The Pearl thinks these Knicks are a gem.
New York basketball legend and 1973 NBA champion Earl “The Pearl” Monroe has high hopes and higher expectations for the Knicks in the 2026 NBA Finals.
“It’s something that we really anticipated playing so well all year long. I think we’d be disappointed if they weren’t in the finals,” he told The Post exclusively ahead of Game 1 vs. the Spurs.
NBA Hall of Famer and Knicks all-time great Earl “The Pearl” Monroe appeared in Nassau County Wednesday afternoon for a rallying call to the region in support of New York’s beloved basketball team. John Roca for NY Post“The way they’ve gone through the playoffs, obviously, it’s been at a record-breaking pace. I think we all anticipated winning this here whole thing.”
Monroe joined blue and orange faithful at a Long Island rally held by Nassau County Executive and GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman. Superfan lawyer Bob Sullivan, with Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas & Cannavo, funded the day for a chance to reminisce with Monroe and fans about how far Knicks fandom has come over the past half-century.
“It’s a lot different from back in those days, because the adulation is different. There’s many more people that are into it,” the 81-year-old legendary point guard added.
“Seeing everybody on the street with Knick gear on is unbelievable. I’ve seen Knick gear that I’ve never seen before.”
“They’re waiting for it, waiting for the Mecca to come,” he said of New Yorkers like those who packed the Nassau County legislative building at noon on Wednesday.
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe won a championship with the Knicks in 1973. NBAE via Getty ImagesThe Harlem hometown hero also dished to The Post that he’s got his former team coming out on top of Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio.
“I don’t have a prediction, per se, but I like Knicks in six because it rhymes,” he said, smiling.
Monroe added that Jalen Brunson and these Knicks share something vital with his old bunch from the early 1970s.
After the rally, Monroe talked politics while reminiscing with Blakeman, who is also the GOP-nominee in this year’s governor’s race. John Roca for NY Post“I think the most important thing about any team is the camaraderie,” he said.
“This team has a lot of camaraderie. They pull for each other, and that’s the beginning of a great team.”
If the current roster were to win it all, it would be “bittersweet” to Monroe.
“Because as the last Knicks championship team we’re always going to be remembered,” he said.
“But at this point, you just want them to win because you feel so much for not only how well the team is playing and that they deserve it, but because the city needs to have it as well.”
Monroe moves around picks set by Willis Reed and Walt Frazier on Nov. 22, 1972. William N. Jacobellis/New York Post ArchivesAnd nobody deserves it more than the city’s most faithful.
“The energy that is put in this town, it’s just unbelievable,” Monroe said. “I think that to win a championship, it’s going to mean so much to so many people.”
After the rallying call to fans, The Pearl headed back into Blakeman’s chambers, where the pair and Sullivan reminisced over the good old days and spoke about Harlem’s Gang of Four — the legendary political coalition of David Dinkins, Charlie Rangel, Basil Paterson and Percy Sutton that reshaped New York politics in the 1970s.
Dinkins went on to become the city’s first black mayor, Rangel went onto Congress and chaired the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Paterson became a state senator and secretary of state, and Sutton the longtime Manhattan borough president and political kingmaker of Harlem.
“I’m a student of history,” Blakeman said, adding that they were a “powergroup.”
Blakeman also proudly told Monroe that he was “my dad’s favorite player.”
