The New York Knicks are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since the early 2000s, and one larger-than-life personality is already claiming a big chunk of the credit. WWE superstar Danhausen — known for his spooky gimmick and playful curses — says he single-handedly broke the hex that had kept the Knicks from championship glory for decades.
It all started when Danhausen put a curse on the team early in the playoffs after a heated back-and-forth with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. But when the Knicks fell into a 2-1 hole against the Atlanta Hawks, he reversed course and uncursed them. Since that moment, New York hasn't lost a game.
After the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals — another team Danhausen had cursed during a promo with WWE rival The Miz — he took to X (formerly Twitter) holding a Knicks towel and proudly declared the franchise fully uncursed. SportsCenter even highlighted the moment, sharing a clip that quickly went viral.
For Knicks fans, the timing of Danhausen's intervention aligns perfectly with the team's historic postseason run. The Knicks have been so dominant that star guard Jalen Brunson has sat out the entire fourth quarter in all three clinching games — against the Hawks, 76ers, and Cavaliers. Brunson, who is now being mentioned among the greatest Knicks of the 21st century, hasn't publicly acknowledged Danhausen's claim, but he's known to be a big WWE fan and a supporter of Roman Reigns.
The Knicks' playoff tear is unlike anything basketball has seen. Their winning streak has surpassed the postseason runs of legendary teams led by Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry. It's a level of dominance that has fans and analysts comparing this squad to the 1996 Chicago Bulls, as explored in a recent deep dive into New York's unprecedented run.
With the NBA Finals on the horizon, ticket prices have skyrocketed — some costing more than a house, according to a recent report on Knicks Finals ticket prices. The city is buzzing, and Mayor Mamdani has already announced city-wide watch parties after the sweep of Cleveland.
Even President Trump has weighed in, with speculation about his courtside seat plans at Madison Square Garden for the Finals, though Knicks fans have had some fun roasting that idea.
Whether or not Danhausen's curse-lifting was the real catalyst, the Knicks are riding an incredible wave. They'll enter the Finals as underdogs against whichever team emerges from the Western Conference, but they're as battle-tested and confident as any team in recent memory. One thing's for sure: the Knicks are back, and the story of how they got here just got a little more supernatural.
