On January 5th, 2026, a young man came into our studios, our first guest ever of the card, and showed Big Mac, and he said, 'I think this team's good enough to win a championship. We're not going after Giannis. I think there's enough talent right here, right now. We're winning a championship.' And then a week and a half ago, that same young man came into the studio and said, 'Not only are we winning tonight's game at the Garden, we're winning a championship.' That young man is Jim Dolan, who once again joins us in studio as a champion. Jim, good afternoon and congratulations on your first championship as the owner of the New York Knicks.
Was I right about that game? I was wrong about that game.
You were wrong for about an hour and a half and then you were right for about 10 minutes.
Yeah. No, it was game four. The was game four. Game three, right? Okay.
You were right. The 29-point comeback. That's the game. We have to go back a while to find you being wrong. So, don't worry about it. All right. So, let's go. Your perspective. You said baseline. I think you're on the other baseline if I'm not mistaken. When OG has the tip in. Give me your perspective as that play's unfolding. Down by one.
Oh, but it wasn't just that one play.
I mean, it was that entire six or seven minutes. Everybody felt this. We were down so much. When you're down that much, in your head you start going through how we're going to get better, how we're still going to win the series. Down 29, it's hard to come back from, but in the back of your head behind all that conversation is, we're still not cemented over. You start playing a math game. If we can cut it to this number, get me to 15 by the fourth quarter. Exactly. You know, we have to do everything perfect for sure.
Right. For that period of time, each defensive play, each offensive play you're looking at, we have to do this perfectly. And they just did.
They did. And then fast forward, obviously you go back to San Antonio. Spurs, much like the Cavs before them and the Sixers, still thought they were the better team. Thought they outplayed you guys. And maybe they did for a portion of the series. But not in the fourth quarter. Down 16. People are going to forget that in the second half, which is nothing compared to down 29, obviously.
No, it's not. So I assume down 16 in game five you're thinking to yourself, been here done that, we're good still or no?
Yeah. Well, for the game it was too early. Down 16 was not, you know, for this team. But when we got to the beginning of the fourth quarter we were only down five. I'm like, oh, that's not enough.
You're right. You're right. So, obviously a lot to talk to you about, but look, I don't know that your life changes because of it, but the way you're perceived changes because of it because now you're a champion. And as you said in that speech on April 3rd, which has now gone viral, which we'll get to in a second, did you wake up feeling differently? Is there a monkey off your back? You were maligned in this town. You know that you were not the most well-liked owner in this town for a long period of time. And the Knicks had a long time of trying to, you having trouble getting out of their own way. How is it different for you now walking the streets of New York and going to the places you go as a...
I can't walk the streets of New York now. Isn't it right? Both times I couldn't walk the streets. When we were really doing bad, it was hard to walk the streets. Now we're really doing good. It's still hard to walk the streets.
Is it a sense of relief for you?
Yeah, there was definitely a sense of relief. It was what I said in the speech. The speech really did embody how I feel about the team and about the whole season. I knew that we could win. There was no doubt in my mind that we could win, and I felt the team felt that they could win. But that doesn't mean they would win. Doesn't mean they will win.
So why did you give that speech April 3rd? Chicago Bulls. I'm not sure if it was before that game or right after. I imagine it was before and they won by 40 that night.
So they win by 40 that night after your speech. What was the impetus for you in that moment with this team? Because I don't think you've given a lot of speeches like that over the years.
I have never spoken to the team.
I just felt that we were so close. I knew we were close. And remember, we're still like four games left. And I have to say I was concerned that the team was going to think, well, we'll turn it on in the playoffs. I'm like, you can't turn it on in the playoffs. You got to turn it on before the playoffs. You got to get into a rhythm. You got to focus. So I decided I wanted to go down and tell them that, because I didn't know if I was ever going to get another chance. If I was ever going to get that close again. And I felt I had to do everything that I could do without interfering, to try and help the team. And I thought that this would help the team.
Yeah. You're obviously the owner of the team. You don't need permission. But is it something you discussed with Leon Rose or the coach before you gave the speech?
Oh, yeah. No, I didn't just show up and say, 'Hey, fellas, gather around.'
Did they tell you they thought it was an appropriate thing, too, and they were behind it?
No, they were for it. Absolutely. I think honestly that coach and Leon were concerned about the same things. And look, if I didn't give that speech, chances are we still would have won. But we were all trying to do as much as we could to get the team ready.
Was it extemporaneous or did you plan what you were going to say or was that literally off the top?
I had to make some notes because I knew there was a whole bunch of topics I wanted to cover. If I try and do it from memory, I'm old and I got something.
One of the topics I did want to ask you about because you mentioned the decision, we talked about it here on January 5th as well, and you called it the decision that shocked the world to fire Tibs, right? And to bring it up in that meeting, I was curious now, how much did that weigh on you knowing that you would be so second-guessed if this team didn't come to a better place than it did under Tibs and if that decision specifically was on your mind as this group was going towards the championship?
Well, it was definitely on my mind. And I guess I wanted to be sure it was on their mind, too. Because they were part of it also. I mean, they didn't make the decision, Leon and I made the decision. But it was for their benefit. And they knew why we did it. So I just wanted to remind them that we did do this and this is why we did it. And now, if you listen to the speech, I said, now we're going to get proven either brilliant or stupid.
Yeah. Listen, we've talked in the past about the decision to get rid of Tibs. Tibs gets the credit he deserves for getting the team as far as he got. There's no bad blood there at all. It was time for a change. And look, you talked to a lot of people and considered a lot of people before you landed on Mike. I'm trying to think though, and we had Mike Green on earlier and obviously you've talked to a lot of Knicks and people involved with you guys throughout the playoffs. I'm trying to figure out what happened after game three against Atlanta Hawks where it seems like a light bulb went off or a switch was flipped because in game four from game four on in Atlanta they played differently. And I'm trying to figure out was there a meeting, was there a conversation, did someone raise their hand and go, hey guys, I figured it out? Is there any insight you can give us that other than Mike telling us Karl-Anthony Towns did go to coach and Leon and say, hey, maybe we should try having me at the top of the key run the point like Joker does to try to open up the offense a little bit more outside of that?
Well, that's the great thing about Mike. Karl can go in and say that and Mike will listen to him and he'll consider it and obviously he implemented it.
Truly collaborative. So, I mean, I don't know. I'm not inside the players' heads. But that was why we did the things that we did, so that they would think about it together. I was at that game. I sat next to Stefan in that game and it was like the second quarter and we're like 40 points. I mean, who wins by 40? Who's winning by 40 points in a playoff game? I was blown away. And we actually got to be a lot more than 40 then went back down. But that was us playing very well and them not playing well.
Talk to me about Leon Rose. Leon Rose has been somewhat media shy by his own making. He doesn't love talking to the press. Matter of fact, since he became team president, he's talked to Mike Breen on MSG, I think once or twice a year, and that's pretty much the extent of his public speaking. But, you know, when you first hired Leon Rose, obviously was a great agent. You guys had a relationship with him, had negotiated with him.
Yes. So, I know you respected him from a business standpoint. Can you tell us now five years ago what you saw in him that made you think he would be great at running this franchise?
Well, I didn't really look at it that way. It was more a change in my thinking about the job that drove me to Leon. Because prior to that with other iterations of GMs and presidents, we focused more on the coaching and the strategy. There were times, and I'm sure Knicks fans remember this, when what I call the bright shiny thing in front of you, you want to grab it. There were times when we flipped our strategy in order to get the shiny object.
Get the shiny object, right?
Phil Jackson, I didn't say that. That's not true. But that's the temptation in New York. If you're running a team and you're under the gun in New York, you want to produce because if you don't produce, guys like you are going to tear them apart. You're afraid of doing badly and you're dying to do great. You're hoping for a quick solution, a savior to come in. I didn't want to do that anymore. I wanted to get great talent in. I'm not going to worry about a GM who's really good at strategy like Phil was with the triangle. After Phil, I was like, I don't care what strategy they use. Come up with a good strategy. What I need is the best collector of talent.
So let me ask you this on that note, talking to Jim Dolan, owner of the champion New York Knicks, the parade tomorrow. Of course, not a single one of your starters was a New York Knicks first round draft pick. Not one of them. You acquired Karl-Anthony Towns famously was the number one pick overall, but not by you guys. Jalen Brunson, a second round pick, not by you guys. OG Anunoby, not by you guys.
Mikal Bridges, top 10 pick.
Well, I would think the satisfaction you get now after the fact that what you just said to us, you wanted to find someone that's not an X's and O's guy necessarily, but a guy that knows how to find talent and then bring the right talent in that meshes together. You guys did that in spades. None of those guys are your drafts.
That's all Leon. I mean, Leon did all that.
You could argue he's the greatest general manager in New York City history.
You could. I mean, we won a championship. I had a lot of general managers who didn't win a championship. So you could easily make that argument. But he did what he already was excellent at. Before he came to us, Leon was really the number one agent in basketball. Really considered to be the best guy, the one all the teams related to, all the players related to, all the other agents related to. So what better guy to help assemble a team for the New York Knicks than a guy who is as connected and influential as Leon Rose?
Well, he's not under the CBA.
I'm just saying he's in his 60s now. He loves the Jersey Shore. He's won a championship now. He's not going anywhere.
I'm just confident that fire is still burning. I doubt Leon's going. He's under contract anyway. But it's more about what he wants. I believe we've wet his whistle, but I don't believe we've totally satisfied him.
I hope not, because the only thing better than one championship is a second championship.
Well, we actually already have met about next season.
Is that right? Well, I know you guys are working out the Duke point guard already for the draft, which is next week. The draft is that's the thing. It never stops.
I mean, when you go all the way to the finals, your time period to prepare gets really crunched. So Leon and I met on Tuesday and we just did the first overview.
Is there a feeling from you and Leon having had that meeting similar to what the Yankees did this year, a run it back kind of sense? Or do you think there might be potentially based on individual contracts that while the core will be the core, do you think there's a chance that we have two, three, four player turnover or no?
First off, most of our guys are under contract. We have a couple guys who are not. If we could bring back the whole team exactly as it is, I think why wouldn't you? But I don't know if we're going to be able to just contractually. Some guys are going to get bigger paydays and good for them. We're willing to stretch, but there's certain things in the NBA that you have to be societal to do and we're not going to do those. One of them is called the second apron. Cannot go into the second apron.
He's making all the decisions. You're just stroking checks, right?
Yeah. I'm just telling him how big of a check I can write. I'll write as big of a check as possible, but I can't write a check that goes into the second apron.
Got it. We've had a pretty successful year financially as well. Knock on wood. So maybe there's a couple extra bucks should he really need it for a certain...
As much as we can get whenever. We've spent on this team a lot, not just on the players but on infrastructure. And there's one thing I would like to point out that not everybody has picked up. When you take a look at the year before this and then this year, the really big difference in the team is the...
When we went into the playoffs last year, we were not healthy.
It was the year before that, right? It was very bad.
This year we went into that first round. We had nobody on the injury report.
When you got the phone call that Mitchell Robinson hurt his hand, pinky hand, and then we kind of... What's the fifth metacarpal? What was your initial reaction just to the fact that he might be out or hurt?
Well, I have a lot of faith in our guy and our team, particularly our wellness team. And at the same time they told me, they also told me that he was going to play. So I didn't worry about it. But I also knew that we were deep and we could handle it. And I wanted to know how long if he was going to be out, and it wasn't long. By the time we got to the game, he was high-fiving guys, he was doing more than what we asked him to do on the floor.
So let me ask you this. When you're sitting courtside and you're watching and you see Wemby, who's going to be a great player, no doubt about it, and may one day be the face of the league, who knows, and you see him do that weird like karate kick move towards Anunoby's knee or puts his foot under Jalen when he rolls his ankle there and looks like he's writhing in pain or when he face palms Jalen's head and throws him down or closes out on Josh Hart in the corner three and puts his foot under him and there's no call and there's a retroactive flagrant one. Do you call Adam Silver? Do you just curse someone else out?
You're trying to get in trouble, right?
I do not want to get you in trouble. The season's over. We're good.
The season might be over for you, but I'm still a member of the NBA. Look, I'm not that worried about it. The first thing I would tell you about the referees is that all of them want to do a good job.
They do, and none of them as far as I can tell have any real biases one team versus the other. They have different styles of refereeing, and that I think makes it difficult. Like one game is much more physical, they allow it. The next game it's ticky-tack fouls called. Some of the older referees who I really think are great look more at the flow of the game and look at each other's strategy. They'll say to San Antonio, 'We're not going to let you grab these guys every time. That's not a strategy you should use.' But then they won't catch everything. I think the game itself is almost impossible to call perfectly.
Yes. To call perfectly. But when you palm a dude's head and throw him down to the ground, it's not perfect. Somebody's got to see that. And not only missed on the floor, then able to look back on it and still not call it a flagrant.
I think what the referee community would say to you about this is that look, when you look at the San Antonio Knicks series, did the better team win? Did the team that played better, did they win? And I think the answer obviously is yes.
Well, you beat him in the Emirates Cup, right? You proved championship mettle there back in December.
Which I thought was great because sometimes you have to learn how to win. I also don't think we should understate the fact that you have champions on your team. OG was a part of the Raptors championship. And we were in much better condition than they were.
Yes, they were winded in the fourth quarter. We were not.
