James Dolan Predicts Knicks Title Ahead of NBA Finals Game 4 vs. Spurs

Knicks owner James Dolan rarely speaks publicly, but when he does, he leaves nothing unsaid.

He’s made bold predictions in the past, but he made perhaps his boldest ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals Wednesday night. With the Knicks ahead 2–1 on the Spurs, Dolan made a gutsy call that his team would emerge victorious on Wednesday and eventually win the franchise’s first title since 1973.

“I expect to win tonight,” Dolan said to Craig Carton and Chris McGonigle on WFAN, “being as when I make predictions here they come true, we’re gonna win tonight and we’re gonna win the Finals.”

"I expect to win tonight - we're gonna win tonight, we're gonna win The Finals"

- James Dolan with @craigcartonlive and @CMacWFAN on @CartonShowWFAN pic.twitter.com/HaZP1kGii0
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 10, 2026

It’s an interesting time for the claim as San Antonio just snapped New York’s historic 13-game playoff winning streak with a 115–111 win in Game 3 on Monday. The Spurs’ first win of the Finals came in the first game of the series at Madison Square Garden, one of the most anticipated NBA games in recent memory.

On the heels of such a disappointing loss that caused Knicks fans to worry for the first time in the series, it’s not the best time to make such an audacious claim. However, he’s successfully looked into the crystal ball with Carton and McGonigle before, so Dolan hoped he had a little magic left in the tank.

James Dolan’s recent Knicks prediction on WFAN came to fruition

When the Knicks made the difficult decision to part with head coach Tom Thibodeau after a run to the Eastern Conference finals, Dolan eventually went on WFAN and explained the move. In the process, he said the same thing he did amidst this Finals run under first-year Knicks coach Mike Brown: The expectation was to get to the Finals and win a championship.

“I would say we want to get to the Finals and we should win the Finals,” Dolan said on WFAN in January. “This is sports. Anything can happen in sports. Getting to the Finals, we absolutely got to do. Winning the Finals, we should win.”

James Dolan talked "collaboration" when discussing the decision to move on from Tom Thibodeau:@craigcartonlive @CMacWFAN pic.twitter.com/A8W8giMsyq
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) January 5, 2026

Now, the latter portion of that called shot remains to be seen. But, he said the Knicks “absolutely” had to get to the Finals, which they accomplished in the first season without Thibodeau. At the time of Dolan’s initial comments, the Knicks were 23–13 and about three weeks removed from an NBA Cup win (where they beat the Spurs in the title game).

Dolan was speaking more in theory to justify the Thibodeau move, which was still confounding at the time. After the Knicks ran through the Eastern Conference at a historic pace and are now two wins from a title, however, the move away from Thibodeau in favor of Brown looks pretty smart.

With the coaching change, the Knicks already accomplished the goal of taking the next step and getting back to the Finals for the first time in 27 years. However, just two wins away from a title, it would feel like the team left a lot on the table if it doesn’t hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy once the series with the Spurs is over. Title windows close quick and the veteran Knicks have played with more desperation compared to the young Spurs which led to a 2–0 lead after the first two games in San Antonio.

Dolan feels good after the Game 3 loss—good enough to almost guarantee a Game 4 win and an eventual title. We’ll have to see whether he looks like a genius or slides down in his chair up in the owner’s box.

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