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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Breece Hall watched from a suite in San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center as the New York Knicks celebrated their NBA championship last Saturday night with hugs, high-fives and plenty of joyful tears.
The New York Jets running back was thrilled, especially for some of the Knicks players he calls friends. He and Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, who was among those Hall was with, were able to make their way through the postgame mayhem and congratulate the champs in person.
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“I was just talking to some of my boys and I was like, it gives you, like, positive jealousy,” a smiling Hall said Tuesday after the first day of minicamp practice. “It’s like, damn.”
The Knicks won their first championship since 1973 by beating the Spurs in five games in the NBA Finals, capping a dominant run through the playoffs that featured a 29-point rally in Game 4 and seemingly turning the New York City area into one big — and still ongoing — basketball party.
“To see the energy and just how devoted the fans are to the team and to the city, it gives us something to … a little bit of added motivation,” quarterback Geno Smith said. “We’re motivated already, but, man, watching those guys win their championship, it’s got to do something to you as a competitor.”
The Jets are mired in a 15-year playoff drought, the longest active skid in the NFL, and have not won a Super Bowl since their one and only appearance during the glory days of Joe Namath in January 1969. So their oldest and most devoted fans can certainly appreciate the jubilation and relief that longtime Knicks fans are experiencing.
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“It’s been nuts,” guard Joe Tippmann said with a laugh. “I didn’t go into the city. Looked a little scary for my taste. But to see the way they’re celebrating, that makes me even more want to bring a championship back to New York.”
Aaron Glenn, a former Jets cornerback who is entering his second season as the head coach, admired the tenacity and perseverance of the Knicks, who routinely rebounded from first-half deficits to beat the Spurs.
“Here’s the thing that was so beautiful…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/super-bowl-starved-jets-positive-205339818.html
Author : DENNIS WASZAK Jr.
Publish date : 2026-06-16 20:53:00
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