The NY Knicks are NBA champs for the first time in 53 years

The GIST: The Big Apple is still buzzing because the NY Knicks are NBA champs. Powered by Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, the Knicks rallied for their sixth comeback win of the playoffs — a 94–90 Saturday W over the San Antonio Spurs — to clinch the Larry OB. Long live the walls they (finally) crashed through.

🏆 The drought in NY is over: An NYC men’s basketball championship has been a long time coming, 53 heartbreak-filled years to be exact. That made the Knicks’ resilience during this title run all the more redemptive: All of their Finals wins included double-digit comebacks, highlighted by a historic 29-point rally in Game 4. At times, it felt like destiny.

• The Knicks’ long-awaited victory is also a testament to the continued parity in the league. NY is the eighth different team to raise a championship banner over the last eight seasons, the longest stretch of unique winners in NBA history.

👀 A chaotic offseason looms: The league will likely look very different next year, with the biggest offseason story surrounding the landing spots of two of basketball’s brightest stars: LA Laker LeBron James and Milwaukee Buck Giannis Antetokounmpo. The 41-year-old James can sign anywhere as an unrestricted free agent, while Antetokounmpo is the hottest commodity on the trade market.

• Then, there’s next Tuesday’s Draft. Lauded as one of the deepest classes in recent memory, it’ll also be the last draft where the NBA’s worst teams will be rewarded for bad basketball as the new draft lottery system comes into effect next season. It’s the start of an age.