The New York Knicks didn't wait to end their 53-year championship drought at Madison Square Garden. Instead, Jalen Brunson poured in 45 points, matching Michael Jordan for the most in a Finals clinching road game in NBA history, and they celebrated on San Antonio's home floor.
It was a dominant display from a Knicks team that went from trailing the Atlanta Hawks 2-1 in the first round to finishing the playoffs with a 16-3 record. That matches what the Boston Celtics did in the 2024 postseason.
Now that New York has finished its journey to the NBA summit, these two rivals might have another characteristic in common from the completion of their title runs.
Will the Celtics be in New York on opening night?
When Boston raised Banner 18 to the TD Garden rafters, the Knicks were on hand for the celebration. The Celtics might receive a similar invitation for opening night next season.
No one would object to kicking off the 2026-27 campaign with a rematch of this year's NBA Finals. However, pitting Boston against New York makes as much sense and has as much juice as any potential opponent the league sends to Madison Square Garden that night.
Celtics fans are probably hoping to avoid that scenario; either that or seeing the visitors in green spoil the party for their orange and blue rivals.
It didn't go that way for the Knicks. Instead, Boston punctuated its championship ceremony with a 132-109 win. The hosts made a record-tying 29 3-pointers.
That had to be a torturous night for New York -- both the team and the fan base. But look at where they are now. So, even if the Celtics go through a similar experience to start next season, what matters most isn't what happens when the campaign tips off; it's figuring out how to get where the Knicks are currently standing when it concludes.
That could mean emerging as the winner of the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. Or, perhaps it calls for remaining loyal to Jaylen Brown. Returning to the NBA mountaintop might also involve resetting the repeater tax next season before making another aggressive push in 2027-28. That approach, as a new, more punitive collective bargaining agreement began to set in, brought Boston Banner 18.
New York had to wait until the year after watching its rival celebrate that title before it could start spreading the news of its own parade. If it takes the Celtics "that long" to be back on duck boats venturing down Boylston Street with their fans rejoicing, as they know, "the wait" will be well worth it.
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