I live in Harlem, and there’s a middle-aged man named Michael who grew up in Queens and holds court on a bench along the fringes of Morningside Park, where he chats with neighbors who stroll by.
These days we talk mostly about the New York Knicks.
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I met Michael the same way I met Jonah, who’s turning 30 and grew up upstate, near Woodstock — through our dogs.
Jonah is a die-hard Knicks fan who endured Frank Ntilikina and Noah Vonleh starting lineups in the late 2010s. When I cover playoff games at Madison Square Garden, I make sure to stash the rally towels and T-shirts staffers leave draped over each seat because I give them to Jonah. His texts, these days, are downright giddy.
These New York Knicks hold this ineffable quality of linking friends and strangers, of galvanizing people from disparate religions, races, economic classes and from all over the political spectrum. There are few things these days that can do that.
And as the team has seized a commanding 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs, winning both games on the road, the Knicks are not only poised to end a 53-year title drought, they can do it in a sweep, at home in the mecca of basketball.
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The energy here feels feral. You cannot walk more than a few blocks without seeing royal blue and orange somewhere on someone’s body. The other day, again walking my dog, I was listening to music (I’ve been big on “A Love Supreme” these days) but overheard the unmistakable word “Anunoby” from the mouth of a passerby, who was chatting with someone else.
Flags hang outside the windows of fifth-floor walkups. Local bars are running specials. You walk outside and hear Knicks in four.
“It has been an honor to be part of this team, be part of this organization that’s bringing the word, ‘hope’ back to the city,” Karl-Anthony Towns said Monday, June 1. “To have the Knicks be where we’re at right now and be so respected in the city — I’ve talked about it on the Jadakiss and Fat Joe podcast — the greatest currency you could earn in New York City is not money, but it’s respect. And to have the respect of the fans and the city, we’re rich beyond belief.”
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The MTA, or Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is getting in on it.
The MTA, actually, is another thing that unites New Yorkers. It can be late, unreliable and dirty, though it does shuttle us everywhere.
Anyway, the MTA painted the Penn Station subway stop entrance at 34th and 8th — which is normally forest green — royal blue and orange. Madison Square Garden, for those not familiar, is located directly above the train station. Indelible Knicks superfan Fat Joe, who has been at literally every game I’ve covered, was the first-ever special guest conductor recently on the 1 train.
The watch parties outside Madison Square Garden spill out onto 7th Ave., where Knicks fans roar into the night. Mayor Zohran Mamdani, another long-suffering fan, recently spoke about what would happen if the Knicks actually did it.
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“It’s like, you’re torn as a New Yorker and as the mayor,” he said recently on Sidetalk. “As a New Yorker, you’re like ‘I cannot wait for this.’ As the mayor, absolute chaos.”
The Knicks are also on an absolute heater. They’ve won 13 consecutive playoff games, second-most in NBA history. Should New York close it out in four and complete the sweep, the Knicks will tie the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors for the longest winning streak (15) in a single postseason.
They’re dominating and winning in different ways. They have made the planet’s most uniquely gifted basketball player, Victor Wembanyama, so flustered that he has been left searching for answers. These Knicks are a fun watch.
As an NBA reporter, I’m thrilled to head into Madison Square Garden Monday, June 8 for Game 3. From the celebrities, to the organ, to friendly ushers with thick accents, there is no place better to take in a high-stakes game.
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Yet, somehow, once this is all done, I’m just as hyped to grab beers with my friends Michael, Jonah and Kevin (Suns fan; also met through our dogs) to relive it all once more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Knicks bring New York fans together as wins pile up in NBA playoffs
