The last time the knicks/">Knicks hosted an NBA Finals game, Victor Wembanyama wasn’t born.
Nor were his San Antonio Spurs teammates Stephon Castle or Dylan Harper.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson was 2 years old. His father Rick Brunson — now a Knicks assistant coach — was playing for the team.
It’s been just shy of 27 years since the NBA Finals took place at Madison Square Garden — a drought that will officially end when Game 3 against the San Antonio Spurs tips off on Monday night.
“I think it’s really cool — 27 years since the last Finals here in this building,” Jalen Brunson said Sunday after practice at the Garden.
“I know the fan base is really excited, as they should be. But as a team, us inside the locker room, we have more work to do.”
The Knicks lost their previous Finals appearance at the Garden back on June 25, 1999, also against the Spurs, who wrapped up that year’s championship with a Game 5 victory that night.
But the circumstances are much different this time around for the surging Knicks, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 after winning the first two games in San Antonio — both in dramatic fashion.
All of that has helped fuel the city’s fervor for the Knicks and turned Games 3 and 4 at the Garden into the hottest tickets in town.
As of Sunday afternoon, the cheapest tickets on resale marketplaces such as StubHub, SeatGeek and TickPick all exceeded $6,000.
That’s up considerably from the already-lofty face value of the cheapest tickets, which started at $1,725.
“The Garden is going to be rocking,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said. “Obviously, in this city we love our Knicks. So we’re going to come out, show love, support. The energy is going to be electric.”
Indeed, Knicks fever has taken over the five boroughs, from the frenzied postgame fan congregations on 7th Ave to the MTA repainting the entrance to a 34th Street subway station in orange and blue.
The Knicks enter Monday two wins away from their first championship since 1973.
“I expect our fans to come out and do what they do every game, which is come and support us at the highest level,” Karl-Anthony Towns said.
“To be able to lace the shoes up, be able to put the jersey on and be able to see our fans, to see Finals basketball after all this time, is going to be really, really special.”
PRESIDENT’S PRESENCE
President Trump plans to attend Game 3, which would make him the first sitting president to go to an NBA Finals game.
Asked Sunday if the intense media attention around the NBA Finals, coupled with Trump’s expected attendance, makes it more difficult to focus on the task at hand, Wembanyama said, “Not really.”
“I think it could be, but isolating myself is something I’ve practiced over the years,” the French-born Wembanyama said. “I think I’m good at it, so it’s not a problem. This is similar to something media-wise like the Olympics.”
With Trump coming, the Knicks said fans should expect enhanced security, including TSA-style screening procedures, in addition to a no-bag policy. NYPD announced there won’t be a watch party outside of the Garden, a decision that was made in “coordination with the Secret Service,” though MSG said it was due to a permit denial, not Trump’s attendance.
“I think he will just be there watching the game,” Knicks forward OG Anunoby said. “We’re just going to go as usual and play our game and try to win the game.”
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