Steve Popper: It's a new season, and the Knicks are starting from the same place as every other team
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is defended by Philadelphia 76ers forward LeBron James in the third quarter at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The last time the Knicks were on the Madison Square Garden floor it was hard to find them, fans and family flooding onto the court, jubilantly celebrating the last shot to fall — OG Anunoby’s wild tip-in of Game 4 of the NBA Finals — before the NBA Title, the parades and the parties.
So how do you top that moment? How do you celebrate one more time?
For the Knicks, it was unveiling the first championship banner in 53 years. It was opening night for the 2026-27 season, but in the streets outside the Garden, in the corridors and on the court, it was one last celebration for what came months earlier.
The video highlights were cast on the scoreboard and then former great of the franchise — Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley and Earl Monroe — were joined by the son of Dave DeBusschere and the wife of Willis Reed. The championship rings were handed out. And then Jalen Brunson took the microphone.
“Most importantly I want to say thank you to you guys for not leaving Game Four,” he said.
“We really appreciate it. I mean, this is, as much as we won this, we wouldn’t have won this without you guys, I mean, this is unbelievable. This is really good. Dream come true.
“I know we’re all excited to get this season going. We’re ready to turn the page as a team. But one thing, I would like to say, the joy that this city had this summer we would love to replicate that again. Thank you, guys. Let’s raise this banner.”
With that, the players gathered and watched as the banner made its way to the rafters and the Knicks could put the rings back in their cases and begin the 2026-27 season, the first title defense that the franchise has attempted in — you’re still going to hear this — 53 years.
Nothing has seemed ordinary for the Knicks since the postseason run took over the city. As the day of this game approached tickets just to get into the arena touched nearly $2000 as the team was once again the must-see show with celebrities crowding the courtside seats and into the suites.
The price may have been worth it for the festivities, but the game that followed was hardly echoing the playoff heroics as the Knicks looked like they were still feeling the effects of the short summer and long celebration, falling to the reconstructed Philadelphia 76ers, 106-100, in a sloppy game.
The Knicks lived on come-from-behind efforts through the postseason. It was too much to ask on a night where shots just didn’t fall and everyone looked like they’d just left the party.
“It’s tough because, knock on wood, this could be a once in a lifetime thing,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “You never know. It’s hard. It’s hard to accomplish something like this. You definitely want guys to embrace it and celebrate it with each other because they went through a lot, with the fans, with the rest of the organization, and just with their families.
“So you don’t want to take that moment away from them. But in the same breath we obviously have a job to do tonight.”
They clearly didn’t, whether it was the hangover from the ceremony or the summer. This game may have spoiled the celebration, but it also brought them back to earth.
“No matter what we’ve got to make sure we are professionals and do what our job is and at the end of the day, I don’t think anybody picked us to win the championship again,” Josh Hart said.
“So nothing to it. We shouldn’t sit there and think we’re the champions because we’re not. We’re 0-1. We’re the worst team in the NBA right now. So we need to play like it.”
There were lifetimes that came and went waiting for this championship and maybe that’s why it was so treasured. If the Yankees wait 17 years like they have, well, someone born hasn’t even reached drinking age yet as they settle for one playoff appearance after another. Knicks fans born after the last title were contemplating retirement communities as they waited for a trophy.
Maybe it’s the waiting that explains why street signs were put up around the Garden acknowledging the champions, why fans were singing and celebrating outside before the gates opened to the arena. Once the banner made its way up, it was a regular season game. It was a new season and the Knicks were starting from the same place as every other team.
“I think it’s good for us to, you know, kind of get knocked down off the mountain. humble ourselves, put our egos in check and see what’s going to happen,” Brunson said afterward.
“I told you guys since Day One. Whatever happens this first couple weeks of the season. It’s going to show who we truly are. So let’s see.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
