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The Knicks are heading back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999—giving the league a major boost heading into its championship round.
New York swept the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals with a series-clinching Game 4 win Monday night in Cleveland. The Knicks won in dominant fashion, 130–93—continuing the momentum from game 1 when the team came back to win after being down 22 points in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks will now attempt to win the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973, and third overall, awaiting the winner of the Thunder-Spurs Western Conference Finals, which is tied 2-2 heading into a pivotal Game 5 in Oklahoma City Tuesday night. A win in the Finals would also mark New York City’s first championship in the four major sports since the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2012.
Having the New York market—and the national Knicks fanbase—represented in the NBA Finals will put ABC in position for what could be a big viewership spike over last year’s finals, which averaged 10.27 million viewers for the seven-game Thunder-Pacers series. That was down 9.3% compared to the 2024 Celtics–Mavericks series, and the least-watched NBA Finals since 2021.
The Knicks won the Eastern Conference with the second-highest payroll in the NBA, behind only the Cavaliers. New York’s active salary cap allocations for this season are $207.4 million, according to Spotrac. Star center Karl-Anthony Towns commanded a team-high $53.1 million salary this season, while OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson each received $30 million-plus salaries.
New York entered the NBA playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference after a 53-29 regular season record. They beat the Hawks 4–2 in the first round and then swept the 76ers in the second round.
The on-court success this season comes under first-year head coach Mike Brown, who was hired after Tom Thibodeau’s surprise firing last summer despite leading the Knicks to their first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals since 2000. The Pacers won that series 4–2.
This spring’s playoff run has been big business off the court, with ticket demand at Madison Square Garden soaring, and the Knicks’ famous Celebrity Row getting more exclusive and high-profile deeper into the postseason. Expect even pricier MSG tickets and more celebs in the front row in the NBA Finals.
