NEW YORK, NY – Full disclosure: I am a New York Knicks fan. But I’m also a New Mets fan. Thus, you have the genesis of today’s headline: Knicks 2026 Collapse Bigger Than Mets in 2007?
Sure, the Knickerbockers have done everything right so far. They marched into San Antonio, stole Games 1 and 2, seized home-court advantage, and put themselves in a position that historically leads to champagne, parades, and dangerously expensive commemorative T-shirts. See, no team has ever lost the first two games at home and then gone on to win. Well not yet, anyway…
And there it is. If you’re a fan of either or both of the aforementioned teams, there’s a tiny voice in the back of your head whispering, “Yeah, but…” to history mandating a Spurs’ loss.
That voice sounds suspiciously like the 2007 Mets.
For younger fans or those who have successfully blocked it from memory, the 2007 Mets held a seven-game lead in the National League East with just 17 games remaining. The division was effectively won. The champagne was on ice. Then the Mets proceeded to lose 12 of those final 17 games and somehow missed the postseason entirely.
It wasn’t just a collapse. It was performance art. It was the sporting equivalent of tripping over the finish line, rolling down a hill, and accidentally setting your own car on fire.
That’s why Knicks fans should remain at least slightly cautious.
Now, to be clear, the situations aren’t identical. The Knicks earned their 2-0 lead on the road, which is arguably even more impressive.
AGAIN: No NBA Finals team has ever blown a championship opportunity after winning the first two games on the road because, frankly, nobody has ever been in a position to do something that ridiculous.
The Knicks are currently standing at the edge of history. The good kind of history. But New York teams have occasionally displayed a remarkable talent for wandering into the bad kind -even the Stanks gagged vs the Red Sox in 2004.
Just imagine the headlines if the Spurs somehow won four of the next five games. The Knicks would become the answer to every future trivia question. Every broadcast would mention them. Every documentary would include dramatic music and grainy footage of shell-shocked fans staring into space.
The 2007 Mets spent years carrying the label of “the collapse.” Knicks fans have spent decades waiting for a championship precisely because they’ve seen enough bizarre New York sports disasters to know that destiny occasionally takes a wrong turn at the Holland Tunnel – during rush hour.
The good news? This Knicks team doesn’t resemble that Mets club. They’re tougher, more battle-tested, and led by a superstar in Jalen Brunson, who seems to treat pressure the way most people treat a morning cup of coffee.
Still, until someone wins that fourth game, New York fans will remain what they’ve always been: cautiously optimistic, emotionally scarred, and one blown lead away from checking whether Guillermo Mota is available to pitch the eighth inning.
History is never finished until the final buzzer sounds.
I’m sorry. Like many of you, I’m a tormented, scarred, frightened fanatic.
