David Lee Winning A Championship Is Great. But David Lee Becoming The First Knicks 1st Round Pick To Win A Championship Since 1993 Is Flat Out Depressing
That tweet says everything you need to know about the Knicks drafts/franchise in recent years. My peon brain thinks that 1993 was like 15 years ago. Nope, try again dummy. That was 22 goddamn years ago. That’s more than Charlie Wisco’s entire lifetime. Granted, in the 90s the Knicks were contenders, usually drafted in the 20s, and were potentially a Hakeem Olajuwon finger tip away from winning the 1994 NBA championship in six games. But even during those runs, their drafting history was spotty at best. And we all know how the last 15 years have gone.
I admit that it is sad when the fans of a franchise get this much joy out of a player winning a championship for another team. But David Lee winning a ring is my favorite thing that has happened in the NBA since Roy Hibbert blocked Melo at the rim and sent the Knicks franchise into a tailspin. Granted, rooting for former players winning championships on other teams is how Philadelphians get ALL of their sports joy (except for that stupid 2008 World Series that nobody outside of Philly cares about). But nonetheless, tweets like this are reminders about just how long there has been a black cloud over Knicksland.
Also, rooting for David Lee to win a ring over J.R. Smith was the easiest decision I have ever made. David Lee was the one bright spot to a lot of those train wreck seasons in the 2000s while J.R. was an example of how an X-factor can help a team become a competitor (2012-13) or help sabotage a team into becoming a joke (basically the rest of his time in New York). Watching sad J.R. leave the arena after being eliminated will keep a smile on this old, bitter Knicks fan’s face until they inevitably screw up the 4 pick next week.
P.S. Melo rocking jorts in his tweet today was a mix of salt and vinegar in the wound opened up by the David Lee tweet. One thing is to have a collection of shitty, expensive hats. But it is quite another to wear jorts in 2015.
P.P.S. Sonya Curry, just because.
