Brunson and KAT have ‘toughness that represents’ New York as frenzied Knicks fans put World Cup in shade

”Stay desperate, all times.”

Mikal Bridges may well have been speaking for a city when he described the mindset of this barely believable New York Knicks team.

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Victor Wembanyama and his upstart Spurs team of ascending stars had felt like 2026’s team of destiny in the NBA, but the Knicks have other ideas.

Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and this playoff wrecking ball crew lead the San Antonio Spurs 2-0 in this year’s Finals, after becoming just the third team in NBA history to win Game 1 and 2 on the road.

Per ESPN, the Knicks will arrive at MSG on Monday night having not lost a game since April (46 days), on the second longest single season win streak in NBA playoff history (13 games) and fresh from an eighth straight road playoff win.

The Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets went on to win the title, but the Knicks are laser-focused, as they have been throughout.

From 3-2 down to the Atlanta Hawks in Round 1 it has been all blue and orange – even the subways are celebrating that.

The Hawks were dispatched, the Philadelphia 76ers were swept and the Cleveland Cavaliers destroyed – brooms have been in great demand in the Big Apple.

Having won their first Eastern Conference since 1999, all eyes are now on the biggest prize in the sport, the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, for the first time since 1973.

So starved of success have this franchise been, there is no letting up with the series heading back to MSG.

Bridges thoughts have been echoed throughout the locker room.

A venue that has seen everything, from heavyweight title fights to Elvis Presley, but it might not be prepared for what it will witness this week if the scenes of the last few weeks are anything to go by.

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“New York City will never be the same’ is the quote I got from a few of my buddies in New York,” NBA legend Steve Nash told talkSPORT’s The S* Word ahead of the 14th Annual Steve Nash Foundation Showdown.

“The city is bananas when they get out of the first round. If they win a championship after 50-plus years, it will be insane.

“Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart. These guys are winners and they have the toughness that represents the city. KAT [Karl-Anthony Towns], OG [Anunoby], they’ve got this group of guys that have the fight, the will, the size, the strength and the know-how to do it.”

New York is in NBA mode, and nobody quite knows what to expect because as this Knicks team have made their run, the streets of the most famous city in the world are almost out on control – but unified in their joy.

Outside MSG, on street corners in Brooklyn and Harlem, on big screens and out of car trunks this basketball crazy city is a fever pitch.

Even the celebrities are in on the act.

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Timothée Chalamet is fresh off an Oscar nomination, starred in adidas World Cup commercial, but shunned the Met Gala for the post season.

Ben Stiller is producing Hollywood style cinema from his courtside seats at The Garden and on the Road. Spike Lee is celebrating in the streets of the Big Apple, while Tracy Morgan and Fat Joe are front and center too.

A frenzied fanbase have not been to the NBA Finals in nearly 30 years, have not won a championship in more than half a century – and now despite the biggest show on earth coming to town, there is only one ticket in town.

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That ticket will cost you a pretty penny, however, with the cheapest price heading towards $10k for Monday – a potentially championship-winning Game 4 might quadruple that get-in price.

The World Cup arrives in the US, Canada and Mexico this week, and the biggest event in sport will take over New York/New Jersey in six weeks time for the World Cup Final but the city that never sleeps could not care less, for now FIFA can take a back seat.

By the time the World Cup kicks off in Mexico City, the Knicks could be champions, with Game 4 on Wednesday night, but the mindset remains one of focus.

Aside from the support from the city, these players are fired up for their own reasons.

Mitchell Robinson is the longest tenured Knicks, having been drafted by the team in 2018.

KAT is playing for his mother, with his emotional courtside interviews touching many watching on.

And then there is Jalen Brunson, traded away from Dallas – not their only mistake on that front – he has been the inspiration behind this Knicks team, Captain Clutch delivering time and time again.

Per ESPN he is the first player since at least 1971 to score final go-ahead points in final two minutes of of back-to-back NBA Finals game.

Coach Mike Brown might have been the most under-appreciated part of this whole story.

“The NBA is tough. You don’t experience what I’m experiencing with this group a ton. It is a freaking joy to be around,” he said as his team have surged.

Appointed to succeed Tom Thibodeau despite Thibodeau guiding the team back to the Eastern Finals for the first time in 25 years could have been seen as a risk.

It has been anything but. Brown is a champion, leading the Cavaliers to a championship, and being an assistant to Steve Kerr for the last great NBA dynasty the Golden State Warriors – the only team to have a better in-season postseason winning streak that this Knicks team.

A two time coach of the year, he has harnessed the star power on and off the court. His team are feeding of their city – and their city is feeding off them.

Orange and blue skyscrapers, MSG and Radio City watch parties, and fans spitting lyrics that are threatening to usurp city anthems from Frank Sinatra to Alicia Keys

New York City is always alive, that’s part of its allure, but it might never have been as alive as it is right now.

The 14th Annual Steve Nash Foundation Showdown returned to New York City on Sunday, June 7, 2026 – transforming “The Pit” – a beloved community pitch in the Lower East Side – into a high-energy 5v5 street soccer showdown featuring global football icons, NBA stars, and the next generation of the game.