In the end, James Dolan won.
After years of criticism of him, of contempt toward him, of wars with him, Dolan won. The New York Knicks — literally his Knicks, the franchise he and his family have run and owned for some 30 years — are NBA champions. It may be all that matters.
Winning is the ultimate goal, after all. That has always been the driving focus of the Dolan era, even though it was long a missing or inconsistent element. He has pushed a slew of executives to win — or else. He has fought with politicians, fans, former players and the NBA, and played to win.
That has not always been enough, especially given the peaks and valleys of doing it on his own terms.
But now Dolan, long a villain to his own fans, has led the Knicks to the NBA mountaintop and snapped a 53-year title drought on those terms.
He was the one who received the Larry O’Brien Trophy from NBA commissioner Adam Silver Saturday night in San Antonio — the glorious vision so many who had worked and rooted for the Knicks had always wanted to behold. This was his validation and proof that he had done it right, even if that might not be true.
In the end, it may not change a thing.
That is the nature of Dolan’s relationship with New York City and the fans who enter his building. Even in victory — rapturous as it was — they can only co-exist. The wounds are too painful, scabbed over but not forgotten. The pain is still too recent and still too clear.
For years, Dolan was seen as one of the worst owners in the NBA, perhaps in all of sports. He was too meddlesome, too fractious, too himself. He was the man behind the dysfunction for two decades, and that can never be forgotten by many.
Dolan has fought with Knicks fans. He has kicked them out of his arena and banned them for daring to say that he should sell the team. He has overseen some of the worst times in Knicks history, remaining a constant in an era of tumult and, worse yet, humiliation. The team’s list of lows under Dolan is plentiful.
The Isiah Thomas era.
The Anucha Browne Sanders scandal.
Phil Jackson, period.
The way Carmelo Anthony came and how he went.
Dolan’s ongoing feud with Charles Oakley. All happened on his watch.
Even now, in this spring of glory, one that will overshadow the best playoff runs that New York City has ever had, Dolan has not abated. Just last week, he fought with the city — namely, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch — over the size of watch parties outside Madison Square Garden. Dolan deemed them “party poopers” as he called for less security around MSG. He invited President Donald Trump to a finals game. The president was vigorously booed during Game 3.
And yet, they’ve won together. And Dolan has won larger than most.
This is, in so many ways, the year of Dolan. The Knicks’ championship is a capstone to a string of victories elsewhere.
The Sphere, his baby, has become an artistic and, now, financial success. It is a diamond in the desert, a concert venue like no other. And Dolan has already started licensing more around the world.
Perhaps it is no accident that the Knicks’ steady rebuild and resurgence came while Dolan seemed to spend more time around his Las Vegas invention. But it was also his decision to hire Leon Rose. Dolan called Rose in January 2020, before he had even fired the team’s then-president, Steve Mills, with the idea that Rose could take over and run the franchise’s basketball operations. That choice set the Knicks down the road to San Antonio. And Dolan’s input was a part of the Knicks’ decision to fire Tom Thibodeau and go down the circuitous path that brought Mike Brown to their sidelines, and that, too, worked out. Even MSG Sports shareholders must be jubilant, the stock has gone up 59.9 percent over the last six months.
James Dolan and Knicks fans have long been foils, yet they’ve always wanted the same thing. They finally have it. There is no grand re-invention, no legacy that can be spun, no way to make amends for the past. But they can go forward together happily.
Now, Dolan gets to say he’s a winner. A champion.
That title sticks. He knows it. He said as much in the April speech he made to the team before they embarked on their championship run.
“We’re walking out of here with rings and we’re walking out of here with a moniker on ourselves that will never ever f—ing go away,” Dolan said. “Me, too.”
In the end, maybe that’s all that matters.