The New York Knicks are clearly in good hands. Leon Rose and William Wesley's front office was behind the complete organizational overhaul that brought the Knicks from 21-win league laughingstock to world-conquering NBA Champions.
The duo's impact, going back to their days as agents, has always reached far outside of the basketball world. Now, their influence has officially spread to the business world — with brands as big as Nike hoping to follow their lead. Seriously.
Nike CEO Elliott Hill told Wall Street in an earnings call this summer that they should see the way his company is building like the process that went into the construction of the title-winning Knicks. It defied everything sports fans knew — for decades. The Knicks have become such a paragon of winning that even the Goddess of Victory is interested in repeating their success. And their fans should be basking in every second of this glory.
Nike is pointing to Knicks' six-year turnaround for hope
Even though plenty, if not most, of their moves were ridiculed along the way — they worked out. Sending five first round draft selections on the D train to Barclays Center to land Mikal Bridges was seen as insane. It paid off big-time.
Trading Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns was seen as daring and bold, at the time. Hindsight makes it a Knick no-brainer. Fans can continue down the list for as long as they'd like; Daily Knicks isn't here to stop them.
Those moves worked so well that even sportswear giants are leaning on the Knicks' title — in hopes of borrowing some of the grace that Jalen Brunson and his supporting cast just finished earning. Hill told investors in late June that the Knicks were "built over time through setbacks, and step-forwards, and through relationships, and buying into a system where everyone knows their role," according to Sportico, adding that Nike was looking to build the same way.
That's a fluffy group of feathers to place into the caps of Rose, head coach Mike Brown, and the players responsible for all of the dramatic comebacks and gut-testingly close victories.
Nike CEO implies Knicks have what it takes to repeat
Hill's praise of the construction of the Knicks wasn't limited to what they did in 2026, either. The CEO made clear that he was referencing the World Champions, laden with Nike-sponsored athletes, in part because of their potential to run it back atop the mountain.
"That’s exactly how we’re building Nike, the right way," Hill explained. "Because the goal is not one championship, it’s building the team that can do it again and again.”
The Knicks are looking to become the first NBA Champions in eight years — since the Golden State Warriors — to successfully defend their title. They also have an NBA Cup Championship to defend. Hill seems to think they can do it.
Add us as a preferred source on Google