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SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
New York Knicks fans celebrated last night outside Madison Square Garden after the team clinched a spot in the NBA finals, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers by a whopping 37 points. The Knicks had not made the NBA finals since 1999. Sports and humor columnist Jason Gay is with The Wall Street Journal. He joins us to talk about what this comeback means for the team and its fans. Welcome.
JASON GAY: Thank you.
DETROW: Man, the Knicks stunk for so long, and I say that as somebody who grew up watching those Ewing and Starks teams. They just stunk (laughter). What came together this season, though, to get them where they are now and in such a good place?
GAY: Well, you're absolutely right that it was a lonely, very arid first couple of decades. But the things that have come together, this is a team that - and a roster that has kind of grown up around each other. You know, you have players in Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, who all went to college together at Villanova, are friends, and you see that sort of camaraderie exist on and off the court. They've integrated, of course, stars like Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby. There's just kind of a feeling that this team is all on the same page, which you don't ordinarily get with basketball teams in the NBA necessarily.
DETROW: Yeah. I feel like a team can have a deep playoff run and just kind of win a bunch of games, or a team can have a deep playoff run and really solidify with the fans and make something special. And that seems like what's going on with the Knicks this year. Like, what do you think it is about this current team that really resonates?
GAY: I think they kind of embody, you know, Knicks fans and New Yorkers as they see themselves. I think they think of themselves as, you know, a little gritty, maybe a little disrespected. I mean, you don't have to go very far to find people skeptical that they're going to win a final against either OKC or San Antonio. This is a team with a little bit of a chip on its shoulder, plays physical, is pretty relentless, which is a sort of another New York attribute. So I think, you know, like, every team sort of thinks that they embody the city. But I think in the Knicks' case, it actually - there's some truth to it.
DETROW: Yeah. What would you say to a fan - I'm thinking anybody who's not too much younger than me has no memory of the Knicks being good. What would you say to a generation of basketball fans who's about to see their team in the finals for the first time?
GAY: I would point them skyward - if they were lucky enough to spend, you know, eight grand to get into Madison Square Garden - and point to the rafters and say those things used to happen, you know, with some frequency. You know, this was a team with a rich tradition in the early '70s, of course - the championships, the two championships, to the franchise. Then, of course, you know, as you mentioned, you know, some tremendously rowdy and fantastic years through the '90s that didn't result in a championship but certainly are indelible for New Yorkers.
DETROW: Yeah.
GAY: I - all things are possible.
DETROW: Jason Gay is a sports and humor columnist with The Wall Street Journal. Good luck with the finals. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for talking to us.
GAY: Thank you.
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