Folks at Sports Emmys agree: These New York Knicks are special

It hasn’t even been 48 hours since the New York Knicks punched their ticket to the NBA Finals, so recent that it almost didn’t feel real even at the 47th annual Sports Emmys. However, speaking with a mix of both experts and fans, everyone was in agreement that this Knicks team is special, perhaps even ready to win it all.

Take Hannah Storm, SportsCenter anchor and former The NBA on NBC alum. She and husband Dan Hicks are a Knicks fan household, and she wasn’t shy to admit emotions ran just a little bit high during Game 1 of the East Finals! The Knicks trailed by 21 points in the fourth quarter before rallying back to defeat the Cavaliers.

“I turned to [Dan] like ‘This is what the Knicks do. They’re going to come back. They’re going to win this game,’ and they did. And he was like ‘You’re crazy!’”

Storm also praised the roster, pointing out the Knicks were “a really good team full of really good guys,” naming Josh Hart as one of her favorite players on the team. She also made sure to compliment the New York fans, calling them “unparalleled.”

Speaking of fans, eight-time All-Star and former NBA champion Dwight Howard was also in attendance and pointed out how the fans might just will the team to a title.

“You think the Knicks fans are going to let them lose this year?” he said with a laugh. Then, D12 praised New Yorkers for showing up for their team not just at home, but on the road.

“I knew it was going to happen,” the three-time Defensive Player of the Year said, referring to Knicks fans showing up in droves at both Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia and later Rocket Arena in Cleveland. “Once the Knicks got rolling, it was like—the Knicks fans, they feel it. They’re everywhere.”

Fox Sports’ Nick Wright, who has had plenty of takes throughout the NBA playoffs, summed it up best.

“I wouldn’t want to play the Knicks right now,” he said, also noting that Cleveland lost the series the moment the team blew its Game 1 lead. I just thought they, emotionally, weren’t going to recover. I’ve gotten a lot wrong this playoffs, but that I got right.”

It is truly phenomenal to see New York come together like it has for the Knicks. It wasn’t even like this back when Eli Manning was rallying the Giants to two separate Super Bowl wins over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. And those were both fairly unprecedented runs, what with the G-Men being a Wild Card team.

Not these New York Knicks. Them being a No. 3 seed only exists on paper. As far as results are concerned, they are the top team in the Eastern Conference. Hands down, full stop. Fans flooding Seventh Avenue after clinching Game 4 proves Howard right. At this rate, Knicks fans will straight forbid their team from losing the NBA Finals.

Game 1 is set to tip off on June 3. Game 6 between Oklahoma City and San Antonio, meanwhile, takes place Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET.