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Go New York! My Knicks Journey from Ewing to Brunson · D-constructing Topics

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What's going on everybody and what's going on folks?
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My name is David and I'm your legendary host of this legendary podcast,
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the Deconstructing Topic Podcast.
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And you know what? Today is going to be real quick in terms of what I'm going to talk about.
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And that's very, very easy in this episode because you know what?
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Go, New York, go!
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I got to post the song right there because you already know those strikes.
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They'd be crazy out there, but we are talking about the New York Knicks, my New York Knicks.
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Everybody's favorite basketball team, the New York Knicks. Let's make it happen.
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And shout out to the boys out there who made it to the NBA Finals since 1999.
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And we're going to be talking about a little bit of it all. And,
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you know, why not? Why not kind of, I've been talking about my life through
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this podcast and giving my insights and so on and so forth. And I'm like, you know what?
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When people ask me, you know how long I've been a Knicks fan,
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you know what? Listen to this podcast.
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Hit the like, hit the sub, talk to me, hit the comment. Since when you've been
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a Knicks fan? Talk to me about being a Knicks fan.
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Let's go. I tell you, let me tell you something. I'm still...
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Kind of, how can I say, excited, you know, that my Knicks made it to the NBA
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Finals and not just making it to the NBA Finals, but just obliterating the Cleveland Cavaliers,
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the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Atlanta Hawks.
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And just every game that we clinched the, you know, to make it to the next round,
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we just blowing everybody out by 50, 40, almost 30, 27 points or whatever the
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case might be. But we're here. We're talking about New York, New York.
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Let's go to New York Knicks. And once again, I'm definitely excited.
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Hey, listen, whoever wins out of the Spurs, OKC, it don't matter.
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Whoever it is, I think they might go to game seven. By the time that I'm doing
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this recording, it's the three games to two OKC Thunders, who are the defending
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champions and the best team in the NBA based on record.
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But right now who's the hottest who playing like
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crazy it's my new york knicks let's get
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it shout out to jalen jalen bronson uh cat and all those bridges heart you already
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know oh gee whoo shaman let's go but you know what i'm so excited but you know
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what i i'm gonna burst some people's bubble because we are doing a little introduction
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if you will of my life and how i became a knicks fan and,
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And I'm once, you know, not being born here in the United States,
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but raised in the United States and one of the four countries.
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Popular sports, a full main sport, me growing up would have been football,
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baseball, basketball, and hockey.
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And my favorite teams in baseball, you already know, my beloved New York Yankees.
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Let's go. Who's doing that thing?
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Back on track. Let's go, Yankees. We got the hockey, the New York Rangers.
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The other tenant in Man's Square Garden.
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And sadly, the last team in Man's Square Garden.
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Hey, I take it back. Perhaps maybe there was another little amateur league, but I don't know.
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But between the Knicks and the Rangers, the Rangers being the last team in Mass
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Square Garden to win the championship, which is the Stanley Cup back in 1994.
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You got it in terms of football, my New York Giants, let's go.
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And then we got the New York Knicks and basketball. And out of all these four teams, I love them all.
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I love them all. But the New York Knicks have been the most difficult, and I'll admit it.
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It has been a little bit hard, you know, and me watching basketball since the 1990.
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And I'm just going to bring up some old school because my recollection,
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that's why you got to hit the like, feel free to comment. Let me know.
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Let me know when you started watching the Knicks. Who was in that team?
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I started watching the Knicks in 1990.
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Now, originally, I was not a Knicks fan. People are going to be like, what, what, what?
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You know, I just say that I kind of rooted for the Bulls a little bit.
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And just because the reason is that at that time, I, you know,
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most people did not have cable.
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So when there was a televised game on NBC, you already NBA or NBC, Bob Costas and them.
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Yeah, the Chicago Bulls for the most part. The Bulls was all over the regular
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TV in a way, especially these primetime games, Christmas game,
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whatever game that's on TV.
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Whether it's the NBA, you know, NBA or NBC, basically. And then when K-Boo Came
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off with the ESPN The TNT And whatever the case You already know The rest is
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history But I remember One day It was the Knicks The playoffs And,
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Shout out if you remember this, 1990-91 playoff.
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As a matter of fact, this was the Bulls' first year where they actually destroyed
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my Knicks and then made it to the NBA Finals and beat the Lakers.
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Let me just go to that roster because we had Patrick Ewing. Yeah,
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we're going to take you to memory lane. Ooh, ooh, ooh.
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Kiki Vanderway, I remember the dude. Yeah, he took a lot of shots. I remember that.
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Gerard Wilkins, or General Wilkins, brother of Dominique. For those who are
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there, Mo Cheeks. Maurice Cheeks.
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Trent Tucker, the three-pointer, you know, specialist.
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Shards, Oakley, the Oakman, Kenny Walker, and John Starks and Mark Jackson.
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John Starks, you know, he was doing the bench thing.
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And, again, John Starks was not the John Starks that he became back in the mid-'90s.
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And Mark Jackson, you know, coming off. Mark Jackson, you know what?
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It's interesting because Mark Jackson, and for the New York Knicks,
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and we could probably say this until Bronson came in, And for some reason,
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even the days of Patrick Ewan in the 90s, we always felt that we needed a point guard.
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Because for some reason, that's just the thing there. You know,
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it's kind of like the Chicago Bears in a sense that they always trying to find
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this elite quarterback or whatever to take them to the promised land.
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But they always fall short. It's kind of similar to the New York Knicks.
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And Mark Jackson was an interesting, great player.
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And look, you know, the Pacers, St. Les.
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I mean, it's one of those things. Mark Jackson, just for some reason.
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Just did not fit the team or whatever the case might be.
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And then obviously as he became older and, you know, playing with the Pacers,
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he became a little bit more bulkier and his game was a little bit different.
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Actually, as a point guard, it was kind of like posting up other point guards.
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So his style was just different. For some reason, he just didn't fit.
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And I always have said, for some reason, the Knicks always have lack of,
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for some reason, this point guard that they need.
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I don't know. If it's just me, let me know.
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But I always got this sentiment and you know people always
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kind of have said in the 90s if Patrick
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Ewing had a point guard or another shooting presence
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there perhaps that would take the load of him but it's needed a hero there but
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boy oh boy we got destroyed uh we got swept three games to zero matter of fact
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I think the first game was like almost like by 40 something points uh and And
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then the second game were competitive games, but just.
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You know, the Bulls were just the Bulls. The Bulls was on a mission, you know, basically.
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And it's one of those things where, you know, Michael Jordan, you already know.
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And then that became a staple of throughout the playoff, us,
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the New York Knicks, getting the hump over the Chicago Bulls.
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And it happened in 1993 where we was winning two games to zip.
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You know, you got John Stark the Duck, but the Bulls were the Bulls.
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Charles Smith game, for those people out there who remember,
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But it's always that 1994 in the finals New York Knicks team.
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Who consists of Patrick Ewing. You already know. He's the star.
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He's the guy. He's the go-to. He's the center.
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John Starks, a reliable shooter. Doing his thing, Derrick Harper.
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Derrick Harper came in to play, you know, the point guard. Shout out to Derrick Harper.
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And, you know, Derrick Harper kind of have a game a little bit similar to Mark Jackson.
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But, you know, obviously Derrick, being a veteran, came in. Charles Oakley, you already know.
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Now, we came with Shaw Smith. Now, Shaw Smith is interesting.
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For those who remember out there, the 1994 team with Sean Smith,
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Sean Smith was in the Clippers, if I'm not mistaken.
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Sean Smith was scoring a lot with the Clippers, and this is not the first time we hear this.
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When it comes to the Clippers, for some reason, that team was somewhat of an
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offensive team, if I'm not mistaken.
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There's a player, Ron Harper, who was averaging like 22, 20 points per game.
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Then he wins the Bulls a couple of years later on, and he was averaging like 14, 15.
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And it's not that he was not the same player, but it's just that for some reason,
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the game that they play in L.A., the Clippers, that is, was different than,
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let's say, someone in the East Coast with the Knicks and the Bulls.
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So, you know, picking up Smith, you would think, okay, you know, and he did score.
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But, you know, he was just, you know, Charles Smith. I don't even know how to
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describe him. Anthony Mason, come on, man. Big left hand, big dude.
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I think Mason, it's what some people consider a goon, if you will.
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You know, bring up the big boy, you know, start shoveling. He was a big man.
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But the fact that he had handles...
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And he was kind of like those point forward, you already know,
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moving the ball. Great player.
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Greg Anthony, coming from UNLVs. Greg Anthony was another player.
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Hey, listen, Greg Anthony, when it comes to the Knicks, I mean,
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he had a productive thing.
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But again, the expectation was so high in this UNLV team that there were Larry
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Johnson, Stacey Aukman, and them boys.
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So Greg Anthony, I don't want to say he did not live up to the expectation.
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But again, if Patrick Ewing, your center, is the go-to guy, then you got to
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keep that in mind. That's the situation that, you know, the Knicks dealt with.
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The good thing, hey, Patrick Ewing is great, but sometimes there's moving pieces
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that you need in regards to a guy like Patrick Ewing.
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Now, today's NBA, it's a little bit different.
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But you can have, you know, these Greg Anthony's of the world,
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and Patrick Ewing don't necessarily have to be the go-to.
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Hey, just put up 15 points and 15 rebounds. Everybody's taking shots.
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But you see, back then it was a little bit different. Back then it was like,
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okay, give me 25 points, you know, and give me 10 rebounds or something to that effect.
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So, Hervor Davis, you already know, the three-point specialist from North Carolina.
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Herb Williams and Anthony Bonner. Herb Williams, wow.
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So, we had like a little mix of veterans in a lot of these plays that we had.
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They were basically in their peak.
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So think about that. And, you know, obviously, John Starks, you know,
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different beast there going on.
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But the fact that the Knicks were in their prime, and this is what 1994.
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Farge, Knicks fan, who we had three games to two league, going to Houston, the rest is history.
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Now, Houston, what a great team. You know, I'm not going to mention the other
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stuff. I mean, if you're a Knicks fan, you already know. You know,
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there's that saying. If you know, you know what happened over there.
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Just, you know, I'm not even going to try to bring it up, please.
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I'm just sorry. We apologize if I try to, but, you know, it just,
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but we're here. It is 2026.
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And just to give you my love in regards to the Knicks, 1999,
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Marcus Canby, Ewing, Latrell Spiewell.
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That was that year. That was that short year. I believe that there was that strike.
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And we go against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs, you know,
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it's interesting because the Spurs is kind of like that team now with a big guy.
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Than with that team back in 1999 with two, with Tim Duncan and David Robinson
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and Sean Elliott and some of the other players. The Spurs became a different team.
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I mean, the 90s Spurs, the 2000s Spurs, the 2010 Spurs, and shout out to Craig
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Popovich, great coach over there in San Antonio, but we fell short against San Antonio.
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And the fact that Patrick Ewan was already up there in age, and even though
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David Robinson was up there in age, the factor is Tim Duncan.
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He had no answer for Tim Duncan.
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And Marcus Gamby, I remember when they played each other, I think Marcus Gamby in college.
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He was in UMass, was at Wake Forest, and I believe that Marcus Gamby can be
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a lanky, tall player, you know, versus a more, you know, Tim Duncan, more chunky.
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But, you know, Tim Duncan was a little less chunky back in college.
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So Marcus had a better, how can I say that? He had the best of him in regards to that situation.
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So after 1999 we I just you
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know I would love to kind of tell you what players
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I remember of course Stephen Marbury Jamal Crawford
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you know there's a lot of players that came in and out you know in and out Eddie
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Curry I mean they just say that the Knicks I mean I said Thomas became our coach
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we went you know the Knicks franchise to say that listen for those people out
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there that might not be aware.
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So the Knicks were owned at that one point by, you know, James Dolan and,
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you know, the cable vision people.
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I kind of forget what's the other name that they use.
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It's either Rainbow...
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Or another name that had a business name. And they also, you know,
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for old school heads out there, they also owned the Wiz, which is an electronic
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company here in New York City, which no longer exists.
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And the theme song of the Wiz would be nobody beats the Wiz, nobody beats the Wiz.
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And because the connection between CamelVision, you know, the Wiz and the Knicks,
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being the same owner, same company,
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the fact that uh the the knicks uh started you know
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in the mid 90s it's like nobody beats the knicks nobody
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beats the knicks oh my goodness however you hear
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me you gotta hit the like three times you know that's an old school you know
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but then you know we go to the uh after 1999 again we just go on this thing
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and even all the way to 2015 and 16 i mean as a knicks fan i I mean,
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it's like you start to think that Massacre Garden was just that.
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It was not for you to watch a basketball game. It's for you to just be like, I went to MSG.
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You know, yeah, I'm going to watch the New York Knicks because that's their
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home court, but I'm actually going to go and watch.
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Let's say if we play the Bucs, we're going to see Giannis Montibumbo.
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If we play the LA Lakers, we're going to see, you know, Kobe Bryant. You know what I mean?
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And then we had the Jeremy Lin thing. And, you know, prior to that,
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you know, when Carmelo Anthony came to, he made that move.
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You start kind of says, okay, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps there's something going
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on. Perhaps there's some waters changing.
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Then the whole Jeremy Lin situation, insanity, that was interesting. That was interesting.
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And sadly, you know, things just didn't work out. You know, Jeremy left.
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Mellow is Mellow. Whatever the other players did, they did.
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But the rare times that we made the playoff, you know, we always kind of like struggle.
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You know, we'll come across this. We'll come across that. And in the last five
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years, it's been different. In the last five years, the Knicks,
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hey, listen, they be pumping the gas.
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And I'm going to say it's this. Because now we are talking about the 2026 Knicks.
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Just like everybody and many people out there, when we offered Jalen Brunson
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that amount of money, the contract, a four or five year, 100 mil,
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I said, that's crazy. That's too much.
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And keep in mind, Jalen Brunson, he's a winner.
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And Villanova, they did a championship or two, if I'm not mistaken.
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That's where Brages and Hart, you know, all those. We got the New York Villanova Cats.
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But I was one of those people. I'm like, hell no, Bronson, that's too much.
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Then people start making these things. The game where he was in Dallas,
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where Luka got hurt, he took over and he did what he did.
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And a lot of people was like, wait a minute. So you're telling me that this
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cat right here can ball out and give you 25, easy, 30, 35?
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But if she played with Luka, he's going to get less because Luka demands the ball.
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Hey, listen, Luka Donich now playing with the L.A. Lakers when he was the Cavaliers.
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Hey, listen, he was the centerpiece.
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And the fact that Jalen Brunson was a second-round pick, it's like,
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yeah, and the Knicks took a gamble.
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And in the first year, there was, you know, little things going here and there,
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and I'm like, okay, all right. Okay.
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But as every year passed, Jalen Brunson just starts to ball out,
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ball out, ball out. And obviously, this is his team.
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There's no if, and, or buts about it. This is Jalen Brunson's team.
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And we have a lot of moving parts. We have a lot of great players.
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And we understand. And the fact is this.
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Everybody's getting love. At any time, we score in like 100 points and Jalen scored in 40.
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No, everybody's balling out, even in the last game against Cleveland.
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Brunson did not have a great game. He didn't have that much points, but the ball spread.
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And that's what's so different about this roster. And that's why I would say,
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yes, today's NBA is much different than that NBA.
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You know, we growing up in the 90s, yes.
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But could have been anybody extra that could have probably taken some of the
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burden on Ewing and perhaps moved the ball? Absolutely, absolutely. Could have.
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And Michael Jordan, with all the respect to Michael Jordan, the greatest of
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all time there are people that say hey listen and there's many people that Scottie
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Pippen was that instrument that he needed,
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that if without Scottie Pippen you know he'll probably win a couple but he probably would have lost some,
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but you get the gist there and Scottie Pippen was not trying to take away points
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away from Jordan, Jordan is Jordan just the fact that Ewan was Ewan it's just
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that you bring something intangible a little bit different, the thing is With the Knicks,
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we were more banking on the fact that, you know, we had some defensive bodies
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there. You know what I mean?
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It's 2026, and I'm loving this team. Was I one of those people when we was down two games to one?
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Was I a little bit disappointed and felt like, okay, we could come back?
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I said, all it takes is one. And once we tied up the series, the rest was history.
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We go on an 11-game winning streak.
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And the fact that you got players that want to play here, and that's another
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thing growing up as a Knicks fan.
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When Miami started doing this, you know, thing with the LeBron,
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you know, South Beach type of thing, Boston, you know, the Lakers over there
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doing, you know, Lakers things.
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It's like people say, you know, look, listen, New York City is not the Mecca anymore.
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It's not where I want to be. It's not where I want to be. It's not what makes
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you big. It's South Beach.
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You got L.A. land, la, la, la. over there in Lakers.
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Hey, you can make a little bit move to ATL, Dallas, Texas, you know what I mean?
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Boston, Boston is Boston. You already know, history, history.
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People sometimes like to be part of history to say, oh, I'm playing for Boston
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Celtics, the team with the most championship in the NBA.
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Let me play with Boston because I could be part of that history and make my
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own history in that organization.
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The New York Knicks, New York City, yeah yeah.
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People were just not wanting to go to New York and obviously we made some bad
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moves that we didn't just have no money to make any moves,
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so you know yeah we was in the LeBron sweepstakes but LeBron already made up his mind,
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but we here in 2026 and,
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Game one, June 3rd, I'm excited. You excited, you should be excited.
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But we've been definitely, definitely making it happen.
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Because it is what it is in here. And I'm excited because I'm a big New York
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Knicks fan and I've been waiting for a while. I've been to a couple of Knicks games.
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I think the times that I've been to the Knicks game, they're lost.
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Jeez, I may not even go there.
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But that's what's going on with that situation. But hit the like button, feel free to comment.
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Let me know what's your favorite Knicks player. Look, I forgot to mention,
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my New York favorite player, obviously, is Patrick Ewing.
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And you already know I got love for John Stark and Latrell, Sprewell,
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you know what I mean? So that's my people.
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Before me, there was the Bernard Kings of the world and so on and so forth.
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So, I mean, that was a long time ago.
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Shout out to the 73 Knicks, the last team that won a championship with Clive
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Frazier. As a matter of fact, I want to talk about Clyde Frazier because I did
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listen to a lot of Knicks game on WFAN New York.
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And Clyde, Al Arbord, when you got cable, you had Al Chalkwick talking to the Knicks.
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Dave DeBusher was in our 773 team. Phil Jackson.
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Yeah, that Phil Jackson. The one
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that won championships with the Lakers in Chicago. Yes, that Phil Jackson.
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Bill bradley and those
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are the legends that i grew up hearing in master square garden those are the
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legends that are most likely interrafters in master square garden let's make
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it happen you already know so much memories down go memory lane go new york
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go new york go let's get it All right, holla at your boy.
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I'm over there on all platforms, Spotify, Apple, and you already know T-Goose, T-Juice TV.
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All the information will be in my description. Anyways, let's make it happen. I'm out. Peace.