As a lifelong Knicks fan, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D knows how much New York craves an end to its 53-year NBA title drought.
He didn't see the Knicks win their second championship in 1973 because he had to go to bed.
The clinching game was on the West Coast and it was a school night. He was 13 and in seventh grade.
Today, 13-year-olds stay up to 5am, but back then things were different. Chuck D remembers getting the news the next day and seeing clips of the game.
He started out a Knicks fan because his father was a fan of the team.
His mother was high school classmates with Cal Ramsey, a former Knicks player and longtime commentator.
This 2026 Knicks team is different and very special to him. As a New Yorker, he has been waiting 53 years for another championship.
The NBA started in cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. The Knicks were one of the originals, but they didn't win as much as some others.
They went to the finals in the 1950s, but also had long droughts. When Chuck D was a kid, he was part of the renaissance.
He saw the Knicks going to the finals and winning.
In the 1970s, the Knicks resembled the United Nations, with different types of players who got along and played selflessly.
His first basketball superhero was Willis Reed – The Captain. There were also Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Earl the Pearl, and Jerry Lucas.
All of this was happening in the melting pot mecca of New York City. The Knicks represented that and showed that they could work and win together.
History matters, Chuck D says. It keeps the present from being a mystery.
When it comes to the Knicks now, they're in the same building on 7th and 34th.
He remembers seeing Lew Alcindor in his first year, and people said the same things about Victor Wembanyama.
If the Knicks win, it would be the biggest celebration in New York since the Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series in 1955.
That victory is remembered forever, and this one would be too.
So far, the Knicks went up 2-0 in San Antonio, but then lost Game 3 at home at Madison Square Garden.
It's time to bounce back.
For Chuck D, a championship this season would be a culmination. Hollywood couldn't have written a better script.
He sees a 10-year climb with the pandemic in the middle. There was 2016-2020, the pandemic, and then 2020-2026.
Every year the team gained a little – adding guys like Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Even if the Knicks lose, the story continues. But Chuck D thinks it is time to close this chapter.
He doesn't believe a young veteran team like New York will lose to a team as green as the San Antonio Spurs.
The Knicks have players at the pinnacle, making names for themselves, like Mitchell Robinson, Deuce McBride, and Landry Shamet.
Landry is probably looking to get his first big paycheck. When you're 28 or 29, you're fighting for your life.
When all those vets are on the same page, it's hard to beat. The Spurs may match the energy, but not the desperation.
Game 4 will tell the story.
