The Knicks are in the NBA finals. But owner James Dolan is far from a New York hero

The title could be coming to Madison Square Garden for the first time since 1973. But fans won’t thank the man writing the checks

The most stunning part about the Knicks snapping their 27-year NBA finals drought isn’t the 22½-point average margin of victory they posted over an 11-game playoff winning streak, or New Yorkers somehow resisting the urge to tear the city apart in celebration, or even the fact that neither the iPhone nor Facebook existed back in 1999.

No, the most surprising aspect when they sealed the Eastern Conference finals on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ home court was the Knicks’ star guard, Jalen Brunson, talking about his pride in a winning culture that “starts with Mr Dolan”.