Long Island Knicks fans' patience rewarded with end to NBA Finals drought
Hugh McQuillan of Bellmore, with his son, Hugh, and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson. Credit: Hugh McQuillan
James McDonald remembers the Knicks playing with “house money.”
It was June 1999, and the Knicks made an improbable run to the NBA Finals as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed after sneaking into the playoffs in a truncated 50-game regular season that began on Feb. 5.
McDonald, then attending Farmingdale State College, recalled an electric vibe surrounding Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Larry Johnson and company during the 1999 Knicks’ unexpected run, which ended in Game 5 of the NBA Finals as the Spurs won their first title.
But the fact that 27 years have gone by since they last reached the NBA’s biggest stage?
“I would not have believed that,” said McDonald, 47, of Rockville Centre. “It’s New York — the Mecca of basketball. Madison Square Garden, New York, who doesn’t want to come play here? The fact that we couldn’t figure out the right draft pick or free agents or anybody else to come here was terrible.” Rockville Centre's James McDonald and his son Kevin at a Knicks game. Credit: James McDonald
McDonald is one of many Knicks fans from Long Island who lived through the 1990s, when the Knicks made the 1994 NBA Finals — losing to Houston in Game 7 — and reached the postseason in every other season.
The Knicks have captured only two titles in their history — in 1970 and 1973 — and their quest for a third will continue Wednesday night with Game 1 in either San Antonio or Oklahoma City.
“It was devastating,” Hugh McQuillan, 48, of Bellmore, said of the NBA Finals drought. “They were good for so many years . . . It would be hard to believe that they would be so bad for so long.”
In 1999, McQuillan was a Nassau Community College student who had just turned 21. He had “memorable times” watching and celebrating the Knicks’ success with his friends.
Nowadays, McQuillan roots for the Knicks alongside his 11-year-old son, Hugh. They have been going to games together since the Garden reopened to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2021, when only about 2,000 people were allowed in the building. They have seen road games in Philadelphia, Washington and Atlanta together, and they went to the Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 watch party at Radio City Music Hall on Monday.
“He’s living the dream,” McQuillan said. “He’s a very lucky kid.”
Bill Selby, 48, originally from Farmingdale, attended Comsewogue High School in Port Jefferson Station and has lived in Dallas for nearly three decades. The 1990s were an arduous time for him personally. The Knicks were an outlet.
“I was homeless the last three years of high school,” Selby said. “I had family drama with stepparents. So watching the Knicks on TV for those three hours, because they used to play the Knicks in the homeless shelter [Hope House], which was in Port Jefferson Station.
“They always played the Knicks games, and it was three hours out of my day where I felt like I can escape reality and live my dreams through these players on the court. I get a lot of my motivation in life through sports, specifically basketball.”
Selby, who has worked for Hilton Hotels for 29 years, has NBA League Pass and watches every Knicks game. He owns a Jalen Brunson jersey and finds plenty of motivation from the Knicks’ star point guard.
“I know it sounds goofy, but having that [jersey] on almost makes me feel like I have a piece of Jalen Brunson on me, you know what I mean?” he said. “That gives me like that extra mojo to make it through a tough day I might be having, or something going on in my personal life or whatever. So it seems kind of goofy, but I use that to motivate me positively in my work environment and my personal life.
“What the Knicks have given me personally is not just watching a team on the TV that my dad liked, and now I like them . . . but for me, it’s a lot more than that. Watching these guys gives me motivation and hope that I can get through the tough things in my life.”
Michael Cohan, 72, a Woodmere native and Freeport resident, had season tickets for 20 years and attended NBA Finals games at the Garden in 1994 and 1999. He also remembers the Knicks’ two championships and, like many others, finds it hard to believe they haven’t won since.
But for someone who has experienced the highs and the lows of Knicks basketball, the team’s return to the NBA Finals is even sweeter.
“I’m older, I appreciate it more,” Cohan said. “As a kid, I lived and died by sports. Today I live vicariously through sports, and I enjoy it. And they’ve been — for the last four years — they’ve been a fun team to watch every night. They’re a class bunch of guys.”
Jamie Hirsch, 65, a Southampton resident and Nassau County native, probably is one of the Knicks’ longest active season-ticket holders. He has had season tickets since 1985, when the Knicks drafted Patrick Ewing, and previously had season tickets from 1974-78.
Hirsch is “very realistic and negative normally” and was down on the Knicks this season, citing their poor record against some of the NBA’s contenders. He lived in Manhattan in 1999 and attended those NBA Finals games at the Garden, and he’ll have to pinch himself when he’s back in the building for Game 3 on June 8.
“I wasn’t going to be shocked if they made it to the Finals, but not in this way,” he said. “I never thought they’d be so dominant . . . It’s unbelievable how well they’re playing.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
