Randle and Holmgren did not meet the moment against the Spurs. Don’t undermine the Knicks’ greatness by saying this was just experience. KAT, OG, Jalen Brunson, and several others delivered in enough moments that mattered. They were awesome, and that’s why they won.
Experience was a factor, but the Spurs best player tonight and in the series was a 20-year-old rookie. Entering these playoffs, Chet Holmgren and Julius Randle had played in the same number of conference finals as KAT and most of these Knicks.
And of course, congratulations to Mitch, coaching staff, players, and the entire Spurs organization on a wonderful season! So proud of what this team accomplished!
There’s so much to be excited about as @Spurs fans!
Let’s celebrate this special group and keep building towards winning the next one and many more! 💪
With Spurs falling in five, Dylan Harper will not be able to beat Kareem's record for most playoff points in a rookie season.
He fell 27 points short of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 352.
By the way, Kareem set the record in just 10 playoff games.
The Spurs lost their first game of the season and playoffs when holding an opponent below 100.
New York only scored 94, but the Spurs only got to 90 themselves.
SA finishes 11-0 in the regular season and 7-1 in the postseason when holding an opponent below 100 in a game.
Congrats to the @nyknicks on winning the NBA Finals! Coach Mike Brown, Finals MVP Jalen Brunson (an absolute beast!), and a tough, experienced group of players right in their prime got the job done. 👏👏
Mitch keeping perspective after the disappointment of falling short in quest for title: “I don't think anybody other than the people in that room expected us to be here. So there was a lot of good in that & there's a lot of pain in what just happened and both things can be true.”
In a league of killers, Jalen Brunson is one of the best winners of his generation. He won two chips at Villanova in three years, and he's made the New York Knicks into NBA champions. At 6-foot-1-ish. He's a great, GREAT basketball player.