The New York Knicks waited 53 years to break their NBA championship drought. Kevin Durant, the Houston Rockets star, who formerly played for the Brooklyn Nets, was asked about the Knicks’ championship run.
And while he gave Jalen Brunson and the team their flowers, he said something that may leave a sour taste in New Yorkers’ mouths. Durant appeared at an event for the Wall Street Journal recently, where he addressed the Knicks’ championship run with an unfortunate reality check about how long New Yorkers may have to wait to see it happen again.
“I would tell him to strike while the iron’s hot,” said Durant on what advice he would give to Brunson on capitalizing on this moment in terms of business and branding opportunities.
“This is a time that I don’t think New Yorkers or the Knicks could, you know, are going to get back, you know, so I think you should,” he further added as the host and the audience broke out in laughter.
“You gotta take advantage of this time right now, you don’t know if this will come around. It’s been 53 years. It could be another 53-year wait. So I would say take on all opportunities, and you know, listen to ’em and see which ones you love.”
“I think Jalen has done such a great job of, you know, being him every single day and stepping up, and his identity is just about grinding from the bottom.”
“And as you said, being a somebody in New York City who has, you know, made history in New York City, I mean, right now is an important time for him and the Knicks, I feel like he’s gonna take full advantage of it.”
When he was a free agent, he refused to join the Knicks and later also said that the team had lost the ability to attract major free agents during his time with the Brooklyn Nets, the Knicks’ rivals in New York.
Durant personally has no love lost for the Knicks franchise. He has previously taken shots at them publicly, saying the Knicks were not the “cool thing right now” in 2019.
He even reportedly got upset with his own father for even taking a meeting with the Knicks to try to persuade him away from his plans to join the Nets in 2019 because they were not offering him a max contract.
So while Durant gave Brunson his flowers, the competitive side of him forced him to remind the Knicks’ fans of the bitter truth and, in a way, is challenging them to do it again.
Since 1973, a lot of people have passed away, and more have been born. So much so that for a lot of people, the 2026 championship run is the only time they have ever witnessed the Knicks win the NBA title.
Hence, it is reasonable to conclude that this is not a personal shot at anyone on the Knicks right now but could be a reflection of Durant’s dislike for the franchise in general.
