Jalen Brunson sacrificed millions. Karl-Anthony Towns waited years. Now they’re NBA champions.

Brunson’s team-friendly extension and Towns’ long road through grief, criticism, and playoff heartbreak helped the Knicks end a 53-year championship drought.

The Knicks’ championship journey did not begin in June. It began years earlier, through a series of decisions, setbacks, and acts of belief that slowly brought the franchise to this moment.

Before the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, before Madison Square Garden became the center of the basketball universe again, and before New York celebrated its first NBA championship since 1973, two of the team’s biggest stars had already made their own private bets on the future.

Jalen Brunson bet on sacrifice.

Karl-Anthony Towns bet on perseverance.

Together, they helped bring a championship back to a city that had been waiting 53 years to feel this again.

Brunson, who scored 45 points in the closeout game and was named NBA Finals MVP, is now forever tied to one of the greatest moments in Knicks history. But less than a year ago, the conversation around him was not just about his jump shot or his leadership. It was about money.

Brunson reportedly left approximately $113 million on the table when he signed a four-year, $156 million extension with the Knicks in 2024 instead of waiting for a potentially larger five-year deal worth $269 million.

And to be clear, Brunson still signed a massive contract. But in the world of modern sports, where athletes are often encouraged to maximize every dollar while they can, his decision stood out. He gave the Knicks more room to keep building a real contender around him.

NBA teams can only spend so much before they face restrictions that make it harder to improve the roster. Brunson’s deal helped the Knicks avoid some of that red tape and gave the front office more flexibility to make moves. One of those moves helped bring Towns to New York.

At the time, Brunson’s decision was praised by some and questioned by others. After all, why should any player be expected to take less when team owners rarely do?

But now, with a championship win under his belt, fans are looking at that choice differently.

Then there is Towns, whose journey to this moment carried a different kind of weight.

For years, Towns was one of the most talented big men in basketball, but talent was never the whole conversation around him. He faced criticism, playoff disappointments, and questions about whether he could help lead a team all the way. Fair or not, those narratives followed him from season to season.

Then life hit him.

Towns’ mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died in 2020 from complications related to COVID-19. Her death became part of his public story because he kept playing, kept grieving, and kept trying to move forward while carrying a loss that could never be reduced to a stat line.

After the Knicks won the championship, the New York Post reported that Towns celebrated with his father and paid tribute to his late mother. In that moment, the title was not just about proving critics wrong. It was about family. It was about survival. It was about reaching the mountaintop with someone missing who should have been there to see it.

That is why Towns’ championship feels so emotional for a lot of fans.

Not because a ring erases grief. It does not.

But because there is something powerful about watching someone make it through years of doubt, pain, and public pressure and still be standing when the confetti falls.

Even the lighter parts of Towns’ playoff story became part of the joy. His fiancée, Jordyn Woods, turned into one of the postseason’s favorite good-luck charms after fans noticed the Knicks kept winning when she brought her orange “lucky” bag to games. Towns credited the bag with helping secure a Knicks win, giving fans another reason to lean into the fun, fashionable, and very New York superstition.

The bag became a thing. The wins kept coming. And Towns, after everything, finally got to exhale.

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That is what makes Brunson and Towns such an interesting championship pairing.

Their stories are not the same. Brunson’s path was about giving something up before he knew how the story would end. Towns’ path was about holding on long enough to see the story change.

They made good on years of waiting.

Brunson will be remembered for the 45-point masterpiece, the Finals MVP trophy, and the decision that helped give the Knicks room to build around him. Towns will be remembered for helping push the franchise over the top after years of being doubted, tested, and shaped by loss.

Together, they offer a championship story that will not soon be forgotten.