New York. Photo: Shutterstock New York is hot and it's not because of the weather: The team that no one counted out is back in the NBA Finals.
Giant screens in bars, shirts disappearing from shelves, tickets being sold at fantastic prices and fans who don't sleep at night. After 27 years, the New York Knicks are returning to the NBA Finals, with a historic sweep over Cleveland, and a crazy streak of 11 wins in the playoffs.
There are moments when New York feels invincible. It usually happens when something really big takes over the city. Sometimes it's a TV series, sometimes a huge concert, and sometimes, like now, it's one basketball team that brings an entire city back to life.
Madness in New York. Photo: ShutterstockNew Yorkers have been waiting for this moment for 27 years.
Since that last appearance in the Finals in 1999, the Knicks have become, for years, a team that no one really counted on. A huge club with a mythical arena, a huge budget, millions of fans and endless hype, but without results. New York changed coaches, changed stars, burned billions, crashed professionally time after time, and every season it seemed that the club simply could not return to the forefront of the NBA.
But this year something has changed.
Slowly, over the course of the season, this team came together and suddenly became one of the toughest, most organized, and most intimidating teams in the best league in the world.
The one who led the change is coach Mike Brown, who arrived last summer and completely changed the character of the team. Less ego, more discipline. Fewer headlines, more defense, depth and character.
At the center of it all is, of course, Jaylen Bronson, the man who has become the new king of New York. His playoff run is simply historic. He runs the game with composure, scores in the decisive moments and looks like a player born for just such moments.
Alongside him , Karl-Anthony Towns provides tremendous power in the paint and superstar experience, O.J. Anunoby has become one of the most prominent defensive players in the playoffs with the ability to stop almost any opposing star, Mikel Bridges adds stability, shooting, and a winning character, and Josh Hart has become a symbol of the heart and fight of this team.
And the numbers? They're just crazy.
The Knicks completed a huge 4-0 sweep of Cleveland, one of the strongest teams in the NBA, extending their winning streak to 11 consecutive playoff games. In the United States, people are already talking about one of the most impressive runs seen in recent years.
And what is happening in New York around the team is simply unimaginable.
You don't even have to go into Madison Square Garden to understand the extent of the madness. Bars packed to capacity, giant screens on almost every corner of the city, stores that sell out of Bronson shirts within hours, and people talking about only one thing: the Knicks.
Tickets to the finals series have become the most coveted product in the city. Not a show, not Broadway, not fancy restaurants. Just one ticket to the finals of the best basketball league in the world.
Tourism in the city is also already feeling the effect. Hotels in the Manhattan area are reporting exceptional demand around home games, restaurants are extending their hours, and travel agencies are selling special packages around the Knicks playoff experience.
The madness is also felt in Israel. The Knicks have a huge fan base in the country, and in recent days social media has been filled with photos from viewing parties, orange-and-blue shirts, and fans who feel that the dream of a championship ring is finally tangible.
Now all that remains to be seen is whether the young and hungry Oklahoma City or the renewed Houston will be waiting for them in the finals, but right now, according to the feeling in New York, no one really wants to stop the hot story of the best basketball league in the world.
So if you're a sports fan and you're lucky enough to be in New York during June, you're in for an experience that's hard to put into words. The finals kick off on June 3rd, and even if the chances of getting a ticket to the game itself are almost nil, the atmosphere in the city during the games is an event in itself.
The group that no one counted on is back in a big way.