For the first time in the 21st century, the New York Knicks are going to the NBA Finals.
Mike Brown helped the team push through after three years of failed postseason berths, punching its ticket after a dominant sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks have now gone 10-2 in the playoffs and haven’t lost a game in over a month, sweeping back-to-back opponents to get back to the biggest stage for the first time in 27 years.
That’s why, in a chat with The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy, Knicks superfan and renowned director Spike Lee had the perfect way to describe this squad.
Spike Lee calls the 2026 Knicks a “team of destiny”
“I don’t care about San Antonio, OKC, we’re going to win,” Lee said. “May 8, 1970, I was at the Willis Reed game. Thirteen years old, so going to keep it going. This is a team of destiny, heart, drive. … It reminds me of Willis, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Dick Barnett, Cazzie Russell. I’m going back. I’m old, though.”
The Knicks weren’t the odds-on favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference, and given their history of shortcomings, not many NBA fans outside of New York saw this coming.
However, they’ve been the best team in the playoffs by a significant margin, and they should be well-rested by the time either the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs punches their NBA Finals tickets.
The Knicks will be on the road to face either Western Conference foe, and once again, oddsmakers might not be kind to them. Then again, Mike Brown’s team has proved it couldn’t care less about the naysayers and isn’t like the Knicks of old.
This team is fearless and selfless, and after so many years of heartbreak, it looks poised to give the fans their first NBA championship in more than five decades.