{"id":324059,"date":"2026-08-18T15:02:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T15:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/324059\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T15:02:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T15:02:22","slug":"knicks-title-run-embarrassing-to-nets-owner-joe-tsai-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/324059\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks title run ’embarrassing’ to Nets, owner Joe Tsai says"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Knicks<\/a> are still basking in the glow of their historic NBA championship, but not everyone in the Big Apple is thrilled about it.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Nets<\/a> owner Joe Tsai admitted in a recent interview that the Knicks’ title run is “embarrassing” to his franchise and insisted that the crosstown rivals’ recent success will not alter Brooklyn’s rebuild “trajectory.”<\/p>\n

“Every year, some team is going to win a championship,” Tsai told NetsDaily<\/a>. “So it happens that this year, that team is in the same city. It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irates our fan base and it is embarrassing.<\/p>\n

“But in business or in competition — in sports, or in anything — you shouldn’t let the embarrassment factor affect how you perform. … [We] had a plan and we’re rebuilding, and I think right now we are on a positive trajectory. So it doesn’t change my thinking at all.”<\/p>\n

Tsai told NetsDaily that he remains committed to his plan of building the Nets’ fanbase in a city that leans heavily toward the Knicks, who drew more than 2 million fans to their championship parade<\/a> through Manhattan’s “Canyon of Heroes” earlier this summer.<\/p>\n

Peter Stern, the chief financial officer for Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, told CFO Magazine that the Nets are “happy for the Knicks” and that they hope to draft off their rivals’ “tailwinds” by attracting “dormant fans.”<\/p>\n

“We think about mostly just tailwinds,” Stern told CFO Magazine<\/a>. “We want more people loving basketball, and the Knicks’ championship — or I should say, even their deep playoff runs previously — really activated many dormant fans.<\/p>\n

“Fans got to engage with it and appreciate this special thing called the NBA in a different way. … This year, there were plenty of folks around New York who maybe weren’t basketball fans who ended up at a watch party or engaged in some way, shape or form with the playoffs. That’s a great thing for us as the Nets and Liberty continue to grow in Brooklyn.”<\/p>\n

The Nets went 20-62 last season, finishing with the NBA’s third-worst record and missing the playoffs for a third straight year. Brooklyn entered last season with the NBA’s youngest roster and added three more rookies for 2026-27, including No. 6 overall draft selection Mikel Brown Jr<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Knicks, who ended a 53-year championship drought two months ago, will play the Nets four times in 2026-27, starting with their Nov. 2 matchup at Madison Square Garden. The teams’ first matchup in Brooklyn is scheduled for Feb. 1.br\/]<\/p>\n

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