**Starting 5: Knicks Complete Historic Run, Capture First NBA Title Since 1973**

Basketball News 15-Jun-2026
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Starting 5: Knicks complete historic run, win first NBA title since 1973
Jalen Brunson’s 45-point masterpiece lifted Knicks over Spurs in Game 5, capping their run with New York’s first title in 53 years.

NBA.com Staff | June 14, 2026 | 2:31 PM

The nightly recap from June 13, 2026, as the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA title. One final rally. One special run. One celebration, 53 years in the making. For the first time since 1973, the New York Knicks are NBA champions.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀 | June 14, 2026

1. FINALS MVP BRUNSON IGNITES KNICKS RALLY TO CLAIM FIRST TITLE SINCE 1973

With the franchise’s first title since 1973 within reach, but a 16-point deficit standing in their way, two hallmarks of the Knicks’ historic postseason run delivered one final time: Captain Clutch, Jalen Brunson. And a team that never stopped believing.

Knicks 94, Spurs 90: Facing another double-digit deficit, Brunson – the Finals MVP – willed the Knicks back with an all-time performance (45 pts, 3 ast, 2 stl, 14-27 FG) as they rallied past the Spurs once more to claim an epic series in five games, capturing the championship New York spent decades chasing. | Recap | Jeff Zillgitt’s 4 Takeaways

Legendary Close: Brunson’s 45 points set a Knicks Finals record and tied Michael Jordan (Game 6, 1998) for the most points scored on the road in a Finals-clinching victory

“I’ve got no words,” said an emotional Brunson on the win. “[It’s] everything I’ve ever dreamed of… I’m in awe … whenever someone counts us out, we find a way to do something about it.”

Gregory Shamus/NBAE via Getty Images

Game 5 opened like every other game in these Finals, with the Spurs jumping out to a 10+ point lead in the 1st quarter. Midway through the 2nd, San Antonio led 31-15. But just as they had all series, the Knicks kept chipping away – with Brunson leading the charge.

It was their first lead since 5-4 in the opening minutes. Suddenly, belief had crystalized into possibility. Could New York do it again? Was this team, one that defied the odds all postseason, overcoming deficit after deficit – fresh off a Finals record 29-point rally in Game 4 – going to do it one more time? The answer came the same way each rally had started: play after play. Moment after moment.

“IT’S OVER! IT’S OVER!” exclaimed ABC’s Mike Breen. ”Knicks fans, this is not a dream – your long, long wait has ended!”

Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images

That dream was realized by a team that never stopped believing. One that captured a title with four double-digit comeback wins in the Finals – something that had never been done since such data was first tracked in 1971.

“We’re gonna find a way,” said Brunson moments after the final buzzer. “Whatever you put in front of us, we’re gonna find a way. It doesn’t matter – we’re gonna find a way every single time.”

Now, for the first time in 53 years, the New York Knicks are NBA champions.

2. HEARTBREAK TO HISTORY: PAIN, RESILIENCE & A RECORD KNICKS RUN

NBAE via Getty Images

It was moments after Game 6 of the 2025 East Finals. The rival Pacers had just ended the Knicks’ season for a second straight year – this time, with New York just two wins away from the NBA Finals.

“It hurts,” said Karl-Anthony Towns. “It hurts not to be able to bring an opportunity to the city for a championship.”

Year after year, New York had gotten closer. Yet each step forward was followed by another painful ending. But even in the immediate aftermath of defeat, belief remained unshaken.

“The most confidence,” Brunson said when asked if this Knicks team could deliver a title. “Overconfident, seriously. There’s not an ounce of any type of doubt.”

The Knicks spent the offseason acting accordingly. Rather than overhaul a roster that had fallen short, New York doubled down – bringing back its core and betting that another year together would turn heartbreak into triumph. The payoff was one of the most dominant – and resilient – postseason runs the league has ever seen.

Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images

Yet dominance alone doesn’t explain this championship. Because for all the wins New York piled up, perhaps the most remarkable ones came when victory seemed furthest away.

The Knicks’ ability to overcome wasn’t a coincidence. It started with Brunson – the once-overlooked point guard who became the heartbeat of New York’s championship run, repeatedly delivering in the biggest moments. But the resilience that defined these Knicks extended far beyond their superstar.

Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images

Then there’s OG Anunoby – whose two-way effort helped complete the Knicks’ historic Game 4 comeback. First, with a block on one end. Then, by crashing the glass for a tip-in on the other. It was a play that not only turned into instant legend, but also epitomized this Knicks team. Relentless effort. Unshakable belief. A refusal to quit on any possession, regardless of the odds. The qualities that transformed years of heartbreak into a championship New York will never forget.

“You work your whole life for this moment,” said Towns postgame. “This team has always said since the beginning, ‘It is written.’ This was written for New York.”

3. FINALS MVP BRUNSON CAPS ALL-TIME RUN WITH HIS BEST YET

Jalen Brunson grew up watching his dad, Rick, putting in the work. Day after day. Team after team. So when it came time to step into the moment — to play the role of hero New York needed — Jalen said he felt “no pressure whatsoever.”

“My dad being on eight or nine unguaranteed contracts throughout his career … Working out three times a day in the summertime and watching him push himself just to get a training camp deal, that’s pressure,” Brunson said postgame.

Late Saturday night in San Antonio, all the work behind the scenes, all the chips on the shoulder, all the ‘how’ behind Jalen Brunson’s ascent culminated in a crowning moment for the 6-2 guard and his father, Shaun Powell wrote: “… After putting the squeeze on the San Antonio Spurs, he saved the next and best one for last: An embrace with Rick Brunson, who obviously is much more than an assistant coach for the New York Knicks. How many times in the distant past, back in the driveway or the schoolyard or after high school and college games, did these two hug it out following a pat on the head? Hundreds, perhaps. But were any of those father-son moments as meaningful as Saturday, when the son scored 45 points and carried the Knicks for much of the night — hell, much of this post-season run?”

“We couldn’t have imagined this, you know, back then,” Rick Brunson said. “Just a dream… He said he wanted to be a champion. And yet I can’t believe it. It’s crazy.”
“I was just trying to go out there, just will us to win,” Brunson said.
“He’s one of the greatest Knicks ever, him, me, (Patrick) Ewing and Willis (Reed),” said Walt Frazier. | Read More

Finishing as the 2026 Playoffs scoring leader (28.4 ppg), as well as the top 4th-quarter scorer (9.9 ppg) and total clutch points leader (38 pts), “Captain Clutch” added to a crowded trophy case.

Just as he seemingly had an answer every time his team needed him in Game 5, Brunson delivered winning moments throughout the Knicks’ historic 16-win Playoff run.

Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

It’s those run-shifting moments on the way to the Knicks’ third NBA championship that will solidify Brunson forever as a legend in New York City. And the stats that come along with the results place his postseason among the all-time greats, for all time.

4. ‘NOVA KNICKS TRIO GRADUATES TO NBA CHAMPIONSHIP

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Ten years ago, on April 4, 2016, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges helped lead Villanova to an NCAA championship. Saturday night, at the game’s highest level, Brunson (45 pts), Bridges (14 pts) and Hart (13 pts) led the Knicks in scoring, combining for 72 of the team’s 94 points (76.6%), to clinch the Larry O’Brien Trophy. NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner pays respect to the “Nova Knicks,” on the night their championship pedigree helped pave the way for New York’s first title in 53 years: “… The three of them helped an underdog Villanova squad beat North Carolina 77-74 in the Final Four held in Houston. Two years later, Brunson and Bridges led the Wildcats to a more thorough 79-62 victory over Michigan in, what d’ya know, San Antonio … They become the first trio of teammates to win both an NCAA title and an NBA championship … ‘To achieve something in college, and then to be able to do this at this level is just as special,’ Brunson said. Maybe a little more special.” | Read More

5. INSIDE THE KNICKS’ CHAMPIONSHIP CELEBRATION

NBAE via Getty Images

From emotional embraces at the final buzzer, to champagne showers in the locker room, to fans flooding the streets back home in New York, the Knicks’ first championship in 53 years sparked a party decades in the making.

Nathaniel S. Butler + Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images

Then came the moment they had chased for years — as the Knicks hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy amid a roar of celebration.

“It’s everything we dreamed of,” said Brunson. “This is why I came to New York.”
“It’s very special,” said OG Anunoby. “This is our dream. This is our goal. And we did it.”
“It’s surreal,” said Mike Brown. “I still can’t believe it happened.”
Added Josh Hart: “We HEEEEERE!”

Gregory Shamus + Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

After Coach Brown found out ‘who let the dogs out,’ the celebration spilled into the locker room, where players made sure the Larry O’Brien Trophy got a well-earned champagne shower.

And New York’s captain had one last note for the Knicks fans back home, celebrating across the city: “See y’all in New Yooooooooork.”

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