By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-19 07:36:04 | Updated at 2026-06-19 09:52:18
2 hours ago
The Knicks just made their hoop dreams a reality.
New York’s heroes in orange and blue are inspiring an entire generation of players ready to take the game to new heights at their Long Island high school gyms next fall, as these teens learned that anything is possible from the 2026 NBA champs.
“The Knicks had to wait a long time, but it came, and I feel like for anybody, you just take that into your own life,” Sachem North forward Jacob Steffens told The Post of snapping the 53-year drought.
“We haven’t made a long playoff run in a long time, we haven’t won our league in 20 years, so I think it could just keep going after it,” added his teammate, guard Sean Galvan.
Greenport guard and all-county star Troy Myers is taking in a lot of the Knicks’ recipe for success that he’ll bring to the Porters next year.
“Nobody on their team has egos; everybody plays together. I just love how they all bond together, even in tough times,” said Myers, who recently moved from North Carolina and fell in love with the Knicks. “When games get tougher, we all just have to stay together. … When we get down, we just can’t let ourselves be down about it. We’ve had to keep going and just keep pushing.”
Delaney Walters of New York state Catholic league champion St. Mary’s High School learned something similar from Jalen Brunson’s bunch as the Lady Gaels aim to win it all again.
“A big thing about them this year was just never giving up. … They definitely didn’t sulk when something didn’t go right, like they just kept their head up and they just kept playing,” the guard said.
Matt Grande (11), of the Nassau title-winning South Side Cyclones, attended the Knicks ticker-tape parade with friends. Photo courtesy of Matt Grande
“They taught me when things aren’t going how I plan them to go on the court, or if my shots aren’t falling, not to keep my head down, just keep my head up, and just go for the next play,” she added.
Other champs, like Matt Grande (right, at the parade Thursday) of the Nassau title-winning South Side Cyclones, relate to being counted out prematurely after their star guard, John Pericolosi, got injured midyear.
“The Knicks are an underdog story because they were just so bad for so long, I feel like that’s kind of the same way with us,” said the guard, who was all smiles at the parade Thursday.
“Everybody wants to win again. I feel like that was with the Knicks, too — the last guy on the bench to Brunson and the starters encouraging each other … that’s a big role we saw with the Knicks to bring to our gym.”
