In the days, weeks, months and years following the New York Knicks’ winning their first NBA championship since 1973, plenty of moments, stories and anecdotes will likely become the stuff of legend.
OG Anunoby’s tip-in to win Game 4 of the NBA Finals, completing a comeback from a 29-point deficit? Undoubtedly. Jalen Brunson’s 45 points in Game 5 to lead the Knicks to a title? Most assuredly.
Knicks team owner James Dolan may have also established a place on that list. Footage of his speech to the players before the NBA playoffs began circulated online on Monday after it was posted by the “Roommates Show” hosted by Brunson, Josh Hart and Matt Hillman.
Speaking to the team before an April 3 shootaround, Dolan began his speech with standard motivational material, telling them they were good enough to win a championship and how important they would become to New York City if that goal was achieved. Not following through on those ambitions would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
However, the speech became more interesting when he also told the players what sacrifices had to be made during the 10 weeks of a run through the playoffs to the NBA championship. Watch your diets. Get proper sleep.
“It’s not a long time,” Dolan said. “Sacrifice everything you got these next 10 weeks to win that championship.”
But Dolan also had some more personal indulgences in mind.
“I had this idea that maybe you should give up sex for the next 10 weeks,” the Knicks owner said. “You don’t have to give up sex for the next 10 weeks — BUT — like the Spartans, you know what Spartans are? They denied themselves, right? So that they can have an edge. Get the edge.”
Was Dolan joking? Maybe. But he continued to state his case.
“Go home, talk to your wives and tell them,” he added. “Don’t tell them you’re not gonna have sex, don’t tell ’em it was my idea. But let them know what this is gonna be like, what your commitment is gonna be like, and how they’re gonna have to sacrifice too.”
Whether or not the Knicks players followed Dolan’s suggestion has yet to be revealed. But such information may become available in the aforementioned days, weeks, months and years. Maybe someone will proudly proclaim their playoff abstinence during the Knicks’ championship parade on Thursday.
Head coach Mike Brown won’t be one of those people, however. He told the New York Post that he didn’t tell his wife no during the NBA playoffs.
“There was no way that I could get that done,” Brown said to the Post’s Steve Serby.
“When he said that, I was like, ‘Mike, hold yourself together. Do not fall out. Focus on his words. Focus on his words. Try to keep this as serious as you can. And let’s see how it plays out with the players,’” he added.
