Dave Portnoy’s first instinct after the New York Knicks won the NBA Championship was not to praise them, but even he eventually admitted the reaction came from a place of bitterness.
The Barstool Sports founder had called New York “the worst NBA title team of all time” after the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs to end a 53-year championship drought.
That kind of line was always going to travel fast, especially from a Boston Celtics fan watching a New York team celebrate. Portnoy later softened the take, and the correction was almost as dramatic as the original complaint.
Dave Portnoy admits bitterness after calling New York Knicks worst NBA champion
In a post shared by Dave Portnoy on X, he walked back the sharper part of his Knicks reaction and put Jalen Brunson at the center of his praise.
“I said this in a bitter moment. The Knicks deserved it. If they played the Spurs in a series 100 times, they’d beat them 99 times,” Portnoy said.
He added, “Brunson is so far superior to everybody else on the court it’s not even funny. They were best team in league.”
The shift mattered because Portnoy’s earlier claim had framed the Knicks as historically weak champions, not merely an annoying rival winner. His follow-up moved the argument closer to the reality of the series, with New York beating San Antonio 4-1 and closing Game 5 with a 94-90 road win.
Brunson made the reversal easier to justify. He won Finals MVP after scoring 45 points in the clincher, turning Portnoy’s frustration into a grudging admission that the best player in the series had carried the best team.
Dave Portnoy’s Boston Celtics loyalty made New York Knicks praise sound painful
Portnoy’s Boston background gave the post its edge, because a Celtics fan praising the Knicks after a championship is never going to sound clean or comfortable.
“I hate every second of it, but they are worthy champs. It takes a true champion to admit that, and I’m a true champion. Credit to me,” Portnoy stated.
The second line kept his usual self-aware tone while still giving New York the point Knicks fans wanted. He did not suddenly enjoy the title, but he admitted the champions were legitimate.
Portnoy’s first reaction sounded like rivalry pain after a bitter ending, while the follow-up accepted what the Finals showed over five games.
The Knicks had the superior closer in Brunson, the deeper title mix around him and enough comeback resilience to make the “worst champion” label impossible to defend for long.
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