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Knicks NBA Cup "Title" Proves Everything Wrong With NBA In-Season Tourney

 It was splashed across the pages of the tabloids, twitter and social media. From Instagram to Facebook, to TikTok. The New York Knicks "won their first championship since 1973."

What month is it? What year is it? Did I sleep through the entire NBA season and postseason? Why is there snow on the ground and Christmas decorations galore in mid-June? Wait? Where am I? 

 

Oh, that's right the Knicks DIDN'T win their first NBA Title since 1973. They didn't even win a title of any significance. They won a silly in-season tournament started by NBA commissioner Adam Silver as a way to "motivate" and push teams (with a little financial incentive thrown in by the way) to play their starters in regular season games as to avoid "angering NBA fans."

Nobody is blasting the Knicks for beating the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 on Tuesday night.  The game was there, and the Knicks needed to get a win against a quality team from the western conference. But please, do not act like this win means anything more than that. And ironically, the win didn't even count in the standings!! How is that even possible?? 

All that pomp and all that circumstance for a game that means about as much as a NBA preseason game in early October? Great job NBA for wasting our time. 

Welcome to the wussification of the sport. Because instead of acting like what it was: an exhibition game; the Knicks, many of their fans, the media from all walks of life acted like the NBA Cup Final was Game 7 of the NBA Finals. 

From Stephen A. Smith to WFAN Radio in New York and everyone in between, hosts and commentators were going gaga over a Knicks "title." 





 

 Are we that accepting of mediocrity? Has it been that bad in New York sports that any kind of victory, even one as meaningless and pointless as the NBA Cup is worth celebrating? 

Should we celebrate the Jets win over the Browns from earlier in the year like they won the Super Bowl? If the Mets win their 2026 season opener with a roster comprised of mostly triple-A players should we pop champagne? Should we go crazy if the Yankees win the A.L. East? 

Of course not!  

Good on the Knicks for admitting later Wednesday afternoon that they will NOT hang a banner in celebration of the Cup. Thank goodness. It would be a slap in the face at the great players that have passed through the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden who were on that 1973 Championship team. It would be an even bigger slap in the face at the great Knicks players who came oh, so close to winning the O'Brien Trophy in the 1990s, but came up short many times, but especially in 1994. 

As for the NBA: get rid of this tournament. In a league that is stretched too thin with too many regular season games, this tournament is counterproductive. You want your best players to play in regular season games, and play at their very best? Shorten the season from 82 games to 66 games. Make divisional games matter again. Cut down on the Inter-Conference schedule. Shorten the first round of the playoffs from a best-of-seven back down to a best-of-five.  You want your best players on the court, and butts in seats at arenas, then maximize the value by following a simple creed: sometimes less is more!! 

 

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