Spike Lee Makes Bold Claim About Current Knicks Team

Despite the lack of championship, last year's New York Knicks will hold a special place in the heart of superfan Spike Lee.

Jan 3, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Bulls with forward Julius Randle (30) and center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) and forward OG Anunoby (8) and guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Last year's New York Knicks appear to be going down as Spike Lee's personal Best Picture winners.

The decorated director and celebrity Knicks superfan offered a daring superlative for a team that never was: asked to comment on the canceled quartet of Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart, Lee was ready to give the group a permanent historic marker despite not playing a game together.

"I think this is the most beloved team in the history of the Knicks, with the exception of the two world championship teams,” Lee said in a GQ profile from Sam Schube, while acknowledging his love of the 1990s groups led by Patrick Ewng, Charles Oakley, Latrell Sprewell, and John Starks. "Now they’re going to take it to another level and bring the Knicks to the championship."

Lee would certainly be well-versed in well-liked Knicks teams as a staple in Madison Square Garden's courtside seating. He was asked by Schube to comment on the would-be "'Nova Knicks," who added Bridges to the fold after he, Brunson, DiVincenzo, and Hart guided the Villanova Wildcats to the 2016 collegiate national championship.

New developments forced GQ to adjust its headline: DiVincenzo was removed from the fold earlier this month as one of the headlining pieces of the trade that brought in former Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns. Schube's profile is now title "The Greatest Knicks Team That Never Was" and still serves as a documentation of the tight bond the former Wildcats have assembled.

Schube was able to get Lee's updated thoughts now that DiVincenzo was shipped to the Midwest. While wary of losing DiVincenzo, Lee's championship confidence doesn't appear to have waivered as he praised Knicks management for pulling the trigger on a bold, monumental move.

"We're going for it now. It's all in. Do or die," Lee said, acknowleding dealing DiVincenzo is part of the "cruel business" that is the NBA. "The next two, three, four years? This is it. This is the window, and you got to go for it.”

The Knicks face an instant reunion with DiVincenzo on Sunday evening as the Timberwolves will visit MSG for a preseason showdown (6 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).

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