To quote a dear friend and reader of the blog, “dreams do come true.” For the first time since 1999, your New York Knicks are on their way to the NBA Finals. A project that started six years has evolved to its next form, and it took so much to get here. It took Jalen Brunson elevating this franchise. It took Karl Anthony Towns proving his doubters wrong. It took Josh Hart’s heart and soul being poured out. It took Mikal Bridges turning his Knicks tenure around. It took Mike Brown proving he was the right man for the job. It took Leon Rose pushing every button just right. Every single one of those things (and more) came to pass and it has put this team back at the center of the NBA universe, playing fora chance to win it all.

So much was perfect about the eleventh straight playoff win for the Knicks, a 130-93 final score at Rocket Arena, sending the Cavaliers to the beach. Jalen and the big guns built an insurmountable lead, the bench rotated in and rained threes on a dejected Cavs squad while Mike Brown and the regulars sat back on the bench and soaked in the moment. Clyde Frazier and Patrick Ewing were on hand to give the Eastern Conference Championship Trophy to the team, while Mike Breen had the call on ESPN. All that was missing was the MSG crowd, but Spike, Chalamet and the rest of the celebs led a chorus of traveling fans to celebrate the series sweep.

For the second time these playoffs, the Knicks will now have nine days off before they play another basketball game. As they await their Western Conference opponent, they’ll get healthy and rest up while the Thunder and Spurs beat each other up in what has the makings of classic series. Everyone in this town will rightfully revel in the moment, one they haven’t experienced since that magical spring of 99. There is so much to be proud of this with the team, as their hunger and passion to win best exemplifies the attitude we love to exhibit in this city, something that is almost always the case when the Knicks are this good. For what it’s worth, I do think this team is the best one since the 94′ squad that went to the seventh game of the Finals, but we’ll leave all the ranking to be done when the season is finished.

Of course, the media will dissect this run and probably try to knock it in the process. Go ahead and let them. They’ll do this because they want clicks or they genuinely don’t know what they’re watching, none of this is worth your time. Tune these people out and believe that what you have seen so far is one of the best runs in the history of the NBA playoffs. The Knicks haven’t just reached the Finals; they have laid waste to all in their path since the middle of the Hawks series and shown just how much better a team they are. Every component of this roster has been firing on all cylinders for the better part of a month and if they can continue to play like this, they’ll have more than a punchers chance to win the Finals.

We’ll have to wait at least a few more days to see who they’ll play next, as the aforementioned Western combatants are locked in a 2-2 series, with game five tomorrow in Oklahoma City. The defending champion Thunder haven’t looked unbeatable as they so often do, thanks to some injuries and a young Spurs team that is here early. San Antonio meanwhile is banged up themselves but are able to lean on the out of this world Wemby who has been a force in this series. I’m sure there will be plenty of think pieces about which team is the better matchup for the Knicks, or who they should want, but honestly at this point it’s a waste of a conversation. Both are outstanding teams, better than this Knicks team, marginally or not. But this team hasn’t backed down from any challenges to this point, and I don’t suspect they’ll start now.

To put a bow on this, all I can say is I can’t believe we’re here in this moment Knicks fans. When this work began back in 2020 none of us ever dreamt it would end up with this team back in the Finals with this group of players. We’ve all been through our share of lows with them and even as the highs became more frequent things would fall back to earth. It felt like they were going to be the “almost” team, the group that would bring us joy but wouldn’t quite get over the hump to the ultimate goal. While there are still four more wins to get, the accomplishment of simply reaching the Finals should be celebrated. Never forget where we came from Knicks fans, as we went from this…

to this…GO NEW YORK GO NEW YORK GO!

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.