{"id":3946,"date":"2026-05-26T11:02:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T11:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:02:29","slug":"stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen A. Smith&#8217;s First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Stephen A. Smith is on cloud nine after the New York Knicks clinched the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/colonial-era-new-delhi-club-ordered-to-move-sparking-debate-on-indias-elites\/\">Colonial-era New Delhi club ordered to move, sparking debate on India\u2019s elites<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>New York swept the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday night at Rocket Arena. <\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>No one felt that more than Smith, a lifelong Knicks devotee. The 58-year-old had already declared on ESPN&#8217;s &#8220;First Take&#8221; that New York would win the NBA title this season. <\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>He made his elation impossible to miss, posting a clip to X the moment the final buzzer sounded.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Finally. Twenty-seven years, 27 years\u2026 we here!&#8221; Smith said, shaking in delight. &#8220;And we ain&#8217;t finished. I said we going to the Finals, we going to the Finals. We gonna win the Finals! Four more, four more\u2026 four more.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>We Going to the Finals! We going to the Finals!!! pic.twitter.com\/S1zleqq7tk<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) May 26, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Knicks have been a wrecking ball in the 2026 playoffs. They swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, then ran through Cleveland without dropping a game. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/sheep-theft-ruins-eid-festivities-for-palestinian-shepherd\/\">Sheep theft ruins Eid festivities for Palestinian shepherd<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Karl-Anthony Towns anchored Game 4 with 19 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Jalen Brunson added 15 points and five assists. The All-Star guard was named Eastern Conference finals MVP by unanimous vote. He averaged 25.5 points and 7.8 assists against the Cavaliers. <\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>New York has operated as a well-oiled machine all postseason, posting an average margin of victory of 23.7 points.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Knicks now await the winner of the San Antonio Spurs-Oklahoma City Thunder series. The Western Conference finals is currently tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 on Tuesday. The NBA Finals tip off on Wednesday, June 3.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The 27-year drought is over in The Big Apple. New York is finally here, and Smith is all for it. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/big-tobacco-comes-out-on-top-after-us-fda-shake-up-4\/\">Big Tobacco comes out on top after US FDA shake-up<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: Is Taylor Swift a Knicks Fan?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><i>Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved<\/i><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><\/p>\n<p>This story was originally published <span>May 26, 2026 at 3:33 AM<span>.<\/span><\/span><!-- --><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stephen A.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Stephen A. Smith&#039;s First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth - San Diego Relocation News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stephen A. Smith&#039;s First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth - San Diego Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stephen A.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"San Diego Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-26T11:02:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c\"},\"headline\":\"Stephen A. Smith&#8217;s First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-26T11:02:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":362,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/00a9dbb4a0aff899f837b73d4ef2b2fd.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stephen A. Smith's First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth - San Diego Relocation News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/00a9dbb4a0aff899f837b73d4ef2b2fd.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-26T11:02:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/00a9dbb4a0aff899f837b73d4ef2b2fd.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/00a9dbb4a0aff899f837b73d4ef2b2fd.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/26\\\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stephen A. Smith&#8217;s First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"San Diego Relocation News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stephen A. Smith's First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth - San Diego Relocation News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stephen A. Smith's First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth - San Diego Relocation News","og_description":"Stephen A.","og_url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/","og_site_name":"San Diego Relocation News","article_published_time":"2026-05-26T11:02:29+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c"},"headline":"Stephen A. Smith&#8217;s First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth","datePublished":"2026-05-26T11:02:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/"},"wordCount":362,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/00a9dbb4a0aff899f837b73d4ef2b2fd.jpg","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/","url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/","name":"Stephen A. Smith's First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth - San Diego Relocation News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/00a9dbb4a0aff899f837b73d4ef2b2fd.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-26T11:02:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/00a9dbb4a0aff899f837b73d4ef2b2fd.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/00a9dbb4a0aff899f837b73d4ef2b2fd.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/stephen-a-smiths-first-words-after-knicks-secure-nba-finals-berth\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stephen A. Smith&#8217;s First Words After Knicks Secure NBA Finals Berth"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/","name":"San Diego Relocation News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}