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 overwhelming response 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.”
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