The Fan's Case for Raising the Knicks' NBA Cup Banner at Madison Square Garden

Is the NBA Cup worth celebrating?

On the face of it, the question can seem sacrilegious in New York, a city haunted by the frayed, graying banners of 1970 and 1973. Banners are for champions. Anything else could be seen as lowering the bar. And yet here we are, more than 50 years removed from the last Knicks title, and New York is champion of the midseason tournament.

Yet management has decided it won't immortalize the feat.

For a franchise that hasn't won anything since Richard Nixon was president, the answer cannot be the same as it is for the Lakers or Celtics. History is not infinite. You can't live off of 1970 and 1973 forever. The Knicks have never lacked pride. What they, and the fans, have endured is prolonged public shame.

So yes. They should hang the banner, if only to say, "We here." That, and it acknowledges the fans' survival of a checkered history.

What a Banner Is Supposed to Mean

To ask whether this team earned it is to misunderstand what Knicks fandom has been for an entire generation. Millennials did not grow up with Willis Reed limping out of the tunnel. We grew up with Scott Layden breaking up the 1999 Finals team. We survived Isiah Thomas turning Madison Square Garden into poverty on and off the court. We survived Phil Jackson treating his players like property and the fans like fools. We survived Steve Mills and James Dolan.

Reading out the happenings of the last two-and-a-half decades puts it into context. That's poverty. Basketball poverty. A kind few other franchises, in any sport, have endured. A banner in this context is a symbolic suture, stopping the bleeding and making room for fans to heal.

The Suffering That Came Before This Season

For decades, being a Knicks fan meant learning how to absorb humiliation. It meant watching other teams rebuild with intention while their franchise failed without direction. It meant cycles of "saviors" who arrived loudly and left a mess on their way out.

Millennial fans were shaped by this. "I would absolutely hang the banner," said J Ellis, founder and host of the YouTube NBA podcast, The Knick of Time Show. "This is not the level of an NBA championship, but it's an achievement. We hung other banners up, like first in the East. Now, if we win the championship, we'll have two banners for one year. It makes it that much sweeter."

For the last 25 years, Knicks fans have learned to expect dysfunction. And yet they stayed. For fans like J Ellis, that loyalty was never passive. It was meant to be part of a larger struggle. Still, no one could have imagined the drought lasting 62 years, stretching into something epic, mirroring the great hero's journeys found across world cultures.

So when a win comes like this one, especially one in the midst of championship contention, the response is, Hell yes, raise it to the rafters.

The Opponent Matters

This win mattered because of who New York faced in the NBA Cup Final: the San Antonio Spurs, who had been the polar opposite of the Knicks since 2000, having won four championships. The last time the Knicks played a game this big against the Spurs was in the 1999 Finals, where they fell 4-1, kick-starting San Antonio's two-decade dynasty.

They now have the league's most promising young cornerstone in Victor Wembanyama, whose size, skill and defensive range are redefining the position. To beat the team that beat the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the previous round is badass.

When's the last time you could say that about the Knicks game in the regular season?

It mattered how they did it, too. Mike Brown won it on adjustments, including a tough call when Mikal Bridges became a defensive target and Tyler Kolek came in as the steadier option.

Kolek's presence helped calm the offense when San Antonio loaded up on Jalen Brunson, and the Knicks stopped playing scared of Wembanyama by forcing him into movement and decisions instead of letting him sit in the middle of everything. That is not the same as a championship, but it is the kind of high leverage, big stage win Knicks fans have not had enough of.

The Knicks were able to identify weaknesses that no other team was able to find against the Spurs. Then Brown showed the unmitigated gall to make those in-game changes on the fly and execute them with precision.

Why not celebrate that?

What the Banner Would Really Say

Where Each QB Draft Class Landed

The 2024 class owns picks 1–8. Maye, Williams, Daniels & Nix all land inside the top 8 — the tightest QB class concentration of any year on this board.

Hang it for the fans who had to learn endurance. For 25 years, fans have had to admit that both the present and the future were bleak. Hang it for the fans, especially the millennials, who were too young to fully appreciate Patrick Ewing.

You didn't have your picks, and the roster sucked. The team was a laughing stock. No free agent was coming to save New York, and fans were wearing brown paper bags over their head.

Full Draft Board

No.

Round 1

1

NYJ

Drake MayeQB

New York Jets

2

NYG

Caleb WilliamsQB

New York Giants

3

CAR

Will Anderson Jr.DE/Edge

Carolina Panthers

4

ARI

Jayden DanielsQB

Arizona Cardinals

5

LVR

Fernando MendozaQB

Las Vegas Raiders

6

TEN

Cam WardQB

Tennessee Titans

7

CHI

Aidan HutchinsonDE/Edge

Chicago Bears

8

CLE

Bo NixQB

Cleveland Browns

9

NO

Jaxon Smith-NjigbaWR

New Orleans Saints

10

WSH

Jaxson DartQB

Washington Commanders

11

ATL

Christian GonzalezCB

Atlanta Falcons

12

JAX

Puka NacuaWR

Jacksonville Jaguars

13

IND

Joe AltOT

Indianapolis Colts

14

HOU

C.J. StroudQB

Houston Texans

15

NE

Brock PurdyQB

New England Patriots

16

MIA

Devon WitherspoonCB

Miami Dolphins

17

DEN

Tyler ShoughQB

Denver Broncos

18

LAC

Brock BowersTE

Los Angeles Chargers

19

CIN

Nik BonittoDE/Edge

Cincinnati Bengals

20

TB

Bijan RobinsonRB

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

21

PIT

Bryce YoungQB

Pittsburgh Steelers

22

DET

Jahmyr GibbsRB

Detroit Lions

23

SEA

Kyle HamiltonS

Seattle Seahawks

24

LAR

Drake LondonWR

Los Angeles Rams

25

GB

Jalen CarterDT

Green Bay Packers

26

DAL

Malik NabersWR

Dallas Cowboys

27

BAL

Garrett WilsonWR

Baltimore Ravens

28

MIN

Derek Stingley Jr.CB

Minnesota Vikings

29

SF

Jeremiyah LoveRB

San Francisco 49ers

30

KC

Tet McMillanWR

Kansas City Chiefs

31

PHI

Quinyon MitchellCB

Philadelphia Eagles

32

BUF

George PickensWR

Buffalo Bills

No.

Round 2

33

NYJ

Trey McBrideTE

New York Jets

34

NYG

Cooper DeJeanCB

New York Giants

35

CAR

Colston LovelandTE

Carolina Panthers

36

ARI

Sauce GardnerCB

Arizona Cardinals

37

LVR

Tyler LinderbaumIOL

Las Vegas Raiders

38

TEN

Emeka EgbukaWR

Tennessee Titans

39

CHI

De'Von AchaneRB

Chicago Bears

40

CLE

Chris OlaveWR

Cleveland Browns

41

NO

Malik WillisQB

New Orleans Saints

42

WSH

Ladd McConkeyWR

Washington Commanders

43

ATL

Ty SimpsonQB

Atlanta Falcons

44

JAX

Tyler WarrenTE

Jacksonville Jaguars

45

IND

Jared VerseDE/Edge

Indianapolis Colts

46

HOU

Marvin Harrison Jr.WR

Houston Texans

47

NE

Ashton JeantyRB

New England Patriots

48

MIA

James CookRB

Miami Dolphins

49

DEN

Kyren WilliamsRB

Denver Broncos

50

LAC

Breece HallRB

Los Angeles Chargers

51

CIN

Sonny StylesLB

Cincinnati Bengals

52

TB

Joey Porter Jr.CB

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

53

PIT

Trent McDuffieCB

Pittsburgh Steelers

54

DET

Byron YoungDE/Edge

Detroit Lions

55

SEA

Arvell ReeseLB

Seattle Seahawks

56

LAR

David BaileyDE/Edge

Los Angeles Rams

57

GB

Nick EmmanworiS

Green Bay Packers

58

DAL

Brian BranchS

Dallas Cowboys

59

BAL

Caleb DownsS

Baltimore Ravens

60

MIN

Travis HunterCB/WR

Minnesota Vikings

61

SF

Charles CrossOT

San Francisco 49ers

62

KC

Tyler SmithOT

Kansas City Chiefs

63

PHI

Darnell WrightOT

Philadelphia Eagles

64

BUF

Kobie TurnerDE/Edge

Buffalo Bills

Now, fans have something to be proud of. And part of that pride is looking up and seeing recent achievements. Not just 1970, 1973, 1992, 1994, 1999 and 2013. If the fans could have looked up and seen 2025, it would have reset expectations.

Year	Banner
1970	Eastern Conference Champs. Does this ever wrap to the next row? When will it?
1980	NBA Champs
1985	Atlantic Division Title
1990	Beat Chicago on the Road

We weren't just good then, but we're good again.

Having that reminder would have been crucial in how the Knicks are viewed and how the fans view themselves.