The '90s Knicks believe Jalen Brunson, New York team can win title - ESPN

NEARLY THREE DECADES later, Patrick Ewing's pain is fresh as he reminisces about the last time the New York Knicks were in the NBA Finals.

In 1999, the upstart Knicks became the first 8-seed ever to reach the Finals, but they were no match for the San Antonio Spurs. Tim Duncan was just starting his legendary Spurs run of five titles in 16 seasons, and center David Robinson was still at an All-Star level. A helpless Ewing could only watch from the sidelines with a torn Achilles suffered in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. Without their franchise big man, the undersized Knicks were dismissed in five games.

Ewing's wound of losing his second and last Finals appearance has yet to heal.

«That definitely hurt,» Ewing told ESPN. «It hurt me more than the [1994 Finals] loss to [the Houston Rockets] — the fact that I was not able to play.»

Twenty-seven years later, the Knicks have returned to the Finals and must scale yet another generational Spurs big man in Victor Wembanyama. As in 1999, Ewing will be cheering on the Knicks to end their title drought from his courtside seat. The Hall of Famer is one of many Knicks alumni, including Larry Johnson, Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell and John Starks, who have regularly attended Knicks games during their incredible postseason run.

That Knicks team produced some of the franchise's most unforgettable moments, including Houston's running jumper that sank their hated rival Miami Heat in the first round and Johnson's legendary four-point play that ultimately propelled New York over nemesis Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals. Some, like Johnson, feel like they are reliving 1999 all over again. They see much of what embodied that Jeff Van Gundy-led