's going to come back for the Knicks.
05:33Starting five, everyone's on their contract.
05:34Jalen Brunson's going to be hungry to win another one.
05:37After he celebrates and validates and smiles and does the talk show circuit,
05:41it's going to be not about repeating, about the 2026-2027 Knicks.
05:46And I can't wait until he goes, he celebrates, validates, parade today,
05:49and then goes back into game mode, and let's win another one.
05:55Let's win this year.
05:57And Karl-Anthony Towns, in theory, this should be the best regular season he's ever had.
06:02Mikel Bridges is the same.
06:03That kind of heat and pressure is off.
06:06Mitchell Robinson's the only guy in the group and in the core who's an unrestricted free agent.
06:11You know he wants to come back.
06:13You know the Knicks want him back.
06:14O'Gian Inobi forever entrenched.
06:16And O'Gian Inobi is a terrific player.
06:19So I think that the Knicks absolutely should be considered in the mix
06:24and absolutely could win again.
06:26Just like I felt that if everything broke right, and that's what it is,
06:30and everyone's healthy at the right time in the NBA.
06:32You know, I felt that about Milwaukee.
06:34Wrong.
06:35Felt that about the Celtics.
06:37Felt that about the Nuggets.
06:38I still feel that way about the Oklahoma City Thunder.
06:42They are my pick right now today to win next year.
06:47I have picked Knicks Thunder in the NBA Finals for the last two years.
06:53Barring anything unforeseen, that'll be my prediction next year as well.
06:56Knicks Thunder.
06:58Let's see what the Lakers do.
07:00Let's see what the Timberwolves do.
07:02But of course the Knicks, with their focus,
07:05they're going to have three draft picks in the first couple of rounds.
07:07You know, they'll certainly take that seriously.
07:09And they're going to be, all of them, to a man.
07:14What happens today at the parade, the greatest celebration, appreciation in the history of New York sports,
07:21they're going to take that and put it in the memory bank forever.
07:25And they will be motivated by doing it again.
07:28You know, Eli Manning had a couple of rings.
07:30Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, more rings than you could count.
07:34So when you, winning one is unbelievable.
07:37You're stamped, you're entrenched.
07:39This championship for the Knicks meant more than others in the history of New York sports
07:44and in the history of the NBA.
07:46Because of the drought, without question, how they won this postseason, kicked ass, able to take names.
07:53After today, after the parade, the Knicks are going to have that internal fire
07:59when they go to training camp for this year like nothing else.
08:02Because being a winner in New York is the best feeling in the world.
08:06A two-time winner?
08:09That takes it to a whole different level.
08:12That takes it to a whole different level.
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