Dolan Asked Knicks to Abstain From Sex Before First
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- James Dolan delivered a speech to the Knicks on April 3 with five games left in the regular season, asking players to make 10 weeks of sacrifices to win a championship, saying 'this team can win it all.'
- The video was released Monday on the 'Roommates Show' podcast hosted by Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, who were on the team at the time.
- The Knicks went 16-3 in the playoffs, including a record 13-game winning streak, and beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games to end a 53-year championship drought.
- Dolan addressed the mid-cycle firing of Tom Thibodeau and hiring of Mike Brown, crediting Thibodeau but arguing the roster needed a coach who would 'have you play as a team' rather than 'relying on one person's opinion.'
- Dolan urged players to stop talking to reporters, improve their diets and sleep, and abstain from sex — jokingly invoking the Spartans — and promised championship rings to wives and significant others.
- Dolan told players to follow Brown 'blindly' for the playoffs, saying 'your coach has the answers to what we need to do in order to win.'
Why it matters: The video, released on Brunson and Hart's podcast, directly links Dolan's unusual 10-week commitment demands to the franchise's first title in 53 years — retroactively validating the controversial mid-cycle firing of Thibodeau and replacement with Brown, a coaching change the roster appeared to buy into immediately.
