No Dunks Podcast Summary: "Blank Check’s David Sims On Why His Knicks Should Hang That NBA Cup Banner"

Date: December 18, 2025
Host: Je Skeets, Tas Melis, Trey Kirby, JD
Guest: David Sims (The Atlantic, Blank Check Podcast, Knicks fan)

Episode Overview

In this vibrant, fan-centric episode, the No Dunks crew welcomes film critic, podcaster, and devoted Knicks fan David Sims to celebrate the New York Knicks’ historic NBA Cup win. Together, they dive deep into Knicks fandom, debate if MSG should hang a Cup banner, evaluate New York’s evolving culture and ambitions, discuss the possibility of trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, compare Knicks’ legends past and present, and finish with a wild basketball/movie “Up/Down Report.” The show is rich with basketball banter, nostalgia, and a healthy dose of movie nerdery.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. David Sims on the Knicks’ NBA Cup Victory

• Personal celebration: “I have three children at home, so I celebrated by staying up to watch it... I was up till 11:15 at night for that, that late game and watched it and, you know, I don't know, gave myself a sort of little pat on the back.” (03:51)
• NYC vibes post-victory: “There was not the mood in the air that one might have hoped for, I guess. But you know, we're all feeling pretty pleasant.” (04:19)

2. Should the Knicks Hang an NBA Cup Banner?

• David’s case for a banner:
  “I do think you should hang the banner... MSG has, there's like a Fish banner. There's plenty of silly banners. And, like, don't we...I think we've hung division title banners for sure.” (05:17)
• On Cup ceremony anxiety:
  “It’s one thing to put a banner up there. It's another thing for everyone to, like, stand around while you raise it up. And if it feels a little, you know, a little jinxy to be doing that.” (05:53)
• General consensus: Hang the banner, but keep the ceremony low-key.

3. Knicks Team Spirit & Celebrations

• Podcast chemistry analogy:
  Sims on the Hart-Brunson duo: “I suppose I'm more the Brunson and [Griffin’s] more the Hart. Right. Hart's a little bit more the disruptor, the troublemaker. Coming up with bits. I'm a little bit more the floor general.” (07:50)
• Fun atmosphere:
  “I appreciate… the general kind of slap happy, you know, friendliness of our current team.” (07:04)

4. Reaction to Coaching & Roster Changes (from Thibodeau to Mike Brown)

• Mike Brown impact:
  “We just needed someone to be like, hey guys, we're gonna spice things up a little bit. We're gonna give people a little more run... Tibbs was just so orthodox about minutes and rotations that it just was starting to feel a little stale and frosty. I…I do feel like [Brown’s hire] has been what we've needed.” (09:14)
• New culture:
  “The Knicks for years were this clown show and we scared off free agents, and it was just like, it's just a mess over there. And we had this, like, nice bedrock… culture for years.” (09:31)

5. Knicks Aspirations: Finals or Bust?

• Elevated expectations:
  “I think we have to. We have to go to the finals, right?... last season, this year… I…suffered as all Knicks fans did, with that kind of crushing, stomach churning… But yeah, as a Knicks fan… you just have that like fourth quarter like, like clenched, like.” (10:50)

6. The Giannis Trade Question

• Risk vs. reward:
  “I really love Giannis… what’s the trade?… It doesn't really track to me that we can swoop in and do that, but. Yeah, yeah, you... I think you do have to do that. And I...worry because, yes, I feel like there's something karmically bad about messing with a team that's, you know, in a flow and that is in good shape.” (12:32)
• Would you do it?
  “I'd probably do it… Silly to not do it. Yeah, it's Giannis and he still does rock. And I'm pretty confident he's going to rock for like three or four more years without too much trouble.” (14:43)

7. Knicks Fandom, Nostalgia & Player Comparisons

• Childhood heroes:
  “You know, I was a huge John Starks kid... I had this kind of like, father son thing with Patrick Ewing... Knicks are the first team... The Finals, the, you know, 94 finals was the first sort of significant sports event. I got to like, stay up and watch and obviously it's the first time that I experienced, like, crying on the couch and having my heart ripped out by a sports team and somehow... didn't. I stuck with it.” (16:33–18:02)
• Brunson vs. Melo as Knicks icons:
  “With Melo... there were always caveats. The trade was always hanging over him... just play the four... I was so constantly frustrated by him... Brunson, it's completely different. Like, we signed him...within minutes, I was just like, oh, this was meant to be, you know, Nick, Nick for life...” (18:29–20:08)
• Brunson’s stability:
  “He does seem like a good guy... so many Knicks eras are defined by drama and ego... Brunson has always felt like a very stable force in the locker room...” (20:23)

8. Playoff Dreads & Rivalries

• Playoff nerves:
  “[Now] it's going to be more. And the east playoffs are going to be like, brutal. Like... all these like, grindy playoff series... they're all going to be like final minutes. Right. Like, don't you think so?” (23:13)
• Worst playoff opponents:
  “The only teams that really terrify me are the Celtics and the Heat... and the Pacers because I have like that kind of mystical, like, rivalry fear with them. Of like, it's extra humiliating to lose to them.... The Pistons, it's the, it's the combo of they're really good...” (23:58)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On MSG banners:
  “MSG has...a Fish banner.” – David Sims (05:17)
  (Refers to the Phish concerts at Madison Square Garden; highlights the Knicks’ willingness to hang random banners.)

• Handling ‘jinxy’ ceremonies:
  “It’s another thing for everyone to, like, stand around while you raise it up. And if it feels a little, you know, a little jinxy to be doing that.” – David Sims (05:53)

• Knicks fan patience:
  “I'm generally as a sports fan, I'm kind of proud of sticking with your guys now, but I do feel like that's old fashioned of me...” – David Sims (15:30)

• Sims as a podcast ‘floor general’:
  “I have to keep things moving. I gotta make sure we get into our offense, AKA talk about the movie, something like that.” – David Sims (07:50)

Up/Down Report: Basketball Movie Hot Takes (28:53–39:17)

A series of rapid-fire “thumbs up/thumbs down” movie takes featuring:

• Space Jam (1996):
  “Yeah, I'll give a soft thumbs up… Vital piece of pop culture. I would say as, as bizarre as it is.” – David Sims (29:09)

• LeBron as an actor:
  “I'm giving him a thumbs up for Train Wreck, which he is excellent in… LeBron's good on camera.” – David Sims (30:34–31:14)

• Space Jam: A New Legacy:

  • “I don't think Space Jam Legacy really worked out for anyone.” – David Sims (30:50)

• Kurt Russell’s b-ball scene in Escape from LA:
  “Thumbs down.” – David Sims (32:49)

• Notable basketball movie cameos:

  • Shoutout to Sigourney Weaver’s backwards shot in Alien Resurrection (33:09)

• Eddie (the Knicks movie):
  “Thumbs up on Eddie. No, Eddie's pretty bad. Eddie is. I'll be thumbs down on Eddie.” – David Sims (35:35)

• Timothée Chalamet as Knicks superfan:
  “I feel great. I. He's so for real. Like, it's just so obvious that he is a dork about the Knicks... like, he's a huge sports dork.” – David Sims (36:53)

Wrapping Up: How To Follow David Sims & Knicks Memories (39:29–41:22)

• Where to find him:
  Blank Check podcast, film criticism at The Atlantic, David L. Sims on Twitter/X (but “don’t really use it anymore.”)
• Favorite No Dunks memory:
  “...the thing with you guys is the consistency more than anything. There was just, you know, just... You're one of the first sort of like podcasts... But, you know, as you guys sort of rose up and, you know, then you went over to NBA TV and you were on my dang TV sometimes and, you know, mixing it up with everybody, like, those are, you know, those were just exciting times.” – David Sims (40:10-40:29)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:36] – David Sims introduction and Knicks Cup celebration
• [05:17] – Should the Knicks hang a Cup banner?
• [07:50] – Hart & Brunson energy, podcasting as hoops metaphors
• [09:14] – Transition from Thibodeau to Mike Brown
• [10:50] – What’s a successful Knicks season now?
• [12:32–15:30] – Should the Knicks trade for Giannis?
• [16:33–18:02] – Knicks fan origins and nostalgia
• [18:29–20:23] – Brunson vs. Carmelo as Knicks leaders
• [23:13–24:44] – Playoff nerves, East matchups, and nemeses
• [28:53–39:17] – Up/Down Report: Basketball movies and celebs

Tone & Language

• Lively, conversational, and full of classic No Dunks/Blank Check warmth.
• Lots of jokes, analogies, and open fan emotion—especially from David Sims.
• Language is casual, sports-nerdy, and relatable for diehards and newer fans.

Summary for New Listeners/Readers

This episode spotlights the joy and existential agony of being a Knicks fan through the decades, seen through the lens of a film critic and fellow “floor general” David Sims. The hosts and Sims celebrate the Knicks’ NBA Cup, debate its worthiness as a title, discuss the franchise’s emerging culture, weigh the eternal star-chasing dilemma, reminisce about Knicks icons, and let movie banter fly. Deeply satisfying, often funny, and bubbling with fandom—a must-hear for Knicks lifers and NBA culture heads alike.

End of Summary