Director and New York Knicks superfan Spike Lee admitted he would resort to desperate measures to watch his beloved team clinch the NBA championship.
The award-winning filmmaker returned to Madison Square Garden Thursday night where he anxiously watched on as the Knicks managed to avoid elimination in a Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers.
However, the Knicks still trail the Pacers 3-2 in the Eastern Conference finals and face another crunch do-or-die in Game 6 to cling on to any hope of facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
And Lee admitted he would make a mᴀssive sacrifice to not only ensure that his Knicks pulled off a miraculous conference series comeback, but also went all the way to hoisting the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy for a third time.
The 68-year-old confessed that he is so desperate for an NBA тιтle to return to the Big Apple that he would give up an Oscar.
‘I would give up an Academy Award. Oscar, for the Knicks to win a Championship,’ Lee said on NBA on TNT ahead of Game 5 while dressed in a blue and orange pinstriped suit.
Spike Lee admitted he would sacrifice an Oscar to see the Knicks with the NBA championship
The Knicks kept their hopes alive with a 111-94 Game 5 win against the Pacers
Spike: “I would give up an Academy Award. Oscar, for the Knicks to win a Championship.”Chuck: “Well you’re gonna keep ’em!” 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/4uhBgym7od
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 29, 2025
With the Knicks trailing 3-1 in the series at the time, Charles Barkley seized the chance to take a dig, hilariously responding: ‘Well, you’re gonna keep ’em.’
Lee has wo two Oscars over his illustrious Hollywood career, including an honorary Academy Award in 2015 and Best Adapted Screenplay in 2019 for the motion picture BlacKkKlansman.
The director has witness the Knicks become champions in his lifetime – twice, in fact. New York won championships in 1970 and 1973 but haven’t claimed another in over 50 years.
Lee’s hopes were kept alive Thursday night as the Knicks refused to surrender the series in a dominant 111-94 win over the Pacers.
Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns answered the call as they put up 32 and 24 points respectively at the Garden to carry New York to the crucial victory.
