Knowing New York had waited 53 years to see the Knicks hoist the NBA championship trophy, owner James Dolan didn't even wait to be handed the 30-pound gold-plated prize.
He grabbed it and lifted it skyward with a yell.
"I want to say something to New York," Dolan shouted. "Hey New York! I'm sorry it took so long! But here we are, and hopefully it won't take that long again!"
The New York Knicks are champions of the NBA for the first time since 1973, beating the San Antonio Spurs in five games. The clincher came Saturday night in a 94-90 victory, the Knicks' fourth comeback win of the series.
It's the first major professional sports championship for New York in 14 years, since the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2012. The Yankees haven't won a World Series since 2009, the Mets since 1986.
None of that matters now. The Knicks, who won 13 consecutive games at one point in this playoff run and rallied from 29 points down to win Game 4 of the finals at Madison Square Garden, are the toast of the town.
"Of course I've never seen anything like it, because it'd never happened before," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said of the comeback. "But it's been amazing."
It took 80 years since the Knicks won the first game in NBA history in 1946, but the franchise has now become the ninth to claim at least three championships, joining Boston, the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State, Chicago, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Detroit and Miami.
"I enjoy watching these guys," Knicks legend Larry Johnson said. "The Garden is back. It's back like when we played and made our little run. The city is behind us."
Some of the game's biggest stars wore the Knicks jersey and couldn't end the drought, names like Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Bernard King and Carmelo Anthony.
The Knicks lost a Game 7 in the 1994 finals to Houston, then made a miracle run to the 1999 finals only to lose to San Antonio. It took 27 years to get back to the finals, with the Spurs again standing in their way, but this time New York prevailed.
The world's most famous arena, which has raised banners for music legends more recently than for the Knicks, will finally add one for the team: the Knicks logo, then 2025-26 World Champions beneath it.
Over a 25-year stretch that ended with the 2021-22 season, the Knicks had the worst record in the NBA. In the four years since, starting with the acquisition of Jalen Brunson, the Knicks have had the league's fifth-best record.
Now Brunson, the finals MVP, is the best player on the best team in the world.
"It means the world to me," Brunson said.
So, the 53-year wait is over. It was a very different league back in 1973, with 17 teams instead of 30, no three-point line and no billion-dollar television deal.
The Knicks flew home after the 1973 title and were greeted by a crowd of a few hundred fans at the airport. This celebration will be bigger.
"To have the fans that we have in New York City and be able to bring home a championship after all these years is absolutely amazing," said Knicks coach Mike Brown, who won this title in his first season with the club. "It's a surreal feeling."