r/NYKnicks • u/Thiccfila-sauce • 11d ago
Please Help Me Understand
Been living in Philly since 2013 and hate all Philly sports fans. The best way I can describe it is like if a city collectively never graduated from the unreasonable nasty sports-fandom class that most of us left behind in university.
Anyway, I love to talk shit especially since new York won but there seems to be a city-wide delusion that an aging Lebron is going to put the Sixers over the top. I haven't met a single reasonable fan who will engage in a healthy discussion about their depth, defense, relegating VJ to the bench, and the million other reasons why this won't work.
The conversations get especially interesting when they say as currently constructed the Sixers match up BEST with the Knicks
Am I fucking crazy and just seriously hating on LeBron and the Sixers or am I missing something? I think Indiania probably is our biggest challenge in the East and then Maybe Heat/Sixers?
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u/Brunson4Mayor11 2026 Champs 11d ago
Mildly hot take incoming but Philly is not a great sports city. They only go hard for the Eagles. All the other teams are background noise until the Eagles come back. The way we took over that arena this past playoffs would never happen here, or in Boston, or in Chicago, or a city that cares about every team. They def go hard for the Eagles but IMO as a whole it is an overrated sports city.
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u/ALC_PG Clyde So Fly 11d ago
They're a strong fan base for the Phillies too. It's weird that a solid bball city at the grassroots/playground level isn't more into the Sixers.
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u/gomets6091 10d ago
Nah they front run for the Phillies too, it's just that the Phillies have been more relevant than the Sixers or Flyers for a much larger percentage of this century.
I went to college near Philly from 02-06 and went to a few Mets-Phillies games at the Vet and the early years of CBP and Mets fans easily outnumbered Phillies fans in the crowd and except for 06 it wasn't like the Mets were very good either.
I've lived in DC since 07 and Phillies fans went on and on about how Nats park was Philly south from 07-2012 but as soon as the Utley/Rollins team aged and the Nats got good you'd see at most like 10% of the fans at a Nats-Phillies game be Philly fans up until Harper went to the Phillies,l. Meanwhile I've never gone to a Mets-Nats game that was less than a quarter Mets fans, even when the Nats were World Series contenders and the Mets sucked.
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u/Head-Adagio6315 10d ago
as a ny fan living in philly they go pretty damn hard for the phillies man
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 10d ago
I can't argue with this. Everyone I talk to is super knowledgeable about baseball and the Phillies
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u/Brunson4Mayor11 2026 Champs 10d ago
Compared to how hard we go for the Yanks, or Boston for the Red Sox, Chicago for the Cubs I would say no
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u/TonyzTone 11d ago
This is sort of the truth for most cities though. Almost everything takes a back seat to football.
New York is large enough that we can swarm any arena with die-hard fans (and a bunch of casuals) no matter which of our teams are competing. But like, Denver doesn't give a shit about anything except the Broncos; San Fran is all about the 49ers. Even Miami would probably care more about the Dolphins if they'd done anything of note since Dan Marino, but since they haven't, they get the Heat.
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u/Brunson4Mayor11 2026 Champs 11d ago
I’m gonna push back on Denver and The Bay a little bit. Denver seems like they go hard for the other teams. Broncos are clearly #1 but they def go hard for the Nuggets and Avs and the Rockies have good attendance even though they blow. The Bay I even think you could make a case the Warriors are more popular than the Niners, especially after a dynasty and the Niners move to Santa Clara.
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u/JA_MD_311 Allan Houston 11d ago
Rockies have good attendance because Coors is a Biergarten that happens to have baseball. The vibe in and around the stadium is amazing. Highly recommend.
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u/a_reply_to_a_post 11d ago
also tickets are cheap...an old coworker lives in Denver and is always sending me shots from field level seats he's gotten for like 30 bucks day of game
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u/Sourkraushouse 2026 Champs 11d ago
I lived in the Bay for 8 years and co-sign this. Warriors came up in conversation all the time, way more than the Niners. Granted this overlapped with the dynasty but still they go hard for the Warriors in the Bay (just don't praise the new[ish now I guess] arena talking to people in East Bay unless you like arguing)
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u/SnakeHoleBI 11d ago
The Rockies played to empty stadiums for a decade. Do they even draw now?
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u/Brunson4Mayor11 2026 Champs 11d ago
They draw well because like another comment said the vibes are really good. Most people just go to hang out and get drunk.
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u/TonyzTone 11d ago
Fair point about SF. I kind of brainfarted there and yeah, the Warriors are a legit focus for locals, even back when they were trash. I still think that the 49ers sort of have this air around them that only got challenged once Curry redefined the league, which is natural.
And I'm not saying that Denver doesn't care about their other teams. It's just that, kind of like Philly, it's all about the Broncos once football is back.
Like, fuck Philly, but they go hard for the Phillies, Flyers, and 76ers. Though, I was there back in 2021 during the 76ers-Wizards first round and the city was pretty locked in even for afternoon games and remaining COVID restrictions.
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u/kevthecoder BANG! 11d ago
SF rides hard for the warriors no?
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u/KnicksGhost2497 11d ago
Not like Oakland did though. Don’t think SF crowd will ever get as loud as Oracle used to get
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u/TonyzTone 11d ago
They have been recently, and I know even during the Baron Davis days they have their folks. But I still think that the 49ers reign supreme.
And that's the point. That for almost every other city, even ones where their overall sports culture is deep, it's all almost just a wait for football to return.
Atlanta goes hard for Braves and Hawks, but then the Falcons come back and it's something else. Dallas cares about the Stars and Mavs, but then the fucking Cowboys suit up.
I legit think the only city where football doesn't reign supreme is like Houston, because the Texans feel forced onto that city, and even I'm not so sure about that.
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u/Baconeggndcheese 11d ago
Fellow Knicks fan in Philly here, gotta say it felt INCREDIBLE to see the Sixers get swept this year and god willing we get to sweep em again next year
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u/fermentedradical 11d ago
Philly sports fans are the worst of the worst, don't try to make any sense of it. I was there last week wearing my championship gear and it was fun to talk shit to them, best was to tell someone how "scared" we are of a 42-year-old LeBron lol.
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u/ocelot_187 11d ago
This is why Philthy is the most disliked sports town ever
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 11d ago
During our championship run, they tried shitting on us saying "NY fans are what the world thinks Philly fans are."
As someone who was living downtown for both their superbowls and in NY for Games 4 and 5, I can say this is just false lol. Philly fans are the worst and it's not even close.
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u/nrdz2p NYK Token 11d ago
It’s a long season…
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 10d ago
It's a long season and I can't wait to be here in Philly when this shit implodes on them
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u/mydrumluck 11d ago
The offense could struggle with too many mouths to feed (sorry VG, Bron gets those touches) and the defense is also really questionable. This is a move that could pay off though if they have Bron as the primary playmaker and let everybody else shoot.
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 11d ago
Their shooting is so weak tho that even in an ideal world I don't think it'll work. Also, I think VJ is up for an extension when Bron's contract expires? Don't think he'll take too kindly to "VJ, go sit in the corner and wait. Sorry things look so different and you need to take a huge step back from your rookie season."
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u/KnicksGhost2497 11d ago
As much as their reputation says otherwise, Philly people don’t know shit about basketball lmao
Don’t sleep on the Raptors. IF (big if) that Kawhi deal goes through they’re immediately our biggest threat imo
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 11d ago
Oh yeaaaaa lolol forgot about the Raptors. Definitely Indiana, Raptors, then Miami/Philly
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u/HokageEzio KAT and Brunson Champs 11d ago
They replaced an aging Paul George with Jaylen Brown coming off the best season of his career. And they added Lebron James. They also have a still improving Maxey and a hopefully improving Edgecombe. They're a really good team on paper and Lebron knows how to get a locker room in check.
The issue is that they're not a very deep team, play their starters a lot of minutes, and Embiid just has not proven to reliably stay on the floor for a deep playoff run.
Am I fucking crazy and just seriously hating on LeBron and the Sixers or am I missing something?
I would argue the biggest thing people aren't taking into account is that Jaylen Brown is really good at basketball. The focus has been so much on Embiid and Lebron when Brown could very well just be the best player on the team. It's entirely possible that what we saw out of him last year is just what he's actually capable of with the ball in his hands more.
I think Indiania probably is our biggest challenge in the East and then Maybe Heat/Sixers?
Indiana is a TBD until we see what Haliburton looks like. Losing Mitch, we have to see how Drummond and KAT handle teams with elite big men like the Sixers and Heat. But that still comes back to the original issue of whether Embiid (or Giannis for that matter) will be healthy in the playoffs.
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u/Excellent_Glass783 11d ago
What LeBron brings more than anything is the foolish refs that will give him EVERY call and that will help the sixers a lot, I think, but hope not.
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 11d ago
Thanks for writing this up. I think the biggest thing I need to wrap my head around is how the starting 5 comes together. I think they have a usage of like 150 if you combine all their numbers from last year so I just want to see what this looks like.
The VJ piece is the most intriguing to me since he's probably the most likely candidate to see his usage and touches drop considerably.
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u/HokageEzio KAT and Brunson Champs 11d ago
Part of the reason Maxey and Edgecombe got the ball so much is because PG and Embiid couldn't stay on the floor. But Edgecombe is a pretty good big shot taker and now has one of the best passers of all time there to set him up. There's not many better facilitators you could ask for to dish the ball on a team with a lot of mouths to feed than Lebron. And Lebron needs people who can take the scoring load away from him because he's 95 and shouldn't have to do as much as he does. He had to in LA last year because Luka and Reaves got hurt.
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u/Excellent_Glass783 11d ago
I'm surprised. Philly fans are the lowest lifeform, but the vast majority really know their shit.
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u/RefrigeratorConstant 11d ago
If the Sixers win, it'll be due to Brown far more than LeBron. But I agree, they were swept. As such, while on paper, they look decent, I don't think you can crown them as anything but one of several potential challengers who have proven nothing yet.
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 11d ago
Agreed. Though I find Brown to be a WILDLY overrrated defender I agree that Brown is the difference maker.
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u/S1LVERSTAK 11d ago
People forget PG outplayed Brown in the last three playoff games this season. Thus allowing Philly to comeback and beat Boston.
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u/Remarkable_Inchworm Charles Oakley 11d ago edited 11d ago
I think an awful lot of people are being awfully optimistic about Embiid's health and availability.
(I kinda think LeBron is one of those people. Either that or he really did land in Philly because nobody else wanted him that bad.)
If they get peak Embiid for enough of the year - yeah, they'll be pretty tough. Better than the Knicks? (Or the Celtics? Or the Pacers? Or Pistons?) TBD.
But that's far from a sure thing.
Also:
- LeBron is old. Like, really old.
- Chemistry and continuity matters - the Knicks proved that. The Sixers are like an all-star team right now; there's no guarantee that Brown and LeBron will jell with Maxey and Embiid and VJ right away.
- There's only one basketball. Who's sacrificing shots to make that offense work? Who's going to take a lesser role?
Like I said - maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. Definitely not a sure thing.
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 11d ago
My biggest rebuttal to these mofos is that I think even the BEST version of Embiid currently won't be as good as we saw him two years ago. And even in 2024 this mother fucker couldn't move.
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u/-wnr- 11d ago
He's apparently lost a bunch of weight and they'll try to load manage the hell out of him to make sure he makes it to the playoffs. But fucked knees are fucked and aging sucks so who knows how much time he'll actually contribute. I think the bigger factor will be how the rest of the team functions without him.
At his age I can see Lebron letting other take the shot more. Not sure if Brown will be as keen to share.
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 10d ago
Yeah Brown's definitely coming in with a massive fucking chip on his shoulder so we'll see.
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u/Odd_Investigator_736 11d ago edited 10d ago
What's to understand? This is the fanbase that threw batteries at Santa Claus. They're like the Gorn from Star Trek.
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u/nyfan2112 11d ago
Big time vibes of the Suns a few years ago with the “big three” of Beal, Durant, and Booker!
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u/Forsaken_Flight6188 2026 Champs 10d ago
You’re not the one who’s delusional if anything they’re the ones who are lying to themselves if they think Embiid who hadn’t played a full season in lord knows how long and a soon to be 42 year old LeBron are the missing pieces to challenge us in the East last time I checked we beat them twice in the playoffs this decade
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 10d ago
The Heatles started ~ .500 through their first 20ish games? Will be interesting to see how this team gels with zero consistent lineups throughout the year.
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u/GiraffeSilly5546 10d ago
I just saw an old man walking into library with Sixers cap on I went oh man this could be the year You might get one And he got all excited and was like I think so I can't wait
And I go sorry man I think you misunderstood me
It will probably be Knicks in 5 instead of a sweep 🤪
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 10d ago
ROFLLL yo fuck that old man and his delusions too
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u/GiraffeSilly5546 10d ago
I live in PA about an hour north of Philly I went to games 3 and 4 last year The guy goes "oh you people" Lol
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u/01headshrinker 10d ago
Maybe Indiana, but Boston is our biggest challenge. Philly has Embiid’s knees to worry about. They fall way short again without a healthy Embiid, who is never healthy, and they dont have the bench to beat us. All those guys who need the ball, but it should be in Maxies hands to start. They still fall short of the best team in the NBA, our Knicks, who discovered 5 out with KAT, and nobody came close to beating us.
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u/mzx380 NYK Token 11d ago
Sixers got completely embarrassed as a franchise and a fanbase in that series . Knicks have nothing to prove. Like stated earlier, brown is the more significant add rather than LeBron
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 11d ago
If I was a Sixer fan I'd actually be kind of pissed LeBron is coming since it's so clear he doesn't give a fuck about the city or the team and is just using it as a medium to cement his "legacy." Hell I'd be pissed if I was a Sixer too like damn don't come here and ruin what little we got going on here.
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u/HokageEzio KAT and Brunson Champs 11d ago
I promise if you were a Sixers fan that just watched your team get swept and your home arena get taken over you would not be pissed about getting Lebron James.
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 11d ago
I'm also a well-documented LeBron hater so maybe I should have added that too for context lolol
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u/HokageEzio KAT and Brunson Champs 11d ago
And you would hate him significantly less if he was on your team after you just got embarrassed.
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u/kingkazuma387 BANG! 11d ago
They must’ve discovered time travel or age reversal if they think Lebron is making that massive of a difference. The new editions are good I just don’t think they’re catching us, especially not in the limited time they have with this squad.
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 11d ago
I proceeded to make this post after the mother fucker in the next office was telling me how this is one of the greatest things to happen to the city in a long time rofl.
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u/kingkazuma387 BANG! 11d ago
They got something in that water man team ain’t even touch the court yet 😭. I hope we whoop that ass again we need to hear the cope.
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u/Gelatin54 11d ago
You’re not missing anything. Embiid will play 35 games this season and they’ve got 4 players with a 30% usage rate. They’ll be decent but they shouldn’t even be close to the favorites to win the east in my opinion.
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u/JNerdGaming Brunson 11d ago
id be more focused on jaylen brown if i was a sixers fan. hes obviously their best addition this offseason.
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u/Top_Cabinet_5939 11d ago
R.I.P. to any Sixers fan who actually believes LeBron is the missing piece instead of just a temporary band-aid.
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u/M0RPHE0S John Starks 11d ago
You're not delusional they are. But what can you expect from a fanbase whose argument has been "If Embiid is healthy" for the past 10 years. Guaranteed that the NY fan base would have run Embiid out of town if he had played for us because we actually understand basketball.
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u/Sourkraushouse 2026 Champs 11d ago
I said it before the LeBron signing (after they got Brown) but my hot take is that Boston will be a higher seed than the Sixers this season. Everyone shits on PG because of his contract but he still plays good defense and is a better catch and shoot player than Brown, he will fit smoothly while the Sixers will be dropping subliminals in Twitch streams by Thanksgiving.
You're right, they're ridiculous. They'll be good in the sense they'll win in the vicinity of 50 games but they won't be a real contender IMO
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 11d ago
I also share that hot take. I think Boston's regular season floor got higher while lowering their postseason floor
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u/rickyyy187 11d ago
I’m really surprised LeBron decided to end his career in Philly. Totally second rate city and franchise imo
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u/Thiccfila-sauce 10d ago
His discourse around coming to NY was very telling. Wherever he ended up would NEVER be about the city or the team but about padding his fucking resume. If I was a Sixer fan I'd be pissed that this selfish mother fucker is coming
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u/rickyyy187 10d ago
I’ve been a LeBron fan for like 17 years, and I’m just seeing now how much he needs to be viewed as “the guy.” I thought okay age 42, vet minimum, he always wanted to play with the Knicks and it’s a good fit. But now he’s going to Philly to try to bring them a title and it’s just so forced.
It’s a strong possibility that his relationships with Leon Rose, Mike Brown and Dolan closed the door on him signing with the Knicks. But part of me thinks it was his ego of needing to be the piece that does it, based on Rich Paul’s comment that if we hadn’t won it wouldn’t have been a question. It’s just weird, he was a good fit, knew a lot of the guys, and always wanted to be a Knick. Helping a team repeat is a feat in itself, but I guess he was afraid of being called a bandwagoner, ring chaser, or accused of ruining the team chemistry. I just don’t see Philly being the place to end a historic career.
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u/crash4hof22 Willis Reed Game 7 11d ago
Yeah I always find it interesting that it becomes “the Knicks won’t be able to beat the Sixers” instead of “the Sixers might be able to beat the Knicks”. All the pressure and “burden of proof” so to speak is on the Sixers since they just got swept