It’s been a few days now, Knicks fans. How we feeling? Still on cloud nine?

Yeah, we figured. 🏆

🎉 Happy birthday Immanuel Quickley, George Niang, Amir Coffee! 🎉

From 1987 to 2018, only ten different franchises won the NBA championship. In just the past eight years, from 2019 to 2026, we’ve seen eight different teams take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy, the longest streak of different champions in league history. 😳

The NBA is officially in its parity era. Let’s show some love to each team that’s made up this rare period in the association:

2019 Raptors: The Era of Parity kicked off with the elite 2018-19 Toronto Raptors squad. After years of playoff failures, Toronto made a major switch-up by trading beloved franchise legend Demar Derozan in exchange for Kawhi Leonard. The bold move instantly paid off, as Kawhi’s lone season as a Raptor ended in the franchise’s first and only title, as they knocked off the dynasty Warriors in six games in the Finals, a true passing of the torch into the next era of NBA basketball.

2020 Lakers: Similar to Toronto, the 2019-20 Lakers came to be through a blockbuster offseason trade. LeBron James needed a running mate in LA, and the front office quickly delivered by acquiring superstar Anthony Davis from New Orleans in June 2019. Bron and AD got to work immediately, as the Lakers started the ‘19-’20 season with a 24-3 record, and finished it off by winning perhaps the most unprecedented NBA title in league history down in the bubble during the pandemic!

2021 Bucks: Prior to 2021, the Bucks hadn’t won a title in 50 years. Giannis Antetokounmpo was on a mission to end that drought, and man…did he succeed. Giannis’ 2021 title run was an incredible watch, with even more incredible numbers, capped off by a 50 point, 14 rebound performance to close out the Suns in six games to bring the city of Milwaukee their first chip since 1971.

2022 Warriors: It’s hard to believe now, but even in 2022, Stephen Curry still had doubters regarding his legacy. He found himself without a Finals MVP on his resume, and many felt this three titles had asterisks on them due to either opponents injury, or having too stacked of a roster around him. However, this was the season Steph put ALL of those doubts to rest. Golden State caught lightning in a bottle in the 2022 postseason, rolling through the West playoffs while barely breaking a sweat. In the Finals against Boston down 2-1, we saw one of Steph’s greatest performances, a 43 point masterclass that tied the series up. GSW won the last two games, Steph finally got his Finals MVP, and the rest was history.

2023 Nuggets: 2023 was simply Denver’s year. Nobody was stopping Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, and the rest of the Nuggets that season. Their 16-4 playoff record put them up with some of the greatest playoff teams in NBA history, and Murray and Jokic became the first duo in playoff history to average 25+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in the same playoff run!

2024 Celtics: It doesn’t get talked about as much as it should, but the 2024 Celtics were historically special. Their 80-21 combined reg season + playoff record ranks as one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history, and were one of the best shooting teams of all time, making 1,351 threes that season, the fifth most in NBA history.

2025 Thunder: The 2025 Champs had a slightly more challenging road to win their title than the previous two winners. OKC endured two grueling seven game series en route to their title, and even found themselves trailing 2-1 in each of those series. League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rose to the occasion under adversity time and time again, and brought OKC their franchise’s first ever title following a thrilling game 7 victory in the NBA Finals.

2026 Knicks: When the Knicks signed Jalen Brunson in the summer of ‘22, all the talk centered around how the Knicks wouldn’t be able win with him as the number one option. Well….that same guy just scored 45 points in a closeout road Finals game to bring NYC their first title in 53 years, so it it wasn’t clear before….it should be VERY clear now that Brunson IS that guy.

The Chicago Bulls new front office is already making moves. 👀

On Monday, the Bulls hired former player and Blazers Coach Tiago Splitter as their new head coach, per Shams.

With an incoming top-5 talent on the way to add to their young core, the Bulls wanted to make sure they picked the right guy that would best develop and take them to the next level. Based on what we saw from Portland last season, they found themselves the perfect candidate.

Portland shocked many by snagging the west’s seventh seed this past season, and a large piece of their success was due to the growth and development from some of the younger talent. Chicago is hoping Splitter, a former champ as a player with the Spurs, can come in and provide that same leadership and guidance to the Bulls squad that is hoping to be on the rise this coming season!

The 2012 Finals may have only been a five game series, but the games itself were much closer than advertised.

Let’s take a peak back at this game three battle between two teams that helped define the 2010s!

This Finals matchup had several intriguing storylines. After a disappointing showing in the 2011 Finals and still seeking his first championship, LeBron James was looking to complete his revenge tour from the prior year’s failure. The last obstacle in his way? His biggest rival at the SF position and perhaps the entire league at the time, a 23 year old Kevin Durant.

This pivotal game three was a back and forth slugfest from start to finish. The star duos on both sides showed out in this one, as Bron and Wade combined for 54 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists, while KD (25 PTS, 6 REB) and Russ (19 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST) each made Miami sweat until the very end.

OKC held a lead as big as 10 in the third quarter, and held the Heat to just 37% shooting as a team for the game, and they seemed poised to re-claim homecourt advantage and take a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately for the Thunder, prime LeBron and Wade were still on the court. 😂

In the blink of an eye, a 10 point OKC lead quickly turned into a six point deficit in the fourth quarter, and Miami took control the rest of the way to grab the victory and the series lead. The Heat never looked back the rest of the series, winning the last two games at home to capture the title.

At the time, we all thought for sure that KD, Russ, and Harden would be back in the Finals in the near future, competing for several rings. If this team taught us anything though, it’s that this league is almost impossible to predict, as they never even got back to the Finals….

If you have a spare 2.5 hours, grab some popcorn and watch the entire game for yourself here! 🍿

That’s all for today, Enjoyers! We appreciate you making us apart of your day. The NBA season may be over, but basketball never sleeps. Between the WNBA, the draft, and free agency approaching fast, there’s still plenty of hoops coverage to be enjoyed!

We’ll see you on Friday.

Bobby Kasmire