Stephen A. Smith hasn’t always been sure who exactly is on the New York Knicks roster at any given moment, but the outspoken ESPN star was briefly left unable to find the words after the team ended its 73-year NBA title drought on Saturday night.
Smith was in San Antonio at the Frost Bank Center as the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5, clinching their first championship since 1973. Afterward, he spoke on SportsCenter about what it meant to him to finally see it happen.
“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life covering sports.”@stephenasmith reacts to the Knicks winning their first NBA Finals in 53 years 🙌 pic.twitter.com/hNVkNiGIhB
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 14, 2026
“I don’t even know how to put it in words because I damn sure didn’t play,” Smith said following the Knicks’ 94-90 NBA Finals-clinching Game 5 win. “I didn’t practice like these guys did, they did it. But it’s been 53 long years, and there’s been so many moments of misery that we had to endure as New York Knick fans.
“And to be here tonight, I gotta confess until this series I never thought it’d happen.”
To Smith’s credit, he did pick the Knicks to make it to the NBA Finals before this season, though in his heart he didn’t think they’d actually overcome whatever had prevented the franchise from finishing the job.
“So many things have gone wrong: The layups that wasn’t with Charles Smith, [Patrick] Ewing’s finger rolls, the Game 7s they didn’t come out on top,” Smith said. “Time after time after time… And to be in attendance witnessing the end of a 53-year drought as born in The Bronx, raised in Hollis, Queens, New York City. I’ve been a New York fan all my life, I never thought I’d see it.”
Smith hasn’t always been the most well-received Knicks supporter in the fandom, especially when he overstates his importance. Even the players have had it out with him.
But for at least one night, he was just like every other lifelong Knicks fan, unable to truly process this moment he’s been waiting his whole life for.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.