This past summer, the New York Knicks ended a 53-year championship drought for the franchise. Their run included the largest comeback in NBA finals history, when the team came back from a 29-point deficit.
Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai recently said in an interview that despite feeling confident in the Nets’ rebuild trajectory, the title run was "embarrassing," as reported by NetsDaily and ESPN.
“Every year, some team is going to win a championship,” Tsai told NetsDaily. “So it happens that this year that team is in the same city.”
“It doesn’t make us feel very good,” Tsai said. “It irritates our fan base and it is embarrassing but in business or in competition, in sports, or in anything, you shouldn’t let the embarrassment factor affect how you perform.”
The Nets went 20-62 last season, finishing with the third-worst record in the league. Tsai, however, said the Nets are still hopeful about their future.
“We’re rebuilding and I think right now we are on a positive trajectory,” Tsai said. He added that the Knicks championship doesn’t change his thinking at all.
In June, the Knicks championship parade drew more than two million attendees from across the city and beyond.
The defending champions will play the Nets at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 2, 2026, along with three more regular-season matchups during the 2026-2027 season.
