There’s an old saying about opinions and the number of people that have them, and boy, has the Knicks’ NBA Cup championship brought out the gauntlet of opinions.
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo roasted Knicks fans on ESPN’s “First Take” on Wednesday for celebrating the Cup title, and now, Basketball Hall of Famer Dwight Howard has chastised the team for its decision not to hang a banner for the victory at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks will celebrate the team’s NBA Cup championship on Friday when they face the 76ers at home, but the organization will not put a banner in the rafters as the Lakers and Bucks — the previous tournament champions — have done.
That did not sit well with the eight-time All-NBA Selection.
The Knicks won the NBA Cup final on Tuesday night in Las Vegas. Charles Wenzelberg for The New York Post
“I’m going to be second hand embarrassed if the Knicks don’t raise the NBA Cup Banner then don’t make it to the championship this year,” Howard wrote on X, “Celebrate your wins while you can.”
The Knicks won the in-season tournament on Tuesday night when they defeated the Spurs 124-113 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The organization has opted not to raise a banner since it is “focused on the bigger picture,” The Post reported Wednesday.
Howard, an eight-time NBA All-Star and 2020 NBA champion, seemed adamant that the Knicks should celebrate the tournament win.
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What wins are deserving of banners has often been a flash point among sports fans.
Among the banners sitting atop Madison Square Garden are retired Knicks numbers and the franchise’s two NBA championships.
Dwight Howard believes the Knicks should honor the NBA Cup win by hanging the banner. Getty Images for The Buoniconti Fund To Cure Paralysis
The Knicks also have banners for division titles.
Players seemed split about whether an NBA Cup title should be honored in such a way, with Mikal Bridges against it and Mitchell Robinson all for it.
Earlier Wednesday, Russo went off on the idea of celebrating an NBA Cup title while going after Knicks fans celebrating it, including Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet.
“I apologize, somewhere, Walt Frazier and Willis Reed and Red Holzman are saying, ‘Really?” Russo said. “We’re gonna celebrate this stupid thing? This inauthentic creation to jazz up the regular season, which means absolutely nothing in the big picture?’”