The N.B.A. finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knickerbockers held the attention of much of the country and the greater part of New York. As a native of New Jersey, I had an early connection with the Knicks having gone to Madison Square Garden to see them play in the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s. But truth be told the majority of my enthusiasm and fandom went to the Boston Red Sox, who like the Knicks, had been perennial losers. The Sox had not won a World Series in baseball since 1918 until the magic of 2004 arrived breaking an 86-year dry spell.
The Boston Celtics and the Minneapolis Lakers, before moving to Los Angeles in 1960, dominated pro basketball in the 50’s and 60’s. However, when the Knicks started winning, like so many others, I became a much more ardent fan. Much of my zeal was rooted in how the Knick players spawned an aura of charisma when they won their first N.B.A. championship title in 1970 and their subsequent one in 1973. I became most familiar with the players, notably, the captain Willis Reed, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, who they acquired in 1971 and “Dollar Bill” Bradley. The latter earned his moniker of Dollar Bill because whenever he took a shot it was most likely going in the basket. The announcers would say: “Another shot by Dollar Bill on the money.”
A point of interest is that I did not always like Bill Bradley. He was the rich kid that played for the Tigers of Princeton University. During the time Bradley played for Princeton, the Tigers would dominate the Ivy League, of which I was a part, having attended the University of Pennsylvania. I remember seeing a game Bradley was in where he scored over 50 points with his teammates scoring a total of 10 or 20 points. It was almost as if Bradley was the only player on the Princeton team inasmuch as each time, he had possession of the ball he seemed to score. But my opinion of Bradley changed radically when he chose to further his studies as a Rhodes Scholar for two years rather than signing a contract with the Knicks. Moreover, I was most happy when he did join the Knick squad in 1967 and helped contribute to their two N.B.A. championships in 1970 and 1973.
The player that reminded me most of Jalen Brunson, the Knick current Knick captain and star of the series against the San Antonio Spurs, was Walt “Clyde” Frazier. After a slow start adjusting to the N.B.A. in his rookie year playing with the Knicks in 1967, Frazier lifted his spirits by buying a wide-brimmed hat that he began wearing regularly. Teammates initially laughed at the look, but when the 1967 film, Bonnie and Clyde became a cultural phenomenon, people noticed that Frazier’s hat resembled the one worn by Warren Beatty in his portrayal of the outlaw Clyde Barrow. The Knicks’ trainer started calling him Clyde, and the name stuck. Observers also connected the nickname to Frazier’s uncanny knack for “stealing” the ball on defense, reinforcing the association of the slick character portrayed by Beatty. During the title championships won by the Knicks in 1970 and 1973, Frazier, as point guard, was central to these victories.
Jalen Brunson’s play making and scoring equaled if not exceeded that of Frazier’s efforts. The Knicks, as we now know, beat the Spurs in five games. In the fourth game of the series, the Knicks accomplished what no team had ever done in tournament play by coming back from a 29-point deficit to win at Madison Square Garden by a score of 107 to 106. In fact, the Knicks came from behind to win each of the four games in defeating the Spurs 4 to 1. In the last game, Brunson, whose height is only 6’ 2,” considered small for a professional basketball player, outwitted and out played the Spur’s Victor Wembanyama, who stands at 7’ 5.” Goliath finally had met his David in the name of Jalen Brunsen. Brunsen went on to score 45 points in the Knick victory of 94 to 90 in the final and determining win of the series. He had fearlessly proved his mettle in dribbling past defenders and scoring, a task not easy to achieve when you are going against opponents who are both fall taller and have greater wingspan than you do.
The Knicks’ role of underdog throughout the year, winless in 53 years, attracted many outside of New York to their side. But New Yorkers were clearly in rejoice mode and it was fun to see such celebrities as Larry David, Taylor Swift and Spike Lee, among many others, heartily cheering for the Knicks. I remember only too well when Boston fans could at last celebrate winning a World Series after so many defeats that came so close to victory. Now the Knicks were in that same place at last. For a couple of weeks, the ecstatic frenzy of the fans generated by the New York Knicks had spread throughout New York and other parts of the country. It is the beauty of sports that allows us all to momentarily forget our own and the world’s travails and to thrill at the phenomenon skills exhibited by the players of our favorite team.
Dr. Bernard F. Natelson 