Fat Joe: Knicks owner James Dolan is ‘misunderstood, like Batman in Gotham City’

The Knicks‘ practice-day media session at Madison Square Garden welcomed two unexpected guests on Sunday: New York City legends Fat Joe and Jadakiss.

Fat Joe arrived with a message for a fan base that spent much of the last two decades directing its frustrations at Knicks owner James Dolan.

The Bronx-born rapper believes Dolan deserves far more credit than he’s received.

“Shoutout to Mr. Dolan. Greatest team owner in the game,” Fat Joe said. “Very misunderstood. They villainize Mr. Dolan almost like a Bruce Wayne, like Batman in Gotham City because he’s an elite. But this man: All these watch parties. That man’s taking care of us.”

For years, Dolan’s name became synonymous with the Knicks’ dysfunction. He presided over failed eras built around stars such as Stephon Marbury, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, while championship expectations routinely gave way to disappointment. But with the Knicks in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, Dolan is experiencing something unfamiliar: public praise.

Fat Joe pointed to a recent experience as proof.

The longtime rapper and entertainer-turned-podcaster purchased courtside seats for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Cleveland‘s Rocket Arena. According to Fat Joe, those plans changed once Cavaliers officials realized who was trying to buy them.

“They took it away when they knew it was Fat Joe the Knicks fan,” he said. “And Mr. Dolan was so pissed, he said, ‘Man if we go Game 5, I’m putting the owner up a deck.’ That’s when I really knew. He solidified that he’s for us. So shoutout to Mr. Dolan.”

Fat Joe believes much of the criticism surrounding Dolan stems from the impatience that comes with owning New York’s basketball team.

“What do you want me to say? The guy lives a great life. It’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “New York City, man, they want answers and they want it now. So they kept trying to get it right and now finally you’ve got this team-ball mentality.”

Dolan has overseen the Knicks for more than two decades, but Fat Joe sees a fundamental difference between this roster and many of the star-driven groups that came before it.

“[In New York], we like big names, and we always went for the big names, but those were more like individual achievers. It wasn’t team basketball,” he said. “So we got it right.”

Fat Joe admitted he was skeptical when the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau after last season’s Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

“I was a little nervous with coach cause I’m not gonna lie to you: I loved Thibs,” he said. “So when he came, I said, ‘Dog, what did we do?’ But [Mike Brown] proved to me that he’s an incredible, incredible coach. This is all a team. They’ve got that mentality. They’re not celebrating. I might be celebrating more than these guys.”

And if the Knicks’ Finals run has created a different atmosphere around Dolan, Fat Joe believes it’s created something even bigger around New York City itself.

“I seen Hasidic Jews breakdancing with Black kids outside. This is the greatest unification you’ve ever seen of New York City in your life since 9/11,” he said. “If you want to know what we felt like on 9/11 after the tragedy, it’s what you’re seeing in New York City. It’s everybody together.”