The New York Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years for very clear reasons. They compete with passion and joy, and they play offense and defense with a selflessness that defined the franchise’s only two title teams in the 1970s.
Nothing is mysterious about these history-making Knicks, other than the executive who assembled them.
On the night his team completed its Eastern Conference finals sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Leon Rose was seen getting emotional in a video posted on X by @goatcollect that showed the Knicks president wrapping an arm around his son, Sam, the agent who reps Jalen Brunson — whose father, Rick, a Knicks assistant, was Leon’s first client.
It’s a family affair across the board, and the patriarch runs his business under the terms of omertà. Rose does not meet with the independent media that covers the Knicks. He is the silent star of a big-city blockbuster that might end in a ticker-tape parade.
On cue, the Knicks said Wednesday that Rose was not available to comment on the conference champ he built piece by piece, after Knicks governor James Dolan took a huge gamble in 2020 by hiring him away from his comfortable life as a CAA super-agent. Rose had repped the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Chris Paul, meaning he had a lot of experience negotiating mega-deals with NBA teams.
And no experience finding the balance between superstardom and complementary parts required of a championship-level roster.
Leon Rose puts his arm around his son, Sam, and visibly breaks down in tears after the emotions set in of the Knicks going to the NBA Finals.
This is beautiful stuff. We love you, Leon. Thank you for everything you have done.
h/t: Jordan Brill pic.twitter.com/WIkMDzadno
— Chase Jordan (@goatcollect) May 26, 2026
Dolan was banking that his guy would join Bob Myers and Rob Pelinka as former agents who won big on the other side of the table, and Rose nailed his first head coaching hire with Tom Thibodeau, who brought professionalism and accountability to an operation that didn’t quite lead the league in either category. The Knicks were 182 games under .500 in the six seasons before Thibodeau’s arrival. As it turned out, Rose and Thibs saved the Knicks in ways that past appointed saviors, including Phil Jackson, never could.
And then Rose and Dolan agreed to take another wild roll of the dice last year, firing Thibodeau, who had just led the Knicks to their first conference final appearance in a quarter century, and searching for someone, anyone, who was more flexible in dealing with the players and the front office. It doesn’t matter where Mike Brown was on their original list of candidates — the thrice-fired Joe Torre was fourth on George Steinbrenner’s original list to replace Buck Showalter as New York Yankees manager following the 1995 season, under almost identical Thibs-Brown circumstances, and that worked out OK for The Boss.
Brown has been Torre-like, and then some, in a blitz of postseason blowouts unlike any the NBA has seen, all of it the work of Rose’s players. The team president made one of the great acquisitions in New York sports history by signing Jalen Brunson as an undervalued free agent. He used his assets to acquire Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns, while passing on potential deals for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Donovan Mitchell.
After Antetokounmpo signed a supermax deal with Milwaukee for $228 million in 2020, Thibodeau publicly implored the front office to pursue a star and “to be very aggressive in seeking out those opportunities. They just don’t happen by accident. You have to make them happen.”
But ultimately, Rose’s patience proved to be his best asset. Though he made his share of mistakes early while finding his way as a team builder — Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier and Cam Reddish among them — Rose got better and better as time passed. Just like his players.
Knicks president Leon Rose, right, with advisor William Wesley. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
“I grew up in Queens with the championship Knicks teams of the ’70s, and this team plays the same way,” said Ernie Grunfeld, the GM of the Knicks teams that contended throughout the 1990s. “They share the basketball and the ball just pops around. They play defense, they are deep, and they have so many people you can rely on. You never know who can hurt you.
“Leon has done a tremendous job, and he’s done it his own way. His team sacrifices for one another just like those ’70s teams. Josh Hart was one of his great moves because he’s the glue of that team, just like Dave DeBusschere. They’re peaking at the right time and doing things that have never been done in the NBA playoffs.”
And the whole time, Rose hasn’t said one public word about it. In New York City, the biggest media market in creation.
“It’s working for him, and that’s what counts,” said Grunfeld, who, as Knicks GM, spoke publicly regularly. “The whole media situation has changed from the ’90s, with social media and everything else. Mike Brown has done a great job, the Knicks are winning, and when you have too many voices out there, it’s not beneficial anyway.”
Brian Cashman, an accessible Yankees general manager for nearly 30 years, said he couldn’t imagine doing his job without speaking to the media. “Not in this town,” he said. Cashman pointed out that the culture of MLB — the time GMs spend around the clubhouse, the field, and the batting cages during spring training, 162 regular-season games and the playoffs — likely makes media interaction more natural.
“But the bottom line isn’t how you communicate publicly,” Cashman said. “It’s not what you say, it’s what you do. And what Leon Rose has done is transformational.
“He made really impactful moves with Brunson and Towns, and other quality moves with Bridges and Anunoby, and now the Knicks are knocking on the door for a championship that the city is desperate for.
“Being a GM, your job is to get your team in a position to win. You’re not a player, but you put together a program that improves the roster, the coaches, the scouts, and it’s a whole ecosystem designed to deliver consistent winning. … And nobody can be more proud of what they’ve accomplished with that than Leon Rose.”
When Dolan hired him, Rose released a statement to the fan base that made the following pledges:
“We will have all the resources necessary to create a great organization — one that supports our efforts to build a winning culture and gives Knicks fans, and the city of New York, the team you deserve.
“Nothing about this is easy, or quick, so I ask for your continued patience. … We will develop a plan that makes sense. … Our team will work hard, stick together and ensure we live up to the honor of wearing the New York Knicks jersey. … Rest assured, I will do everything I can to create a winning organization.”
Leon Rose has lived up to those promises, every single one.
What more is there to say?
