Hall of Famer Dave DeBusschere (right) was known for his hustle, grit and passion for basketball on and off the court.
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The Knicks — a team that tripped over itself for most of this century — are going to the finals for the first time since 1999.
Every single time the DeBusschere boys attend an event at Madison Square Garden, they take a few moments to stare at their father’s name and number in the rafters. For Peter and Dennis, it is always humbling to look up and see the late, great Dave DeBusschere, No. 22, memorialized with his fellow lions from the glory days.
Peter was born between the franchise’s two NBA titles won in 1970 and 1973, and Dennis was born the year after his dad retired in 1974. Just like the rest of the fan base, they have been waiting forever for championship No. 3, and for a team that plays the game the way Red Holzman’s teams played it on the tapes the DeBusschere boys used to watch with their old man.
They have finally identified such a team in the 2025-26 New York Knicks, who will face the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.
“You saw it in the Cleveland series,” Peter said, “when Jalen Brunson went off in Game 1, and then in Game 2 it was Josh Hart, because they were leaving him open. That’s what I was seeing in those old films and in talking to the guys who played with my father. Get it to the open man and let him do his work.
“The Knicks are all playing defense, they’re hustling, and they’re helping each other out. OG Anunoby is my favorite player because he reminds me of my dad in a way. He’ll guard any guy on the other team, he’ll make shots, and he’s just a great all-around player.”
It’s funny, but long-time observers of the Knicks have taken turns comparing Anunoby, Hart and Mikal Bridges to DeBusschere, the 6-foot-6 Hall of Famer who was a relentless defender and rebounder with a lethal corner jumper. On Dec. 19, 1968, the Knicks dealt Walt Bellamy and Howard Komives for Detroit’s hometown boy, a former player-coach of the Pistons (at age 24!) and a former pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, in what remains the most important trade in franchise history. DeBusschere was ultimately hailed by teammates, fans and media as “The Missing Piece” to a championship cast headlined by Walt Frazier and Willis Reed.
All these years later, his son Dennis agrees with his brother that Anunoby is the Knick who best embodies his dad’s style.
“But I see elements of all three of those guys in my father,” Dennis said. “Certainly, the way Hart crashes the boards as an undersized player. OG seems like the guy, but I can see Bridges in him with his constant off-ball movement. It’s absolutely rewarding to see, and I’d reinforce that I think this is a very enjoyable group of people to watch play. They are very easy to connect to, very easy to like. And what’s not to love about Jalen Brunson?”
You don’t need to be at least 70 years old or a Knicks historian to understand that any comparison to DeBusschere is the highest of compliments. “He was the difference in turning a team that was mediocre around,” Frazier once said. Among many other things, DeBusschere’s presence allowed Reed to move to his preferred center position. The realignment sparked a decades-long love affair between the team and the city.
The son of a man who once made his living hauling around kegs of beer, DeBusschere was the definition of rugged. In Game 7 of the 1970 finals, he was good for 18 points and 17 rebounds against a Lakers frontline anchored by Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. In Game 4 of the 1973 finals against the Lakers, he delivered 33 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Knicks to a commanding 3-1 series lead.
In heavy traffic, DeBusschere was never afraid to lead with his face. “I think my dad broke his nose about seven times,” Peter said. “He had teeth knocked out and almost had his eye knocked out.”
Dennis had a story that might inspire optimism for Knicks fans hoping Mitchell Robinson is ready for Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs. “My dad had a pinkie finger that I think he broke nine times,” Dennis said. “The thing was permanently bent until he got surgery. … He’d never talk about it, and he kept playing with it, but when you shook his hand, you noticed he had a really screwed-up pinkie.”
DeBusschere was a neighborly, easygoing soul away from the job who never gave an inch on the court. As the Knicks’ general manager in the 1980s, he sometimes let his sons and daughter, Michelle, shoot baskets before home games. “And Larry Bird once kicked us off the court,” recalled Peter, a ball boy. “My dad came out and said, ‘These guys are shooting.’ And Larry was like, ‘OK.’”
Nine years after serving as the ABA commissioner who helped facilitate the 1976 NBA merger, DeBusschere was the Knicks executive who famously drafted Patrick Ewing. That’s why in May 2003, Ewing was among the pallbearers and mourners inside St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Garden City, Long Island —DeBusschere’s town — to say goodbye to a Knicks legend who died far too young at 62.
Days earlier, Dennis had visited his father at his commercial real estate office. They were walking to lunch when DeBusschere, a tower of strength who still looked like he could give the Knicks a good 35 minutes, collapsed on a Lower Manhattan street, right in front of his son. “It was shocking,” Dennis said. “Certainly he wasn’t giving off any signs that something like this could happen.”
Working nearby, Peter raced to New York University Downtown Hospital, where doctors had already confirmed that DeBusschere had died of a massive heart attack. “It’s been 23 years,” Peter said, “and it never gets easier.”
NBA commissioner David Stern called DeBusschere “a hard-nosed, blue-collar hero who gave all of his considerable energy to our game.” In a beautiful eulogy at a funeral service attended by teammates and rivals alike, DeBusschere’s close friend Bill Bradley said he was reminded “of a time when we were all younger and there was a magic about life. A magic about life — there is no other way to describe those years on our Knicks teams.” Bradley spoke of DeBusschere’s selfless play as the core of their championship runs.
The Knicks loved talking about a man who hated talking about himself. In a different time and place, Dennis recalled a panel of former Knicks speaking about Reed’s enduring toughness as their captain. “But every time they talked about Willis, he would mention my dad,” Dennis said. “It was always an honor when Willis Reed talked about my father’s toughness. … I don’t think Wilt Chamberlain liked playing against my dad.”
Peter and Dennis grew up as accomplished athletes — both were lacrosse stars in college — who were proud that their distinct surname made people stop and ask if they were related to New York basketball royalty. Together, they have raised eight children who are a credit to the family legacy established by Dave DeBusschere and his wife, Gerri, who died of cancer in 2009.
Peter works for an electronic trading company, and Dennis is the president of a broker-dealer, 22V Research, named in honor of his father, ol’ No. 22. But more than anything right now, they stand among the most passionate Knicks fans on the planet.
When they sat with their father to watch his big games in the ’70s, Dave DeBusschere never really said much. He had a quiet dignity about him. If the kids asked about a certain play he made, the eight-time All-Star and six-time first-team All-Defensive player would simply acknowledge it and move on. “We always had to press him for information,” Peter said.
Today’s Knicks don’t do a whole lot of talking either. They share the ball, play defense with a purpose and move on to the next task. That’s why they’ve made history during their 11-game playoff winning streak.
So, win or lose against San Antonio, the DeBusschere boys are certain of one thing:
Their father would have loved this team.
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Ian O’Connor Ian O’Connor is a columnist for The Athletic. He is the author of six straight New York Times bestsellers. O’Connor was a columnist at various major outlets who earned multiple first-place finishes in contests run by the Society of Professional Journalists, Associated Press Sports Editors, Pro Football Writers of America, and Golf Writers Association of America. He is a proud former copy boy at The New York Times. You can follow Ian on X @Ian_OConnor.
