Knicks owner James Dolan explains why Finals were always the expectation

James Dolan doesn’t grant many interviews. So when the Knicks owner speaks, people tend to listen.

Ahead of the NBA Finals, Dolan sat down with the New York Post’s Steve Serby and made it clear that New York’s appearance on the league’s biggest stage didn’t come as a surprise inside the organization.

In fact, he suggested it was the expectation all along.

“That’s why I don’t do a lot of interviews — I’m usually very frank,” Dolan said. “I did not go into the interview thinking, ‘Oh I’m gonna say this.’ But it was on my mind, and I knew that the rest of the organization knew it too — we all knew it.”

Back in January, Dolan raised eyebrows when he publicly stated the Knicks should reach the Finals. At the time, some viewed it as unnecessary pressure.

Dolan views it differently.

“We knew it from the moment that we said goodbye to Thibs and we hired Mike, that we were gonna be in a hot spot because we just made the conference finals,” he said. “You don’t make a change unless you’re expecting to do better.”

That coaching change remains one of the defining moments of New York’s rise.

Tom Thibodeau had just led the Knicks to their deepest playoff run in 25 years, yet the organization moved on and eventually hired Mike Brown.

According to Dolan, team president Leon Rose was convinced Brown was the right fit.

“We knew we had a good coach in Thibs,” Dolan said. “We weren’t just going for a change.”

Instead, the Knicks wanted someone collaborative and adaptable.

“So we laid out all these characteristics that we were looking for,” Dolan said. “Leon interviewed a lot of different guys, and he came back with Mike. Leon did all the work. I just blessed it.”

Dolan also addressed the moves that helped shape the current roster.

He admitted losing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency forced New York to pivot, opening the door for the trade that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to Manhattan.

“Our first preference would have been to keep going with Isaiah,” Dolan said. “Once we lost Isaiah, we knew we needed a big man.”

As for the decision to surrender five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges?

“It took a little thought,” Dolan said with a smile.

But he added that the Knicks viewed Bridges as a foundational piece of the team they were trying to build.

That team is now four wins away from a championship. And if Dolan is to be believed, that’s exactly where the Knicks expected to be all along.