00:00But I do think this is where the youth and the inexperience and the we're happy to be here
00:06mentality for the NBA Finals could matter. For the Knicks, it's all business. So that was yours
00:12truly on June 1st, reacting to the Spurs and Victor Omanyama and the emotional reaction of
00:17knocking off the Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals in OKC, and that was a big deal.
00:23And I was on to something, and I knew that. It was immaturity. It was looking past the Knicks.
00:29It was thinking that you won the Larry O'Brien trophy before you even played in the NBA Finals.
00:34And we saw how the series played out. And now we've heard from none other than Josh Hart on how
00:42he
00:42and the Knicks felt watching that celebration. I feel like that was similar to San Antonio this year
00:49where, like, everyone was talking to him about, like, yo, they gotta beat OKC. Like, OKC's gonna
00:53repeat. OKC's gonna repeat. Da-da-da. And then they, you know, they beat OKC. And that was, like, for
01:01them, for a young team, I feel like that was a mountaintop for them.
01:04And then that's how I looked at JP. I was like, you see that reaction because, like, they think they're
01:09gonna win it. Like, they think it's over in Sweden.
01:15And then you look at all the reaction after we beat Cleveland. And it was, like, it was tough to
01:23celebrate.
01:24But we're like, we got four more. Like, obviously winning the Eastern Conference, you know, is an amazing accomplishment.
01:31But we all looked at that like, this is just a step. This isn't the destination. This is just a
01:38step. And the reaction of after Game 4 in Cleveland, like, shows that.
01:44That's our guy, Josh Hartz. He, of course, on with his friend, our guy, Jalen Brunson, on The Roommate Show,
01:50their incredible podcast that they do together.
01:52And that show was broadcast nationally on ESPN on Friday night. Watch the entire thing. And listen, Josh Hartz said
02:01exactly what we said here on Shine Time.
02:04That they felt like the Spurs were, frankly, over-celebrating. And they were taking the Knicks for granted. And it
02:11was over. And they won the Larry O'Brien trophy.
02:14I mean, look at this. These are tears of a champion. Except this wasn't the championship. And Victor Wembenyama, this
02:23moment, and we talked about it in real time on Shine Time, I went nuts on it.
02:29That right there, that's the reaction after you win a title. That's the reaction of Jalen Brunson and company. The
02:36emotion, the joy, the relief after they won a championship against the San Antonio Spurs.
02:42That is not how you act. And we made sure to mention this on Shine Time. That's not how you
02:48act getting to the finals.
02:50And I'm a big believer when it comes to sports. Sports are tough. Celebrate. Validate. Stamp. But there's perspective.
02:58You compare and contrast it. And we did that day on Shine Time. Josh Hartz mentioned it. He said he
03:04and Jalen Brunson talked about it.
03:06Compare and contrast it to how the Knicks celebrated, or lack thereof, when the clock hit zero against Cleveland.
03:14And it was just, yay. Matter of fact. Four more. Zero, zero.
03:21Sure, there are some smiles from the rest of the guys. There's an appreciation of a hug with Patrick Ewing
03:27and a hug with Walt Clyde Frazier if you're Jalen Brunson.
03:31They're happy to go to the NBA Finals, but they're not there for a participation trophy.
03:38They're there for the Larry O'Brien trophy. And that was the difference. And we made a huge deal about
03:43that.
03:44And I think that Josh Hartz and the Knicks took major issue with the way Victor Wimbanyama celebrated prematurely.
03:53And then they felt as if, because remember, you almost kind of jogged them at the Rolodex, the New York
03:59Knicks were underdogs, relatively heavy underdogs in the series.
04:03Everyone and their mother thought San Antonio was going to win. San Antonio was favored by five and a half
04:08points in game one.
04:09San Antonio down 3-1 was favored in game five by five and a half points.
04:14So, Josh Hartz and company took that very personally. And honestly, they will continue to use that disrespect whenever they
04:23stop partying.
04:24And by the way, I can't stop with Knicks content. I can't stop in terms of the parade and the
04:31aftermath and watching these guys celebrate.
04:33And I watch the entire roommate show. I mean, you give me as much Knicks championship content in the aftermath
04:40as possible.
04:41That's how you celebrate and when you celebrate, when you have the Larry O'Brien trophy.
04:45And honestly, whenever the Knicks stop celebrating, they're going to use all of this once again in terms of trying
04:51to win another championship.
04:52And the haters and the critics and the naysayers saying they can't do it next year.
04:57Look, I could have lived without James Dolan before the parade saying, well, we're not going to be in the
05:02second apron.
05:03Listen, Knicks starting five is back. We'll see what happens with Alvarado.
05:07See what happens with Mitchell Robinson. See what happens with Landry Shammett.
05:11But I believe the New York Knicks will absolutely be one of the four best teams with a realistic chance
05:17to repeat.
05:18But it goes noted. And Josh Hart said exactly what I said here on Shine Time.
05:24Victor Wemba-Nyama, that was that moment, if you want to start talking about when it all changed for him
05:29in the court of public opinion.
05:31Game six, game seven, the way they came back in that series against the champs, against OKC, Wemba was hotter
05:38than the sun.
05:39And then that celebration, in my opinion, he went from hero to zero.
05:45He went from, OK, superstar Wilt meets Steph meets E.T. He's freakish.
05:51He would have never seen him before.
05:53And that was the first example of true immaturity.
05:57And then you can start talking about Nasreen and what happened when he campaigned for the MVP.
06:00Then he acted clueless and he played terribly and he acted like a thug and he was dirty and said
06:06dumb things during the course of the NBA Finals.
06:09And now that all means that Victor Wemba-Nyama has a lot to prove for the 2026-2027 season.
06:16And honestly, when you consider how he just celebrated like he won when he didn't, it was ridiculously immature.
06:24And I'm not going to sit here and write off Victor Wemba-Nyama for the rest of his career.
06:30But I think way too many people are just simply saying, well, he'll learn from it.
06:36Willie, he didn't really learn from anything during the course of the NBA Finals.
06:42That scene and for Josh Hart, days after winning a championship to slam at home in the exact fashion feel
06:49as strongly as I did.
06:51This to me, this is an image, tears of a clown.
06:56That's someone who thought they were just going to absolutely coast to a championship.
07:01Victor Wemba-Nyama got humbled.
07:03You would think then you see in the NBA Finals how he ultimately, you know, acted and the way he
07:09became as unlikable as it gets.
07:12Tough for me to believe that all of a sudden the light is going to go on for Victor Wemba
07:17-Nyama.
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