Jalen Brunson is enjoying the offseason after leading the New York Knicks to the 2026 NBA championship. Brunson’s impressive playoff run ended a 53-year championship drought for the Big Apple franchise.
Amid the celebration, Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant is telling the 2026 NBA Finals MVP, the Knicks, and the New York faithful to soak it all in while they still can.
Kevin Durant Trolls Knicks With Brutal 53-Year NBA Championship Prediction
For many Knicks supporters, the wait to win another NBA championship felt like forever. Coach Mike Brown was only 3 years old when the Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 for the 1973 title.
Once the Knicks beat the Spurs 4-1 in June, Brunson became the most celebrated athlete in New York. The 6-foot-2 guard was unsurprisingly showered with praise. Former US President Barack Obama called him the “king of New York.”
With Brunson’s popularity at an all-time high, brands have come looking to partner with him. When asked to give the 2026 NBA Finals MVP a piece of advice to deal with the hoopla, Durant did not hold back on Friday.
“I’ll tell him to strike while the iron’s hot. This is a time that I don’t think New Yorkers or the Knicks will get back. You wanna take advantage of this time right now. You don’t know if this will come around. It’s been 53 years. It could be another 53-year wait,” Durant said.
Kevin Durant DISSES the New York Knicks after they just won a championship and urges Jalen Brunson & the rest of the team to take advantage of the hype because they might not win for another 53 years 👀
“Strike while the iron’s hot. This is a time New Yorkers or the Knicks… pic.twitter.com/MJkyyrgJGj
— Slime🐍 (@ItsKingSlime) June 26, 2026
Brunson has received his well-deserved praise since the Knicks won the championship. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne wrote roughly two weeks ago:
“Brunson in New York has become Sinatra. A number one, top of the list, king of the hill.”
Staying atop the mountain will not be easy, so Durant wants Brunson and everyone in New York to make the most of their situation. There have been no repeat champs in the league since KD guided the all-time great Golden State Warriors teams to the title in 2017 and 2018.
Already, the Knicks are having trouble keeping the roster that pushed them to the top of the NBA.
Team insider Stefan Bondy tweeted on Thursday that it’s “unlikely Mitchell Robinson will be back with the Knicks next season.”
According to him, owner James Dolan is “unwilling to pay into the second apron,” which could result in Robinson walking away.
The shift in power in the Eastern Conference may already have begun after the Miami Heat acquired two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo via a trade . Heat president Pat Riley isn’t done retooling the roster to challenge the Knicks.
The Celtics can’t be overlooked, either. They blew expectations out of the water during what was considered a gap year (2025-26). Whether they keep Jaylen Brown or not for next season, Boston isn’t going away.
A healthy Pacers, with new reinforcements, is another team to contend with. The Knicks, who suffered an upset loss to Indiana in the 2025 Eastern Conference finals, know very well what Tyrese Haliburton and Co. are capable of.
Durant knows only too well how difficult it is to win a championship, let alone defend one. As he sees it, it could be another half a century of waiting for the Knicks, so they might as well make the most of their perch atop the NBA.
