New York Knicks governor James Dolan set an ambitious standard in January when he said the franchise should reach — and win — the NBA Finals. With the Knicks now holding a 3-0 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, guard Josh Hart joked that the team is feeling the weight of that promise in a lighthearted way.
“Better get to the Finals or we’re going to get traded,” Hart said, adding that Dolan’s comments do not create extra pressure because reaching the Finals is already the team’s shared objective. He noted that the remarks carry a different tone coming from “the big dog,” but said the group remains focused on the same goal.
Dolan made his comments during a January appearance on WFAN, saying the Knicks “want to get to the Finals” and “should win the Finals,” while acknowledging that “anything can happen” in sports. His expectation was a bold one for a franchise that has not reached the NBA Finals since 1999 and has not won a championship since 1973.
New York came close last season, making the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Indiana Pacers one step short of the NBA’s biggest stage. This season, the Knicks have put themselves in position to go further, taking control of the conference finals with three straight wins over Cleveland.
The series opened with a dramatic Game 1 comeback, as the Knicks erased a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit and won in overtime. Since then, New York has been more decisive, beating the Cavaliers by a combined 29 points over the last two games and moving within one victory of the NBA Finals.
The Knicks can clinch the series in Monday’s Game 4, which would send them to the Finals and complete the goal Dolan publicly set months earlier. A win would also provide New York with valuable rest before the championship round, since the Western Conference Finals remain tied 2-2 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs and could extend to seven games.
The NBA Finals are scheduled to begin June 3, so a Game 4 victory would give the Knicks more than a week to recover while their next opponent continues a tightly contested series. That potential advantage could matter in the championship matchup, but the bigger storyline remains whether New York can finally turn Dolan’s January expectation into reality.
