The Jets hope to follow in the Knicks' footsteps.
The New York Knickerbockers brushed off 53 years of failure last week, earning their first NBA championship since 1973 with a five-game victory over the San Antonio Spurs. The Knicks' run, and the city's to it, has Gang Green dreaming of one day pulling off a similar journey.
"I think that's a special thing, to see the energy and just how devoted the fans are to the team and the city," quarterback Geno Smith said Tuesday. "It gives us a little bit of added motivation. We're motivated already, but, man, just watching those guys win that championship, it has to do something for you as a competitor."
Jets coach Aaron Glenn will use the Knicks, who came back time and time again in the NBA Finals, including a miraculous 29-point revival in Game 4, as an example of how his players can persevere in tough times.
"You've probably heard me say this before, but, man, competitive stamina -- that's something that those men showed throughout that whole series and that's a real thing," Glenn said. "It's something that we're working on, and the way you do that is, me as a coach, I have to make sure I create that in practice. It's hard to do that in OTAs because the physical part of it, but once we come to training camp, you can bet your ass that we're going to work on competitive stamina, because those Knicks, those guys showed it."
Running back Breece Hall was at the title-clinching game Saturday night in San Antonio, taking in the scene in a suite with New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart. Hall said he's friends with two Knicks players, Mikal Bridges and Tyler Kolek.
"I went to eat wings with Tyler the other day in the city -- we were watching UFC fights -- and I congratulated him and I'm like, 'I can't wait to have that feeling,'" Hall said. "So there's definitely positive jealousy because I want my team to be able to do that as well."
Expected by most to continue their perpetual rebuild, which last saw the Jets make the playoffs in 2010, New York may not return to glory in 2026, but Gang Green can dream of one day hoisting their own championship trophy. The Jets have gone 57 years since their last NFL title in Super Bowl III.
