It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Knicks aim to end title drought

Can you believe we have reached the final week of the regular season? It really does fly by. Even if the Knicks have mastered raising your heart rate to dangerous levels. And in a couple weeks, our beloved Bockers will have our well being in the palm of their hands. Championship or bust? NBA finals or bust? Well, you know I love Mike Breen more than pretty much anyone (outside of his family). However, his comments made waves on Knicks Twitter about what fans expectations of the team are. And normally I have turned to the “this team used to suck” when my friends want to trade and fire everyone. But that well is getting dry. This will be Jalen Brunson’s fourth postseason as a Knick. In year one he took the league by surprise, by making the leap to stardom. And he made Leon Rose look like a genius for signing him that summer in 2022. But check your calendar folks. It’s 2026 and the franchise player isn’t getting any younger. Can I tell you what I really don’t want to do? I don’t want to talk about the 2020’s like my older relatives talk about the 1990’s. They had Charles Smith missing three layups, and Patrick’s finger roll somehow not dropping, and in some houses you cant say John Starks and Game 7 in the same sentence. We have Tyrese Haliburton…you know the rest. I don’t want to add to that list. I haven’t been alive for the entire championship drought, but a happy to be in the postseason attitude has expired. Going into this year the Knicks were supposed to be the team to beat in the Eastern conference. I still believe that to be true despite currently sitting third in the standings and having your second-best offensive player wonder about his role in the offense this late into the season. What will it take to get over the hump? Why will this year be different? On their way to a 50-28 record some questions still remain. A few things are still a forgone conclusion. I know I won’t have a voice by halftime of these games, and I will be drenched in sweat like I played myself. The Knick fan carries around sports trauma. I can't call it real trauma, but sometimes our crazy minds don’t know the difference. And we are looking to be happy. We want winning to be the expectation, and participation trophies are getting old in the city that never sleeps. I fell in love with going to the garden in the late 90s with my dad. I experienced that roar after the LJ four point play and it was an adrenaline rush that could not be duplicated anywhere else. But there is one thing still missing. A title. The same title that has alluded this franchise for 53 years. So before you start lecturing Knick fans on what a successful season looks like, understand how quickly a championship window can close. Eventually you gotta win the thing! And the more time that passes, you run the risk of being on the wrong side of history. Happy playoff season Knick fans. Cheers to 2026 being the year we all experience basketball heaven. And Mike Breen I would love nothing more than you finally being able to say those magic words.