WHY TROLL THE KNICKS WITH BIZET?
- Jun 7
- 3 min read
The New York Knicks are now up two games to none against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals.
Jalen Brunson was his usual self, but it was Karl-Anthony Towns who drew rave reviews for his performance.
Yes, the Knicks played brilliant basketball, but who had it on their bingo card that KAT would cruise past Victor Wembanyama and help lead the team to its 13th straight win in this matchup?
Wemby may be an alien, but he's still a guy in his early 20s, with 28-year-old De'Aaron Fox serving as the oldest player in the Spurs' starting core. In my opinion, that sequence in the dying minutes when Wembanyama threw a pass near the sideline behind Stephon Castle proved even costlier than his missed game-winner.
It didn't help that the arena was invaded by New York fans, who essentially turned part of the building into their own cheering section. And while it's tough for any team to get swept in the Finals, I don't know if the Spurs can handle the full weight of a rabid fan base that hasn't celebrated a championship since 1973.
That said, if the Spurs survive their trip to Madison Square Garden and manage to rattle the Knicks in the process, maybe it's a good idea to lay off the dumb, childish pranks. And yes, I'm talking about the cartoon music used to troll the Knicks during the starting lineup introductions.
Look, there's a reason I don't write much about the NBA Finals on my website: I don't want to jinx them. I don't really like the Knicks, but I tend to root for the Eastern Conference in the Finals, as evidenced by my love for the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls during the Michael Jordan era.
Hell, I even rooted for the Knicks in 1999 when they faced the Spurs led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson. With Patrick Ewing injured, Marcus Camby and Chris Dudley were left to carry the load in the middle.
That said, I think the Spurs are jinxing themselves with this starting lineup prank.
Apparently, the music in question is a cartoonish version of Georges Bizet's famous piece. And this is the TikTok version, which is somehow even worse. Now, I don't know whether the San Antonio crowd is simply egging the Knicks on to kick their asses.
I have heard the more awesome version of "Les Toreadors" in promos for football, Formula One, and the Olympics, as well as in countless action-packed advertisements throughout my life.
If you want to create smashmouth, downright dramatic action sequences, the Carmen Prelude needs to be there. It's practically a motivational tool at this point.
So yeah, I guess what I'm trying to say is that a joke is only funny if everyone gets it. And if the Knicks are responding to it with a "let's just kick their asses" mentality, then maybe it's time for the arena audio crew to stop the nonsense.
If the Spurs want to hand the Knicks the title when the series returns to San Antonio, maybe they should do this again. At this point, the Knicks would probably use it as the soundtrack to their victory lap.
What's even scarier for Spurs fans is that New York is synonymous with Broadway. I wouldn't be surprised if the Knicks responded with a bigger, grander, and far more theatrical version of the song.
And honestly, I couldn't blame them if they went completely over the top.
After all, this would mark the first time in 27 years that an NBA championship-clinching game could be played on their home court.
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