The New York Knicks are nonetheless basking within the glow of their historic NBA championship, however not everybody within the Huge Apple is thrilled about it.
Brooklyn Nets proprietor Joe Tsai admitted in a current interview that the Knicks’ title run is “embarrassing” to his franchise and insisted that the crosstown rivals’ current success won’t alter Brooklyn’s rebuild “trajectory.”
“Yearly, some staff goes to win a championship,” Tsai advised NetsDaily. “So it occurs that this 12 months, that staff is in the identical metropolis. It would not make us really feel superb. It irates our fan base and it’s embarrassing.
“However in enterprise or in competitors — in sports activities, or in something — you should not let the embarrassment issue have an effect on the way you carry out. … [We] had a plan and we’re rebuilding, and I feel proper now we’re on a optimistic trajectory. So it would not change my considering in any respect.”
Tsai advised NetsDaily that he stays dedicated to his plan of constructing the Nets’ fanbase in a metropolis that leans closely towards the Knicks, who drew greater than 2 million followers to their championship parade via Manhattan’s “Canyon of Heroes” earlier this summer time.
Peter Stern, the chief monetary officer for Brooklyn Sports activities & Leisure, advised CFO Journal that the Nets are “blissful for the Knicks” and that they hope to draft off their rivals’ “tailwinds” by attracting “dormant followers.”
“We take into consideration largely simply tailwinds,” Stern advised CFO Journal. “We wish extra folks loving basketball, and the Knicks’ championship — or I ought to say, even their deep playoff runs beforehand — actually activated many dormant followers.
“Followers obtained to have interaction with it and respect this particular factor known as the NBA otherwise. … This 12 months, there have been loads of people round New York who perhaps weren’t basketball followers who ended up at a watch occasion or engaged indirectly, form or type with the playoffs. That is an ideal factor for us because the Nets and Liberty proceed to develop in Brooklyn.”
The Nets went 20-62 final season, ending with the NBA’s third-worst document and lacking the playoffs for a 3rd straight 12 months. Brooklyn entered final season with the NBA’s youngest roster and added three extra rookies for 2026-27, together with No. 6 general draft choice Mikel Brown Jr.
The Knicks, who ended a 53-year championship drought two months in the past, will play the Nets 4 instances in 2026-27, beginning with their Nov. 2 matchup at Madison Sq. Backyard. The groups’ first matchup in Brooklyn is scheduled for Feb. 1.
