Tim Thomas Says Fellow Nova Knicks Winning Title Made It Even More "Special" | NY Got Game

All right, Dexter Henry here with one of the Knicks' most popular alums, Tim Thomas. Tim, you're here at Earl Monroe's new Renaissance School. I saw you here a couple years ago, too. Now it's open. Did the ribbon cutting? What does it mean to you to see this here open? It's a special day, special, special day. I grew up in Jersey, obviously, watching Earl do his thing and being inspired by that. And, you know, just to create a friendship as the years has been going on. And, you know, for him to have something like this, which is a legacy thing, it's a special, special thing. A lot of people obviously would know him for the game of basketball, but now to recognize him, to have a school, to educate kids is super, super special. I was talking to John Starks about this. I get so much joy watching you guys at the game enjoy everything. That playoff run last year, championship run, I'd say, that had to be really special. What did it mean to you as somebody from this New York metro area to see the Knicks finally win it? It meant everything. I mean, it's been so long. Right. And, you know, as former players, you know, putting on that uniform, you know, each and every night playing in the world's most famous arena, you know, going out there trying to compete, you know, to win the championship. um it just meant everything especially for me being a Nova guy being the the guy that made it cool to go to Villanova you know seeing Josh and Jalen and Mikal learn how to win in college and then translate that over to the NBA it's been special it's been a special year well you know the thing now everybody's wondering they want it they broke that 53 year drought now the big question is Can they do it again? It's hard to repeat. You know this, but do you think this team has what it takes to go back-to-back? Yeah, they have a great starting five. You know, obviously we have to get our chemistry together as far as, you know, our bench. But, you know, it's been a long year, you know, for the guys. So early on they're going to take some bumps and bruises because they played so long into the year last year. But they have a great group, great chemistry. And, you know, everything has to just fit into the right places at the right time. You've got to stay away from injuries and all those kind of things. And, you know, we just want to stay healthy going into the playoffs and give ourselves the best shot, you know, moving forward. You've got to stay. You've got to have a little bit of luck there. When you look at this team this year, is there a guy you look at that you think can level up for this team that can take his game to the next level and really can help this Knicks team in the 2026-27 season? I just think our style of playing, the way we play, So shout out to Coach Tibbs laying the foundation for us defensively first. I think that carried a lot of weight for us, you know, moving forward, you know, with this past year. I just think, again, we don't know bench players. We know we have a few, but we don't know who else is going to be added on. And, again, we just want everybody to stay healthy and everybody to do their part. That's what it's going to take. So with all that being said, I assume you're going to be there opening night? Of course. Okay. I always see you at the Garden. And I know you are a regular there. I figured you were going to be there opening night. It's going to be pretty dope to see the banner go up. In terms of predictions, are you willing to say that this next team will go back-to-back? We all want to go back-to-back. But, I mean, you know, now we have an X on our back, and that makes it ten times tougher. So, you know, again, we're going to go out each and every night and compete and let the chips fall where they may. We have a great group. We have a great group. and I just, you know, want our guys to focus on, you know, what's important, which is winning games, playing ball, and if we do that, we'll put ourselves in a good position. One last thing for me, because I know you were there through the whole run. You enjoyed all those games during the championship run. What was the favorite moment that you got to witness at the Garden during the run? I assume it might be game four if you were there for game four, but is there something else that stands out for you, or is it just game four? I mean, it was a lot of basketball things that happened. And I would say the first game against Cleveland being down and then having that spark, I was sitting right next to the Cleveland bench, so I kind of seen them a little deflated after that run. And that momentum just carried us, right? But definitely game four, definitely game four. We partied for like an hour straight, which typically doesn't happen. I'm talking about people that were sitting in the lower bowl to court side. Nobody was leaving. And nobody left, even the fans. It was literally like an hour for about an hour, a party for like an hour straight, basically. We've never seen anything like that at the Garden. It was absolutely a special moment. Tim Thomas, he will be there opening night, so will I. Tim, always appreciate you, man. I'll see you opening night, okay? All right. So thanks. And thanks for watching New York Cup Game. Boom shakalaka.