New York Knicks owner James Dolan made a joke that alluded to a star of another team during a Sphere Entertainment earnings call on Tuesday.
Dolan was having some fun when he cracked the joke. The joke alluded to Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Dolan’s SGA Joke
Dolan made the joke when he was asked about the SG&A costs during the call, according to The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov. SG&A costs are the costs related to running the business day to day that exclude direct production expenses.
“Boy, I’m really tempted to crack a joke here,” Dolan said. “So I guess I will. So SG&A is a great basketball player. And when we get to the Finals, I’m sure we’re going to beat them.”
The Knicks and Garden boss was alluding to the nickname for Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is commonly referred to as SGA for short.
Tension After Recent Knicks-Thunder Game
SGA has become a bit of an antagonist for the Knicks during a recent meeting when the Thunder visited Manhattan and defeated the Knicks 103-100 on March 4.
During the game, head coach Mike Brown earned a technical foul. Brown complained to the referees about a missed foul on Gilgeous-Alexander that would have been his third of the game late in the first quarter.
Afterward, Brown used his postgame news conference to call out the way Gilgeous-Alexander plays.
“SGA, he’s a tough cover, and he does a great job of convincing the referees — probably better than anybody in the league — that he’s getting hit,” Brown said.
Potential Finals Matchup
The Knicks are currently in the middle of a second-round playoff series with the 76ers, whom they defeated handily Monday night, 137-98 in Game 1.
Dolan may have been joking on the earnings call, but the Knicks could end up facing SGA and the Thunder if Oklahoma City reaches the NBA Finals.
For this to happen, the Knicks will have to knock out the Sixers and the winner of the Detroit Pistons-Cleveland Cavaliers series. Oklahoma City has to defeat the Lakers in a best-of-seven series and then dispatch the winner of the Minnesota Timberwolves-San Antonio Spurs series.