{"id":1965920,"date":"2026-06-01T10:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T07:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1965920"},"modified":"2026-06-01T10:00:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T07:00:23","slug":"knicks-are-playing-dave-debusschere-ball-going-into-nba-finals-matchup-with-spurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1965920","title":{"rendered":"Knicks are playing Dave DeBusschere ball going into NBA Finals matchup with Spurs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Every single time the DeBusschere boys attend an event at Madison Square Garden, they take a few moments to stare at their father\u2019s name and number in the rafters. For Peter and Dennis, it is always humbling to look up and see the late, great Dave DeBusschere, No. 22, memorialized with his fellow lions from the glory days.<\/p>\n

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Peter was born between the franchise\u2019s two NBA titles won in 1970 and 1973, and Dennis was born the year after his dad retired in 1974. Just like the rest of the fan base, they have been waiting forever for championship No. 3, and for a team that plays the game the way Red Holzman\u2019s teams played it on the tapes the DeBusschere boys used to watch with their old man.<\/p>\n

They have finally identified such a team in the 2025-26 New York Knicks, who will face the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw it in the Cleveland series,\u201d Peter said, \u201cwhen Jalen Brunson went off in Game 1, and then in Game 2 it was Josh Hart, because they were leaving him open. That\u2019s what I was seeing in those old films and in talking to the guys who played with my father. Get it to the open man and let him do his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Knicks are all playing defense, they\u2019re hustling, and they\u2019re helping each other out. OG Anunoby is my favorite player because he reminds me of my dad in a way. He\u2019ll guard any guy on the other team, he\u2019ll make shots, and he\u2019s just a great all-around player.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s funny, but long-time observers of the Knicks have taken turns comparing Anunoby, Hart and Mikal Bridges to DeBusschere, the 6-foot-6 Hall of Famer who was a relentless defender and rebounder with a lethal corner jumper. On Dec. 19, 1968, the Knicks dealt Walt Bellamy and Howard Komives for Detroit\u2019s hometown boy, a former player-coach of the Pistons (at age 24!) and a former pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, in what remains the most important trade in franchise history. DeBusschere was ultimately hailed by teammates, fans and media as \u201cThe Missing Piece\u201d to a championship cast headlined by Walt Frazier and Willis Reed.<\/p>\n

All these years later, his son Dennis agrees with his brother that Anunoby is the Knick who best embodies his dad\u2019s style.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut I see elements of all three of those guys in my father,\u201d Dennis said. \u201cCertainly, the way Hart crashes the boards as an undersized player. OG seems like the guy, but I can see Bridges in him with his constant off-ball movement. It\u2019s absolutely rewarding to see, and I\u2019d reinforce that I think this is a very enjoyable group of people to watch play. They are very easy to connect to, very easy to like. And what\u2019s not to love about Brunson?\u201d<\/p>\n

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You don\u2019t need to be at least 70 years old or a Knicks historian to understand that any comparison to DeBusschere is the highest of compliments. \u201cHe was the difference in turning a team that was mediocre around,\u201d Frazier once said. Among many other things, DeBusschere\u2019s presence allowed Reed to move to his preferred center position. The realignment sparked a decades-long love affair between the team and the city.<\/p>\n

The son of a man who once made his living hauling around kegs of beer, DeBusschere was the definition of rugged. In Game 7 of the 1970 finals, he was good for 18 points and 17 rebounds against a Lakers frontline anchored by Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. In Game 4 of the 1973 finals against the Lakers, he delivered 33 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Knicks to a commanding 3-1 series lead.<\/p>\n

In heavy traffic, DeBusschere was never afraid to lead with his face. \u201cI think my dad broke his nose about seven times,\u201d Peter said. \u201cHe had teeth knocked out and almost had his eye knocked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Peter<\/p>\n
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\n Peter DeBusschere, Bob McAdoo, Earl Monroe and Walt Frazier are recognized in 2021 on the 75th anniversary of the first NBA game at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Nathaniel S. Butler \/ NBAE via Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dennis had a story that might inspire optimism for Knicks fans hoping Mitchell Robinson is ready for Victor Wembanyama\u2019s Spurs. \u201cMy dad had a pinkie finger that I think he broke nine times,\u201d Dennis said. \u201cThe thing was permanently bent until he got surgery. \u2026 He\u2019d never talk about it, and he kept playing with it, but when you shook his hand, you noticed he had a really screwed-up pinkie.\u201d<\/p>\n

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DeBusschere was a neighborly, easygoing soul away from the job who never gave an inch on the court. As the Knicks\u2019 general manager in the 1980s, he sometimes let his sons and daughter, Michelle, shoot baskets before home games. \u201cAnd Larry Bird once kicked us off the court,\u201d recalled Peter, a ball boy. \u201cMy dad came out and said, \u2018These guys are shooting.\u2019 And Larry was like, \u2018OK.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Nine years after serving as the ABA commissioner who helped facilitate the 1976 NBA merger, DeBusschere was the Knicks executive who famously drafted Patrick Ewing. That\u2019s why in May 2003, Ewing was among the pallbearers and mourners inside St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Garden City, Long Island \u2014DeBusschere\u2019s town \u2014 to say goodbye to a Knicks legend who died far too young at 62.<\/p>\n

Days earlier, Dennis had visited his father at his commercial real estate office. They were walking to lunch when DeBusschere, a tower of strength who still looked like he could give the Knicks a good 35 minutes, collapsed on a Lower Manhattan street, right in front of his son. \u201cIt was shocking,\u201d Dennis said. \u201cCertainly he wasn\u2019t giving off any signs that something like this could happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working nearby, Peter raced to New York University Downtown Hospital, where doctors had already confirmed that DeBusschere had died of a massive heart attack. \u201cIt\u2019s been 23 years,\u201d Peter said, \u201cand it never gets easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Patrick Ewing holds up his new jersey with Knicks general manager Dave DeBusschere and NBA commissioner David Stern during the 1985 draft. (Noren Trotman \/ NBAE via Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NBA commissioner David Stern called DeBusschere \u201ca hard-nosed, blue-collar hero who gave all of his considerable energy to our game.\u201d In a beautiful eulogy at a funeral service attended by teammates and rivals alike, DeBusschere\u2019s close friend Bill Bradley said he was reminded \u201cof a time when we were all younger and there was a magic about life. A magic about life \u2014 there is no other way to describe those years on our Knicks teams.\u201d Bradley spoke of DeBusschere\u2019s selfless play as the core of their championship runs.<\/p>\n

The Knicks loved talking about a man who hated talking about himself. In a different time and place, Dennis recalled a panel of former Knicks speaking about Reed\u2019s enduring toughness as their captain. \u201cBut every time they talked about Willis, he would mention my dad,\u201d Dennis said. \u201cIt was always an honor when Willis Reed talked about my father\u2019s toughness. \u2026 I don\u2019t think Wilt Chamberlain liked playing against my dad.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Peter and Dennis grew up as accomplished athletes \u2014 both were lacrosse stars in college \u2014 who were proud that their distinct surname made people stop and ask if they were related to New York basketball royalty. Together, they have raised eight children who are a credit to the family legacy established by Dave DeBusschere and his wife, Gerri, who died of cancer in 2009.<\/p>\n

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Peter works for an electronic trading company, and Dennis is the president of a broker-dealer, 22V Research, named in honor of his father, ol\u2019 No. 22. But more than anything right now, they stand among the most passionate Knicks fans on the planet.<\/p>\n

When they sat with their father to watch his big games in the \u201970s, Dave DeBusschere never really said much. He had a quiet dignity about him. If the kids asked about a certain play he made, the eight-time All-Star and six-time first-team All-Defensive player would simply acknowledge it and move on. \u201cWe always had to press him for information,\u201d Peter said.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Knicks don\u2019t do a whole lot of talking either. They share the ball, play defense with a purpose and move on to the next task. That\u2019s why they\u2019ve made history during their 11-game playoff winning streak.<\/p>\n

So, win or lose against San Antonio, the DeBusschere boys are certain of one thing:<\/p>\n

Their father would have loved this team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every single time the DeBusschere boys attend an event at Madison Square Garden, they take a few moments to stare at their father\u2019s name and number in the rafters. For Peter and Dennis, it is always humbling to look up and see the late, great Dave DeBusschere, No. 22, memorialized with his fellow lions from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1965920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1965920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965920\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1965920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1965920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1965920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}