In order for the New York Knicks to end their long, long championship drought this spring, owner James Dolan had to score another major win first.
That’s what YouTube sports commentator Joon Lee reported in a video this week covering the Knicks’ NBA championship, revealing that some Knicks officials attribute Dolan’s more hands-off approach in recent years to his deep involvement in the construction and operation of the Sphere in Las Vegas.
The immersive event venue on the Strip was is owned and managed by Madison Square Garden Entertainment, the non-sports arm of Dolan’s business empire. And according to Lee, it was the perfect distraction to allow a championship team to flourish in New York.
“Members of the Knicks’ front office believe James Dolan got distracted, not in a bad way, by the Sphere,” Lee reported. “It consumed his attention in ways that the Knicks never fully did during his worst years as an owner.”
Members of the Knicks front office partially credit James Dolan “getting distracted” by the Sphere for the team’s success in recent years, according to team sources
Inside the transformation of the Knicks from dysfunctional to champions pic.twitter.com/jjKZzCzKgh
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) June 15, 2026
The former ESPN writer noted clear examples of the overlap between Sphere and the Knicks, most notably the team selling its jersey patch sponsorship rights to Experience Abu Dhabi, the tourism entity that promotes the United Arab Emirates capital. A follow-up project to the Las Vegas Sphere is also planned for the city under Dolan’s watch.
As Dolan became consumed by the innovative performance space, his NBA team developed a culture and chemistry it never could when he ran the show.
“The accumulated weight of being the most ridiculed owner in professional sports, the man whose name had become shorthand for organizational failure, settled into something he could no longer outrun by inserting himself into basketball decisions,” Lee explained. “And in that distraction, something happened that James Dolan had never quite managed to do deliberately: He let go. So he took a step back, and everything that you’ve seen over the last few years is a result of that.”
The timeline here makes sense, but it is notable that Lee is not merely expressing an opinion, but reporting on a sentiment permeating New York’s front office. Many fanbases simply wish their owner would leave the team alone and allow talent to lead the way, and it seems that for Knicks fans, a venue across the country provided the perfect opening for Dolan to give up control.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.