James L. Dolan has owned the New York Knicks for nearly three decades. Throughout much of this period, the team struggled with a poor performance record in the NBA.
After reaching the NBA playoffs’ championship round in 1999, Dolan’s first year as owner, the Knicks qualified for the playoffs only seven additional times over the following 23 years. In 2019, they held the league’s worst record, which prompted Bloomberg to question if Dolan was the worst owner in professional sports.
In New York City, Dolan’s reputation mirrored the team’s struggles. He frequently engaged in public disputes, sometimes litigating against the team’s fans, employees, local politicians, and even his own players.
Recently, the Knicks experienced a remarkable resurgence. They now have a chance to seize an NBA title. The team faces the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, commencing on Wednesday. A victory over the seven-game series would grant Dolan, 71, his first Knicks championship since 1973, before New York’s current mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was born.
This potential triumph raises the question: could this success mend his fractured relationship with the basketball-enthusiastic city?
“Everyone loves a winner, and Jim Dolan sure looks like a winner right now,” said Kathryn Wylde, a longtime New York power broker affiliated with the city’s leading corporations. “I suspect we are ready to forgive his grudge matches.”
Yet, not all share this sentiment. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the Manhattan borough president and a vocal Dolan critic, stated, “He’s the owner representing icons of Manhattan and the city at large, and to be so unloved — people love to hate him. I don’t think it applies more aptly to anyone else than Jim Dolan.”