There's Room of North Carolina

The Context

Anybody who knows me understands that I am a diehard Celtics fan. They are my team and I will stick by them regardless of the outcome. So, it may come as a surprise to hear that in the 2026 NBA finals run, I was rooting for the New York Knicks. I could go into the reasons why I don’t like Victor Wembanyama (Wemby) or tell you the history of the Knicks and their 53-year drought of success, but I don’t want to bore you. What I will say is that game 4 of the series reveals to us what resilience looks like and what it means to chip away at a task that seems insurmountable.

Let me set the scene for you. It is game four, Madison Square Garden, and the Spurs have won the last game after going down 2-0. They have momentum and their confidence is back. The Spurs entered the second half leading with score of 76-49. For those in the arena and those of us watching at home, it appeared the Knicks had lost this one and lost it bad. Understandably, the Spurs started to get confident. At one point, Wemby taunts Mitchell Robinson telling him, “I’m in your head!” Robinson takes offence to this and clips Wemby in the chin, resulting in two free throws for the Spurs.

The Comeback

But somewhere in the 3^rd quarter the Knicks start to get momentum. They have run after run and before you know it, they are back in the game. By the 4^th quarter, with a little over 4 minutes left to play the lead has been cut to only 4 points. If you know anything about basketball, you know a 4-point lead is nothing and over four minutes of playing time is everything. Both teams keep fighting and by the time there is only 2:18 left to play the lead has been cut to 1 point! This is when it starts to get really good! With a floater down the middle Brunson secures the Knicks’ first lead of the game with 1:22 left to play. Play continues and with 5.7 seconds left to go OG Anunoby delivers the tip-in seen round the world! The ball is inbounded to Bruson, he gets a good look from 3, the shot is slightly off but OG storms the paint to tip in the shot putting the Knicks up by one point with 1.2 seconds left of play. Despite their efforts, the Spurs can’t get a final play executed and the Knicks take the win after being down 29 points!

Even if you aren’t a basketball fan the clip below is worth watching!

I share all this about the game because yes, as a fan of the game it was thrilling to watch, but more importantly, like sports often does it teaches us something about maintaining a spirit of perseverance.

Lessons to Be Learned

• You have to believe you can win the moment/situation! When asked by Ernie Johnson after the game how the comeback and win happened Jalen Brunson responded, “One word that captures that all is belief. Believing in each other, believing in the process, chipping away one possession at a time…” To many watching, 29 points seemed too big of a lead to surpass, it seemed like something the Knicks would just have to give up and accept. Similarly, so many battles we face in life are material, systematic, and often seem out of our control. So often, there is little we can do about the circumstances of the world, but it is important to remember the agency we all possess, to wield it responsibly, and to believe our actions and decisions can have an impact. The human mind doesn’t know what’s real and what isn’t and we have to train it to believe that what seems impossible isn’t!

• Often the work is slow and steady! They didn’t come back and win off of one possession or one great play. Instead, quarter by quarter they stayed true to their game and chipped away at the problem they faced. Likewise, we’ve all heard the tale of the hare and the tortoise and that story is told to children because coming out the gate the fastest rarely leads to success. The same applies to fighting for liberation, changing our personal circumstances, and caring for our communities. We must be able to stay steadfast because that is what brings moments of success. Remember consistency will always get you farther than motivation or quickness!  

• Isolation is a death sentence! In every post-game interview, the Knicks mentioned how a team mentality got them the win. They noted how they relied on each other understanding that each one of them played a part in the success they sought. Equally, we must understand that the way out is never a game of isolation. It’s been said before that basketball is a team sport but so is life! There’s no success without the help of others. It wasn’t Brunson playing hero ball that got them out, it was a team effort. Specifically, the final shot Bruson took fell shot, but OG was there to tip it in to take the 1-point lead. We have to be willing to take the tough shots, but also understand there are folks around us ready to get our rebound and put it back up if our efforts aren’t enough. Importantly, we must also remember sometimes you are Brunson taking the shot, sometimes you are OG helping someone succeed – learn how to be both depending on what the situation is calling for.

• Innovation is our friend! We are fighting systems that have no problem morphing to oppress and similarly we must be willing to switch up our game plan to meet the moment. Coach Mike Brown played two small guards which took pressure off of Brunson and helped space the ball on the court better. Sometimes we have to create a plan and be willing to pivot when things don’t work out and the new plan might not make sense to others, but we have to trust it will be what is needed to bring justice and liberation.

• You don’t need much! The Knicks only needed 1 point for victory– one point! So often in life we are told we must have exceptional results, but that’s not true. Things don’t have to be great in life to continue moving forward they just have to be good enough and as the Knicks showed us in game 4 – one point is good enough. Sometimes you won’t be able to do everything, but doing something is better than nothing. Sometimes you won’t be able to clean everything, but one load of laundry is good enough. Sometimes you won’t be able to volunteer but a kind phone call checking in on folks is good enough. We don’t have to be superheroes we just have to give enough to keep moving us forward to the next game in the series of life!  

• Complacency must be avoided!  After a strong first half, we saw the Spurs become complacent and mentally start to take the game for granted. Be the opposite of the Spurs. Instead, we must keep our foot on the gas – when it comes to our rights, when it comes to community care, when it comes to bringing forth liberation. Again, you don’t have to be going super-fast, but taking our foot completely off the gas isn’t an option we have the luxury of right now. We see what happened to the Spurs in the game when they thought complacency was okay, and we see what happened to this country when folks got comfortable with where they thought America was. Our safety and the safety of those around us demands that we stay moving towards something that isn’t this!

• Lisen to your enemies! As I noted earlier, Wemby started to taunt the Knicks while they were down. I encourage you that when your enemies taunt you, listen to them. I do not mean internalize what they are saying and let it defeat you but really listen to their game plan so you know how to defeat them. Listen to the fact that they think they have you beat and then show them the possibilities of something else. We live in a country where this administration and those who support them truly believe they have already won. They truly believe they have gotten in our heads and broken our spirits, but we know that is not true. I am not encouraging you to get into verbal arguments or internet scuffles, but we must be like Mitchell Robinson and not be afraid to give a swift elbow to the chin and fight back. I trust you are following the metaphor and know I’m not encouraging physical violence, but we must not be afraid to fight back with everything we have because liberation will not be won with handshakes and smiles.  

It does not matter whether you like basketball or not. What matters is the lessons we can take from Game 4 and the Finals series. We must work as a team, we must be consistent in our fight for liberation, we must not be afraid of the moment, and most importantly, we must work as an innovative team. The moment calls for it, our lives and the lives of those around us call for it. I look forward to seeing you on the court as we continue to battle for our own win in this series called life.