The Knicks raised a banner to the MSG rafters. Then LeBron James and the 76ers brought them back to earth

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The rafters themselves are nothing special, merely a useful space to house lighting and air conditioning. They are dinged up and dingy, fortunate to constantly bask in a golden hue that covers up their imperfections.

But to get raised up into them, to hang around the edges like a beautiful curtain, is to achieve an honor reserved for only the luckiest of lucky.

Madison Square Garden serves as a lot of things. It is a concert hall and a hockey rink. Bull riders take over its confines once a year. So do monster trucks. And on the rarest of occasions, for very special brides, people celebrate their weddings here.

Above all else, though, it bills itself as a basketball court, the epicenter of a basketball city whose playgrounds have birthed legends, some whose skills went worldwide and others whose lore lived only in their neighborhood parks.

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On Tuesday night, the Garden rafters welcomed the only banner that matters. Fittingly, it took its time to arrive at its new home. Attached to two pulleys, it meandered its way from the ground to just above the center-court scoreboard, casually and methodically rising above the court floor before finally parking itself to the left of the M in Madison Square Garden.

A piece of fabric that needed 53 years to stitch together, after all, shouldn’t be rushed through its moment of glory. The last time Knicks fans gathered here, they stood around in stupefied delirium, having witnessed their team come back from 29 down to win Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

This was just delirium. Along the midtown streets, fans showed out in their jerseys and championship gear, some simple and plenty bedazzled. A marketing genius drove a bus with a glass side around the block of the Garden, declaring that fans should snap a picture of the trophy housed inside (the bus sported Abu Dhabi Tourism logos, so probably not), while folks headed to the turnstiles, unbothered by what Forbes said was the highest get-in price for an NBA opener in league history.

With the usual suspects – Mariska Hargitay and Spike Lee – taking their courtside seats along with Roger Goodell and Jon Bon Jovi, the Garden faithful filled the place before the 6:30 p.m. ceremony. They paid proper homage to the old stars there to welcome the new ones to their championship club – Walt Frazier, maestro of the 1973 championship, handed out the rings – but saved their bedlam for their more recent heroes.

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OG Anunoby, he of the “hand of God” putback in Game 4, earned a raucous ovation, as did Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.

But no one brought the house down quite like Jalen Brunson. The Knicks captain leaned into his new comedic chops, honed on a stint hosting “Saturday Night Live,” and thanked the crowd for sticking around for Game 4. He then hit the right notes, saying that as much as he loved the good will he felt this summer, he’d like to “replicate that again this year.”

“Let’s raise a championship,” he finished as the banner headed upwards.

Of course, nowhere is glory more fleeting than in sports. Banners may last forever, but success has a very short shelf life. Before the glitter from the Knicks’ meat-hook sized rings stopped shimmering, the NBA nudged everyone along to the new season.

In a purposeful confluence of brilliant scheduling, marketing and the business of basketball, the league arranged it so that the kings of New York would have their on-court coronation on the same night they welcomed the king to their court.

LeBron James, 41 and in search of a team that could help him write the final championship chapter of his career, debuted his fourth NBA jersey, suiting up for the 76ers.

Booed upon introduction and welcomed with chants of “We didn’t want you” - referencing James’ admitting he considered New York before they won the title - James and the Philadelphia 76ers left with the final word in a 106-100 victory.

“It’s encouraging,” 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said “I think the intent of what everybody has been doing is right. I’m really happy to come here and get a win. They’re a hell of a team, and when I wake up tomorrow, I’ll probably forget about it.”

New York might not, at least not so quickly. As the Sixers absorbed punch after punch and refused to fold, reality returned with at least a whimper, if not a thud. New York fans quickly shed their joy, exchanging it for exasperation. They screeched their aggravation at officials and implored, more than cajoled, their team with “C’mon New York.”

It is ridiculous to suggest that the first game in an 82-game slog could be a must-win, but in Philly, where dire usually comes with a extra heap of desperate, it was pretty close.

Reeling from the end of their quarterback’s season and the unofficial end to the Eagles’ hopes, the city is about at its limit. The hottest topics waffle between Nick Sirianni’s job security and the treatment of Jalen Hurts’ blood clots, none exactly harbingers of good news. The Flyers were done before they started and the Phillies long gone.

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Into the abyss walks the most unsuspecting of would-be heroes. No one in the city has turned to the Sixers for salvation for years, accustomed to a process that never proceeded. Philly hasn’t so much tasted the Eastern Conference finals since 2001, marching coaches through a revolving door as it refused to fix what truly ailed the franchise.

But this offseason, the owners finally made moves, bringing in Bob Myers, the architect of Golden State’s brilliance, and Mike Gansey. Together, the two reworked Philly’s fortunes, pulling off a move for Jaylen Brown from the Celtics, and then using that – along with the moxie of Tyrese Maxey – to lure James to, of all places, Philly.

It crafted a fever dream for Philly, a team built not just to take baby steps toward success, but to sprint there.

The first effort was hardly a work of art. The Sixers’ starting five hit just 29 of their 71 field goals, looking regularly like exactly what they are – a team still learning how to connect all of their disparate parts.

But no one came here expecting to solve all the riddles at once.

“Obviously this is a marathon,” James said. “But on day one, day six, seven, whatever, the experience that we have we want it to translate to wins and more of a culture – a championship culture.”

Perhaps one that ends with a banner celebration all their own.

弗兰克·富兰克林二世/美联社

屋顶横梁本身没什么特别之处，只不过是用来安装照明和空调的实用空间。它们破旧不堪，暗淡无光，幸好常年沐浴在金色的阳光下，掩盖了这些瑕疵。

但是，能够被提升到它们的高度，像美丽的帷幔一样悬挂在边缘，是只有最幸运的人才能获得的荣誉。

麦迪逊广场花园用途广泛。它既是音乐厅，也是冰球场。每年，斗牛比赛和巨型卡车表演都会在这里上演。在极其罕见的情况下，一些非常特别的新娘也会在这里举行婚礼。

但最重要的是，它自诩为一个篮球场，是这座篮球之城的中心，这座城市的球场孕育了无数传奇，有些球员的技艺享誉全球，而另一些球员的传奇故事则只流传于他们附近的公园。

布拉德·彭纳/Imagn/路透社

周二晚，麦迪逊广场花园的穹顶迎来了那面至关重要的旗帜。恰如其分的是，它抵达新家的过程也颇为曲折。这面旗帜由两个滑轮连接，从地面缓缓升至中场记分牌上方，悠然而有条不紊地越过球场，最终停在了麦迪逊广场花园“M”字标志的左侧。

毕竟，一块耗时53年才缝制完成的布料，不应该匆匆结束它的辉煌时刻。上次尼克斯球迷聚集于此时，他们激动得目瞪口呆，沉浸在狂喜之中，亲眼见证了球队在NBA总决赛第四场比赛中，从落后29分的情况下逆转战胜圣安东尼奥马刺队。

这简直是​​一场狂热的狂欢。在市中心的街道上，球迷们身着球衣和冠军装备，有的朴素简约，有的则闪耀夺目。一位营销天才驾驶着一辆侧面是玻璃的巴士绕着麦迪逊广场花园转了一圈，宣称球迷们应该拍下车内奖杯的照片（巴士上印着阿布扎比旅游局的标志，所以大概没人会这么做）。与此同时，人们涌向检票口，丝毫不在意《福布斯》杂志所说的NBA揭幕战史上最高的门票价格。

玛莉丝卡·哈吉塔和斯派克·李等老面孔，以及罗杰·古德尔和乔恩·邦·乔维，都坐在了场边。麦迪逊广场花园的忠实球迷们在下午6点半的仪式开始前就挤满了场地。他们向在场的老牌球星致以崇高的敬意，欢迎新晋冠军加入他们的行列——1973年总冠军功臣沃尔特·弗雷泽亲自颁发了冠军戒指——但他们最热烈的欢呼声还是留给了这些新晋英雄。

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在第四场比赛中投进“上帝之手”补篮的 OG 阿奴诺比赢得了热烈的掌声，乔什·哈特、米卡尔·布里奇斯和卡尔-安东尼·唐斯也同样获得了掌声。

但没有人比杰伦·布伦森更能引爆全场。这位尼克斯队长充分展现了他新练就的喜剧天赋——这得益于他主持《周六夜现场》的经历——并感谢球迷们坚持观看第四场比赛。随后，他恰到好处地表示，尽管他很珍惜这个夏天感受到的善意，但他希望“今年也能再次感受到这种氛围”。

“让我们一起举起冠军旗帜吧！”说完，横幅缓缓升起。

当然，没有哪个领域的荣耀比体育界更转瞬即逝。锦旗或许永存，但成功却稍纵即逝。尼克斯队那两枚硕大无比的总冠军戒指上的光芒还未褪去，NBA就已催促所有人迎接新赛季的到来。

联盟巧妙地结合了赛程安排、市场营销和篮球商业运作，安排纽约之王在欢迎国王来到他们宫廷的同一晚举行球场加冕仪式。

41岁的勒布朗·詹姆斯正在寻找一支能够帮助他书写职业生涯最后一个总冠军篇章的球队，他身披第四件NBA球衣，为76人队效力。

詹姆斯在出场时遭到嘘声，并被高喊“我们并不想要你”——这是指詹姆斯承认在纽约赢得总冠军之前他曾考虑过加盟——最终詹姆斯和费城76人队以106-100的比分赢得了比赛。

“这令人鼓舞，”76人队主教练尼克·纳斯说道，“我认为大家的出发点都是正确的。我很高兴能来到这里并取得一场胜利。他们是一支非常优秀的球队，不过明天醒来后，我可能就会把这场比赛忘得一干二净了。”

纽约或许不会，至少不会那么快。76人队接连遭受打击却始终不肯认输，但现实终究还是带着一丝微弱的冲击，甚至可以说是沉重的打击，将他们拉了回来。纽约球迷的喜悦很快消散，取而代之的是无奈和愤怒。他们对着裁判大声咆哮，用“加油，纽约！”的呐喊声，与其说是劝说，不如说是恳求着他们的球队。

说 82 场漫长赛季的第一场比赛必须赢是荒谬的，但在费城，那里的人们往往更加绝望，所以情况非常接近。

费城这座城市正因四分卫赛季报销和老鹰队希望的破灭而陷入低谷。人们热议的话题在尼克·西里亚尼的帅位是否稳固和杰伦·赫茨的血栓治疗之间摇摆不定，而这些都不是好消息。费城飞人队还没开始就已经结束了，费城人队也早已出局。

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NFL为费城老鹰队的医疗团队辩护，此前杰伦·赫茨带血栓参加了伦敦的比赛。

最不知情的英雄们步入了深渊。多年来，这座城市里没有人再把希望寄托在76人队身上，他们早已习惯了毫无进展的局面。自2001年以来，费城就再也没有尝过东部决赛的滋味，教练频繁更迭，却始终拒绝解决球队真正的问题所在。

但在这个休赛期，老板们终于有所行动，引进了金州勇士队的缔造者鲍勃·迈尔斯和迈克·甘西。两人联手重塑了费城76人的命运，先是从凯尔特人队交易来了杰伦·布朗，然后又利用这笔交易——再加上泰瑞斯·马克西的魄力——成功将勒布朗·詹姆斯招致麾下，加盟了费城。

它为费城打造了一个狂热的梦想，一支不仅要一步一步走向成功，而且要全力冲刺的球队。

首战表现平平。76人队的首发五虎71投仅29中，始终展现出他们的真实面貌——一支仍在学习如何将各个分散的环节连接起来的球队。

但没有人来这里期望一次性解开所有的谜题。

“这显然是一场马拉松，”詹姆斯说。“但无论是第一天、第六天、第七天，还是其他任何一天，我们都希望我们积累的经验能够转化为胜利，并形成一种更浓厚的文化——一种冠军文化。”

或许会以一场属于他们自己的盛大庆祝活动作为结尾。