James Dolan took to WFAN's airwaves on January 5 to declare that his New York Knicks would reach the 2026 NBA Finals. Less than six months later, Mike Brown's group is preparing to face the San Antonio Spurs in a best-of-seven series for the NBA Championship trophy.
Funny how that works, right?
The Knicks' governor just made his next big declaration in a one-on-one interview with Steve Serby of The New York Post, which wasn't exactly just a series prediction. Dolan said that, while he thinks the Knicks can beat the Spurs, they'll be back in the NBA Finals next season if they don't.
New York's front office is the best in the league in part because of how they've set themselves up for sustained success. It's a good sign that their boss happens to agree.
Dolan follows up prophetic NBA Finals prediction with 2027 addendum
The Knicks' championship-level roster is the result of five years of work by their front office, led by Leon Rose, William Wesley, Brock Aller, Walt Perrin, Frank Zanin, Gersson Rosas, and other top executives.
Players like Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart are all under contract to remain in orange and blue for the next several seasons. They're all around 30 years old, in the midst of their athletic primes. And despite the magnitude of their team's trade with the Brooklyn Nets, they'll get reinforcements in the form of draft picks over the next several seasons.
Asked by Serby if he had taken time to imagine himself on a championship parade float, Dolan shared his bold prediction that the Knicks would make it back to the 2027 NBA Finals if they weren't able to win it all this season.
"I'd rather get through the first two games. If we are able to at least take one in one of the away games, then I think you can dream about that. But look, if we don’t win, I think we will, but if by some chance we don’t, we will be back next year. So, at some point or another, I hope to be going down the Canyon of Heroes," the Knicks and Rangers' governor shared.
The don of Madison Square Garden is often maligned for his involvement with the Knicks' basketball operations. Any reporting that reveals he played a role in any given decision frames him as meddling, not strategizing or advising.
There are reasons for that reputation. But the career arcs of players like Brunson, Towns, and even coaches like Brown show that the NBA can offer people opportunities to rewrite narratives about themselves.
With every year that the Knicks continue to flex their muscles as a sustainably-built, winning organization, the narrative around Dolan objectively has to include more and more about his status as a winning NBA governor.
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